If I had an extra $700 - turntable lust

I went into a local stereo shop to look around, just looking at the industrial art - pretty things to make me feel better about losing another project. I find an Oralcle Delphi MK IV for $700 with arm and it's oh so pretty.

The sales guy touches the table and says check out the suspension - it jiggles oh so slightly like Jennifer Love Hewitt's cleavage when she takes a deep breath.

I don't know what I'll be doing for money for the rest of my life, times are tough.

My current table has been on the next thing to replace for ten years, and it's dying too.

My computer is dying, but I can explain that purchase to my wife, a work expense.

Why is life so cruel?

What should I do?

I'll have to verify that price, they were made from 1989-1994 and could have a lot of problems. Do they sell stethoscopes at the dollar store?

George, are you sure they were made from 1989 - 1994? I read where the MK 1V model was made 1987 - 1989 and the MK V version was made from 1989 until later. This is wrong, please ignore.


Regardless, I have read good things about the turntable. If it appears in good condition and sounds good, then why not get it? It's a nice looking table, IMO.

Also, for not too much, the MK IV can be brought up to MK V status.

slowGEEZR said:

It's a nice looking table, IMO.

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I think they are one of the most beautiful tables I've ever seen. A real hallmark of Industrial Design.

MiTT said:

I think they are one of the most beautiful tables I've ever seen. A real hallmark of Industrial Design.

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Ha ha. Yeah, I did kind of understate it! It's been a gloomy day here in Austin and with a sick wife I've been in a mellow (somber) mood all day.

if you want to make 300 bucks fast, buy it and sell it to me...

I'm not kidding...

This is my dream table (industrial design is a plus in audio), the only one at the right price which could derail me from making my own table based on the mechanicals provided by Teres Audio.

I'm going back to take a better look at it. It was in a small room in the back and one of the guys was breaking down boxes in there while I was trying to look at it.

I purchased my tube amp and tube pre-amp with tube phono section from these guys. I think they snagged me again.

tonepub said:

if you want to make 300 bucks fast, buy it and sell it to me...

I'm not kidding...

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You guys in Portland have an awesome vintage and tube store, I'm sure one will show up there.

I want to go back when I visit my sister again, they have very limited open hours though.

George -

i have an Oracle MkIII with SME IV arm and Koetsu Rosewood. it's a great table. upstairs i have a Linn LP12 and it's also a great table - just different.

700 is a good price for the table. especially with arm (btw - which arm?)

UPDATE: The first time I was in the shop the sales guy looked up the price ($700) and said I had to talk to the owner about it because he did not know the details.

I came in four days later and the boss is out, it was his birthday. I have cash, ask for a cash discount and get the sales tax 6% taken off which is what I expected.

I get cold feet and explain that my wife might freak out, sales guy says I have one day to bring it back because others are interested.

I go back to look at the table which for all I know has bad bearings or a wacked arm, I notice it's an SME arm and it needs a five pin DIN connector which I don't have, this means spending even more money and no way to set up the table for a home demonstration within 24 hours. There is also a "tune-up" kit with springs and gaskets in it, they look new to me, and there is a large wall wart power supply.

Fate takes over, the other sales guy calls the boss which left instructions not to call unless the place is burning down.

The price did not include the $1,700 arm, the sales guy keeps his job and my wife is not divorcing me.

We both dodged a bullet, I now have money to purchase the $400 fuel pump for my 1977 Porsche 911 and will enjoy the summer.

The "boss" will be calling me about the table, might still get "a deal" going.

It might be a MK III upgraded to MKIV, it has 33 & 45 push buttons on a crop out console, not the tuning fork speed controls of the MKV and I thought the MKIV had.

Sorry no pictures.

They have not listed this table on Audiogon yet, I can put anyone interested in this table in contact with the shop if I pass on what ever deal is offered to me.

Currently, I have no regrets about how this worked out, things are too complex in my life right now for another project. I do not know what tomorrow will bring.

George,

Ineresting journey......I do like your rationale !

UPDATE

The owner Larry called me today, and apologized for the misunderstanding. The new guy did not know the top of the line made for Oralcle Delphi MK IV SME (silver not black) arm was not part of the package, like the two other tables they sold this weekend (a Micro Seiki was one of them).

Still a good deal for anyone interested (I don't want to misquote the price, been though this once), ask for Larry, Phone: (734) 662-3595.

http://www.paragonsns.com/

I just ordered a Lenovo 3000 N500 notebook/laptop computer which I need for work, there goes the turntable money.

It was a nice daydream while it lasted.

MiTT said:

I think they are one of the most beautiful tables I've ever seen. A real hallmark of Industrial Design.

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I always thought they were a Michell rip first time I saw one many years ago. Not saying they aren't nice, mind you...

User211 said:

I always thought they were a Michell rip first time I saw one many years ago. Not saying they aren't nice, mind you...

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Other than the acrylic plinth, I don't notice that much of a similarity...

I always thought that the Oracle was made wrong. The suspension pillars are set wrong. The arm side should have two pillars and the far side should have the one. That said they are damned pretty and sound nice too.

MiTT said:

Other than the acrylic plinth, I don't notice that much of a similarity...

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Really? I did mean a long time ago - so here's an original Gyrodec picture.

Basically, the design is a rip in my book. No offense intended, but aren't there three suspended pillars there, floating on a metal sub-chassis, with a rubber topped metal platter? And an acrylic body/lid? OK, so they changed the arrangement of the pillars by rotating them by 90 degrees in the Oracle design.

Michell dumped the metal platter in favour of the better sounding (at least, I assume to most) acrylic platter.

At the time, nothing else really looked like either of these TTs, which is what made the comparison so obvious. But Michell were there first. And a long time before.

I'd love to hook the Oracle up to see how it performs. It's a classic - rip off or not. Much like Unreal was a rip off of Doom in the computer gaming world.

Doom - in it's time - now that was a game. Maximum respect John Carmack!

Tim - it is a rip. If you look at the design further, you'll see even more copied aspects than I have listed. Which is prettier, however, is simply down to taste.

If you spec a Michell right, esp. with a SME V Gold edition, they can look great.

User211 said:

At the time, nothing else really looked like either of these TTs, which is what made the comparison so obvious. But Michell were there first. And a long time before.

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How do you figure that? The Orbe has been around for 25 years and the Oracle came out in 1979....

I'm all for giving credit where credit is due, but many people say the Orbe was a ripoff of the Oracle...

Sounds to me like they both came out around the same time.

http://www.michell-engineering.co.uk/history.html

After I posted, I had a feeling I might be wrong after some further thought. I think it's probably because Oracle came to the UK after the Michell Gyrodec mark 1 was released... but to be honest, I am not even sure of that.

Unless you consider the Oracle a rip of the Transcriptors...

The Orbe came out a long time after the Gyrodec, FWIW.

So some apology due, Tim Soz...

User211 said:

Oracle...Michell Gyrodec....Transcriptors...

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I love all those tables, they are connected by a common esthetic.

User211 said:

So some apology due, Tim Soz...

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Not necessary, I don't really care who got there first. They're both great looking decks. I do see some of the similarities in construction you're talking about Justin. It would be fun to outfit them with like cartridges and do a comparison.

I still think turntables in general are some of the best examples of audio jewelry!

MiTT said:

I still think turntables in general are some of the best examples of audio jewelry!

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But Tim, the term "audio jewelry" implies that they look good without sounding good, which is not necessarily the case.