[kartik]

Hey immtbiker,
How 'bout you? Why don't YOU buy this mother? Then we can get you to do the celebrated review. It'll go nicely with the BAT and the Esoteric. Your wife will like it too.

 

[immtbiker]

I already made it my computer wallpaper...that's usually the first step on the road to ruin.

BTW- Those Black Gold IC's are wonderful after the burn-in. They are my official Phono Pre-amp to receiver IC-s (I need the 1.5M for the distance from the turntable).

Regarding the BlueNote...I can tell you distributorship has issues in the US. I don't know if it is because they are popular, or they just have delivery impairments.
When I ordered my Piccolo turntable from Todd The Vinyl Junkie, he was promised a couple of days (it turned into a couple of weeks). Now I've decided to upgrade to the BellaVista, and again the distributors' promised delivery time has been pushed back a couple of weeks. I would not want to deal with that, with the CD player.
The Esoteric will be here for the long haul, due to video and multichannel assets. The Bat would have to be the swapout, along with my wife's insurance policy.

 

[kartik]

If you liked the Blackgolds you should also give the Blacksilvers a look. I agree with the burn-in. Mine took nearly 3 weeks of near continuous running!
Sad about the Bellavista though!
Don't you think that vinyl poses a handling problem as compared to hi-rez digital?

 

[(yo_alexandru]

http://www.hifiplus.com/t-rev10-2.html

 

[immtbiker]

Quote:

Don't you think that vinyl poses a handling problem as compared to hi-rez digital?

Yes...vinyl is high maintenance and lots-o-work, however, a good vinyl recording, does sound better than my best hi-rez digitals including SACD and DVD-A, and that's what it's all about.
After a day at work of fixing things, the last thing I want to do is "fiddle about" with wires, hums, and uncalibrated equipment....however, the end does justify the means.