Origin Live

[Dave_The_Vinyl_Junkie]

Originally Posted by Dave_The_Vinyl_Junkie

The jury is still out on the Sovereign turntable - I haven't yet been able to quite hit that organic quality that I heard when I auditioned it. I need to play around more with the setup.

Update - things in the Sovereign camp have improved considerably. I auditioned it with a Koetsu Rosewood, and with my newly rebuilt one and some careful setup, I'm now getting the sound I heard at the audition. Had an initial tracking issue which was resolved by moving the deck to a not-so-bouncy section of floor, and it also seems to work best straight on top of the Ikea table, without any intervening layers.

It's absolutely amazing now, it pains me to say (I'm not supposed to like belt-drives) - seems to take the best qualities of the Garrard and builds on them, giving a denser, more palpable and transparent presentation. I had two friends over to listen to it last Thursday, one has commented that it pretty much leaves his Hyperspace a very long way behind.

Recommended? I think it's possibly worth it if you can easily afford it, and are partnering it with a really top-flight system and cartridge. Otherwise the alternative is still a no-brainer. Buy the Slatedeck. The Sovereign is the only deck I've heard that seriously competes, for sheer musical communication and involvement - and I've heard a few expensive decks. There is nothing else out there that comes within a country mile of the Slatedeck, for that entry price.

[Greg.]

Hi Dave,

"If you can easily afford it" has got to be the critical bit! The Sovereign is not far short of £4000 and then you need an arm. No doubt Mark Baker would like £4500 spent on that. My custom made Slatedeck, 401 and TecnoArm comes in at about £1250 complete

Best wishes,

Greg

[Dave_The_Vinyl_Junkie]

Originally Posted by Greg.

Hi Dave,

"If you can easily afford it" has got to be the critical bit! The Sovereign is not far short of £4000 and then you need an arm. No doubt Mark Baker would like £4500 spent on that. My custom made Slatedeck, 401 and TecnoArm comes in at about £1250 complete

Best wishes,

Greg

Exactly. Like the Enterprise! I was discussing this with a mate on Thursday who has the Ultra power supply/motor and Illustrious arm - he's a bit of an OL fan, but even he said that the Conqueror was basically a 'tarted up Illustrious' and we all remain a bit sceptical about the Enterprise - it seems to share a lot of its component parts with my arm.

I think what this does show is that belt drive remains a valid form of drive for a platter if it's designed correctly. It seems that motor torque is important. The motor in my Sovereign will take your finger off if you try and slow it down - it is immensely strong. That isn't the case with a lot of belt drive decks. And as a result, I hear the same good timing, drive and dynamics that I get with the Garrard.

I feared I might be blackballed, tarred and feathered for coming out with this, but I have to be truthful about what I'm hearing, these guys are all trying to run businesses and I have to give a fair assessment. In terms of the David Price thing - I agree it seems a bit OTT! But there are positive write-ups everywhere - 6moons, TNT, 10audio. So Baker is clearly on to something with his designs. He just needs to sort out his quality control. Every OL product I've bought has had to have something 'fixed'.

My view about the capabilities of the Slatedeck plinth, the sheer musical joy it offers and the value for money it represents, haven't changed one iota.