I debated whether to post this here or in the Technics thread, but since its an opinion on a given piece of equipment, here we are.
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I've just spent 40 hours listening to this table, the only additional setup was installing the KAB damper and dropping on the Funkfirm mat, outside of that, it's stock out of the box. While I was setting this up, that little voice in my head kept asking me "You spent how much on a turntable?", you who's all about "Bang for your buck". I gotta be honest, when I decided to consolidate down to one system, it wasn't an easy choice, but a choice I had to make, and I will say without reservation that the UltraDeck/Hana SL > Manley > PrimaLuna combo will always be my favorite set up, and at times I still miss it. One of the defining aspects of that upheaval was long term cost and simplicity.
The Manley has remained, the PLX gave way to a GR and amp issues forced a move to a Mucial Fidelity M2si. There was some struggle with the system, too many changes, some actual gear problems looming, and some time and effort into optimizing the GR with
@HiFi Guy and myself double teaming calibration, geometry and so on, of the GR.............luckily, we hammered that out.
I was completely content at that point with the system, the question became, what cartridge/s to use, again, leaning on "Bang for your buck". A few unexpected things happened in the span of a week that brought in some unexpected funds to my "hobby" account, not just a couple of bucks, but enough to prompt a "Wow! What am I going to do with this?" The purchase of the GR was always a compromise, not a bad one, but a compromise non the less, it was a move up from the PLX and still within the budget I set for my single system. But now, a window opened and the G was a possibility. If I didn't take the opportunity now, I probably wouldn't, or most likely, couldn't later.
$4000 isn't in most peoples budget for a turntable, it's not in most peoples budget for a system, I understand that. What I wanted to share was my thought about the G and how I was taken a back as I listened to album after album. I was expecting a "difference", the cynic in me kept pumping the breaks to keep me on an even keel. Having the G and GR side by side it's hard to
see why there's a $2300 difference, really hard. Once you start using them you can start to "feel" some of the differences and like most items with tiers, cost saving start with materials, it's not a bad thing and probably the least intrusive to the overall output of the item.
I'm not going to go too deep into this, but rather highlight a couple of things that live in the $2300 extra I paid. The G brings out the best in other things, that's the best I can put it. I kept going back and forth with the Opus3 and Hana EL, they both sounded great, better than they have, but what did come through were two things, how amazing the Opus3 sounded now and how the G was now showing the "limitations" of an entry level MC cart. The G also made the Manley a bit more honest, I could hear an audible, not on/off switch, audible, but more than noticeable change in the sound after about 30 minutes when the tubes warmed up, tube life, it is, what it is.
The last thing, and something that still floors me after having the gear I've had, and how many times I've listened to a given album. I'm hearing things from some recording that I never heard before, I feel almost stupid making that comment, but seriously, I was already actively listening, but I felt like a dog who's ears perked up because it heard something. I stated 40 hours because I just kept going back for more, what other album could I throw on the platter and be not only excited about the sound quality, but anything I might have been missing all these years. There are other aspects, materials, small aesthetic changes, but this is the "meat and potato's" of it.
The G has been an experience. Was it worth the additional $2300? It was for me, at this moment. It is "end game" and that honestly makes me really happy. I love gear, probably always will, but I don't feel the need to look any further, I know, I know, famous last words, but honestly, this one piece of gear has given me some "Calm". With all that said, it takes nothing, and I mean absolutely nothing away from other turntables. If you're looking for a turntable that delivers solid sound quality and you like tinkering (carts), the PLX is hands down the best "Bang for your buck", if your budget can afford a little more, or you want to save for a move up in all facets of that type of turntable, the GR is the way to go. If you can, or you're patient enough to save, or a window of opportunity opens for you, the G is in a class all itself.
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