Hard to judge the turntables given they are each running very different cartridges. As Edgar Vilchur (the designer) said, the job of the turntable is to get out of the way (and let the cartridge do its thing). really, one could say that about all audio components. None can rise above the quality of the signal itself. They can only detract. So much ink is wasted on unquantifiable and undefinable characteristics for which there are no physical principles to "optimize". The mere fact that this comparison is relevant more than 60 years after the AR XA was introduced is testament to Edgar Vilchur's emphasis on fundamentals, while rejecting the temptations of exotic materials and woo-woo theories.
Here's a test for you...put a good quality cartridge in a STOCK (un modified) AR XA (or XB) that has been cleaned up/functioning properly. Play the last few grooves of the original Telarc 1812 overture with the final cannon shots. The AR will track the shots within the cartridge's recommended tracking force range. Remove the cartridge from the AR and install it in turn in the other TTs. The other two will likely bounce the cartridge/arm completely out of the grooves at anything less than 2x the recommended force and even then will probably mistrack the final canon shot. Been there, done that test.... People consistently "rate" the AR XA/XB based on its appearance/price instead of the design engineering involved and its actual ability to play a record. The tonearm and head shell, which are often replaced as an "upgrade" is actually a far better functional design than any of the arms that are typically suggested to replace it. Modifications made to the XA will usually downgrade its performance compared to what it was capable of when in new condition. That includes spring upgrades, which are invariably too stiff. Motors? If the stock motor can maintain 33 1/3 RPM constantly - which it can - an "upgrade" motor can't make 33.333 into a "better" 33.333!. Belts are another issue. Most belts sold for the XA/XB are too short and are just cheap generic belts that can manage to be looped around the inner platter and motor pulley. They are not as precisely made as the original belts, which AR individually ground to spec. Increased flutter can be the result. The only belt I am aware of that is close to the original - at least it's the correct length - is made in Australia! Go figure... The typical "too short" belt then requires stiffer springs to keep the platter in the proper position. The stiffer springs then reduce the isolation the TT is famous for. IOW, nearly all of the popular mods actually reduce performance...they are DOWNGRADES from the TT as delivered new.
This just came up in my feed bc I was watching some TT reviews. - We are comparing TT + Cart. combinations, not TTs. 1. The first sound clip was noisy (surface noise). But worse still was that it was bright, harsh, with sibilance and even breakup on one occasion. I found it very unpleasant to listen to. That might more directly reflect the Cartridge and not the deck. But it was bad. 2. The 2nd clip resolved a lot of the high frequency sibilance and made cymbals sound like cymbals. But there was still considerable surface noise, and like the 1st clip, was very lean on bass - not great for Sting, who is a bassist. So still very fatiguing, but without the sibilance of the 1st. 3. The 3rd clip was by far the best of the three. Surface noise was greatly reduced. The top end was smooth, natural and open, without a trace of sibilance or any harshness. This also produced significant mid bass weight and punch that simply was not present in the first two clips. I know this album, but not this pressing, so I have no idea if the recording lacks the low end that should exist. But overall, there is no contest - this setup utterly bested the others. Again, this is more likely a reflection of the cartridge than of the decks, the Turntables themselves. But this was a very pleasing presentation. Far better than the others.
The fist deck was the best followed by the second. The AR was not in the same class of course and is lacking in it's presentation of lower mid and especially bass frequencies, which, by comparison to the other TT's was effectively missing. The upper mids and high frequencies, though, seemed adequate and on a par with other TT's in it's class.
Interesting that no-one seems to have picked up that something in the signal path of the AR player is out of phase. Listening in a studio on decent monitors shows this very clearly. But having watched a few other videos on TH-cam, the AR can prove itself to be a worthy competitor of much higher specced and priced record players ...
The first two sounded Great, the third I personally would not ever use. The first one Geodec was the smoothest less popping and clear , Smooth you could listen all day.
Considering that the XA is 60 yrs old, cost $500 in today's money when new & has a cheap cartridge I think it stood up quite well to 2 TT's and cartridges that cost thousands of dollars. Not a fair comparison BUT, the XA kicked some serious a$$ all things considered. Run this again with the same cartridge in all 3 TT's and post that video. This video just proves how capable the XA really is. Thanks! After listening 4 times, the XA's right channel is down in level, NOT the fault of the table but I'd say some work needs to be done to the cartridge or RCA leads. Just my 2 cents.
Well, here the two Highend tables the Michell and VPI were clearly better but expected at the price and precision of them. Doesn't really take anything away from the Ar, still an awesome product and with a couple of improvements perform a bit better.
Hmm, that was a very odd comparison. Firstly, the AR seems to be wired out of phase (and don't you mean an ADC cartridge?), and secondly the arms and cartridges are all different so not sure what the point of this is. The only positive I took from this was the sound of the Decca cartridge - it has amazing impact and a totally engaging 'musicality'.
I could listen to differences among cartridges. Not turntables. XA have synchronous motor and theoretically have no speed problem. Surfaces of RCA connectors on XA should be cleaned or the cable replaced for its age.
You might consider using a flat record for testing instead of this warped one. What's the point of buying a high end turntable if you are going to put a warped vinyl on it.
The hilarious part of this is that it takes a digital media to point out the inadequacies of the old analog media. Digital to digital can actually be the best. Vinyl is an audiophile fetish. Wear related damage does not effect digital media with constant playback.
O preço de um gira discos, não o caracteriza como melhor, mediante o preço for subindo. Esses exemplos de gira discos "High End", não são os melhores exemplos para testar a qualidade absoluta do seu som. A muito mais baixo preço, há gira discos em termos qualitativos de sonoridade superior a esses ditos "High End"! Saudações de Portugal.
A very unsatisfactory demo. Different carts,different electronic. But soundwise nothing was convincing. On my old 1249 with a DV Karat on an vintage AX-5 even via a pair of decent old Actel speakers it sounds WAY more clear and dynamic. Im pretty sure YT compression did its part.
Totally stupid unfair test The main difference is between Arms and Cartridge and these were drastically different what a waste of time and gives a false idea of the difference. I have reported this a spam and misleading
The XA was absolutely brilliant! Coherent and ambient. It breathed and kept hold of harmonic subtleties.
Hard to judge the turntables given they are each running very different cartridges. As Edgar Vilchur (the designer) said, the job of the turntable is to get out of the way (and let the cartridge do its thing). really, one could say that about all audio components. None can rise above the quality of the signal itself. They can only detract. So much ink is wasted on unquantifiable and undefinable characteristics for which there are no physical principles to "optimize". The mere fact that this comparison is relevant more than 60 years after the AR XA was introduced is testament to Edgar Vilchur's emphasis on fundamentals, while rejecting the temptations of exotic materials and woo-woo theories.
Do this again with the same cartridge, if you please
IT's not Fair it must be the same Cartridge for all Tonarms changing
The high end decks gave more clarity and detail, but the 60 year old AR still did a commendable job overall.
Here's a test for you...put a good quality cartridge in a STOCK (un modified) AR XA (or XB) that has been cleaned up/functioning properly. Play the last few grooves of the original Telarc 1812 overture with the final cannon shots. The AR will track the shots within the cartridge's recommended tracking force range. Remove the cartridge from the AR and install it in turn in the other TTs. The other two will likely bounce the cartridge/arm completely out of the grooves at anything less than 2x the recommended force and even then will probably mistrack the final canon shot. Been there, done that test....
People consistently "rate" the AR XA/XB based on its appearance/price instead of the design engineering involved and its actual ability to play a record. The tonearm and head shell, which are often replaced as an "upgrade" is actually a far better functional design than any of the arms that are typically suggested to replace it.
Modifications made to the XA will usually downgrade its performance compared to what it was capable of when in new condition. That includes spring upgrades, which are invariably too stiff. Motors? If the stock motor can maintain 33 1/3 RPM constantly - which it can - an "upgrade" motor can't make 33.333 into a "better" 33.333!. Belts are another issue. Most belts sold for the XA/XB are too short and are just cheap generic belts that can manage to be looped around the inner platter and motor pulley. They are not as precisely made as the original belts, which AR individually ground to spec. Increased flutter can be the result. The only belt I am aware of that is close to the original - at least it's the correct length - is made in Australia! Go figure... The typical "too short" belt then requires stiffer springs to keep the platter in the proper position. The stiffer springs then reduce the isolation the TT is famous for. IOW, nearly all of the popular mods actually reduce performance...they are DOWNGRADES from the TT as delivered new.
This just came up in my feed bc I was watching some TT reviews.
- We are comparing TT + Cart. combinations, not TTs.
1. The first sound clip was noisy (surface noise). But worse still was that it was bright, harsh, with sibilance and even breakup on one occasion. I found it very unpleasant to listen to. That might more directly reflect the Cartridge and not the deck. But it was bad.
2. The 2nd clip resolved a lot of the high frequency sibilance and made cymbals sound like cymbals. But there was still considerable surface noise, and like the 1st clip, was very lean on bass - not great for Sting, who is a bassist. So still very fatiguing, but without the sibilance of the 1st.
3. The 3rd clip was by far the best of the three. Surface noise was greatly reduced. The top end was smooth, natural and open, without a trace of sibilance or any harshness. This also produced significant mid bass weight and punch that simply was not present in the first two clips. I know this album, but not this pressing, so I have no idea if the recording lacks the low end that should exist. But overall, there is no contest - this setup utterly bested the others. Again, this is more likely a reflection of the cartridge than of the decks, the Turntables themselves. But this was a very pleasing presentation. Far better than the others.
the AR XA has a $ 129.00 cartridge, the first and second turntables have cartridges costing $ 2000.00. Fair comparison ?
I Love my Acoustic Research TT great table
The fist deck was the best followed by the second. The AR was not in the same class of course and is lacking in it's presentation of lower mid and especially bass frequencies, which, by comparison to the other TT's was effectively missing. The upper mids and high frequencies, though, seemed adequate and on a par with other TT's in it's class.
AR kicks butt!
The AR XA is definitely running slow. It also sounds like there is a phase issue. Something is definitely off with the stereo imaging on it.
Interesting that no-one seems to have picked up that something in the signal path of the AR player is out of phase. Listening in a studio on decent monitors shows this very clearly. But having watched a few other videos on TH-cam, the AR can prove itself to be a worthy competitor of much higher specced and priced record players ...
Yep, that was the first thing that stood out...
Who can really tell properly when the cartridges were not the same. A cartridge of quality makes an astounding difference.
The first two sounded Great, the third I personally would not ever use. The first one Geodec was the smoothest less popping and clear , Smooth you could listen all day.
Considering that the XA is 60 yrs old, cost $500 in today's money when new & has a cheap cartridge I think it stood up quite well to 2 TT's and cartridges that cost thousands of dollars. Not a fair comparison BUT, the XA kicked some serious a$$ all things considered. Run this again with the same cartridge in all 3 TT's and post that video. This video just proves how capable the XA really is. Thanks!
After listening 4 times, the XA's right channel is down in level, NOT the fault of the table but I'd say some work needs to be done to the cartridge or RCA leads. Just my 2 cents.
Well, here the two Highend tables the Michell and VPI were clearly better but expected at the price and precision of them. Doesn't really take anything away from the Ar, still an awesome product and with a couple of improvements perform a bit better.
The AR is clearly running slow. Sounds like it's running at 31RPM Not really fair If I'm correct on the speed issue
0:55 5:58 11:00
Hmm, that was a very odd comparison. Firstly, the AR seems to be wired out of phase (and don't you mean an ADC cartridge?), and secondly the arms and cartridges are all different so not sure what the point of this is. The only positive I took from this was the sound of the Decca cartridge - it has amazing impact and a totally engaging 'musicality'.
Who does Audio Test comparisons with a warped record?
The AR has a cartridge that is wired out of phase imo.
I could listen to differences among cartridges. Not turntables. XA have synchronous motor and theoretically have no speed problem. Surfaces of RCA connectors on XA should be cleaned or the cable replaced for its age.
Sound difference, the phono cartridges not the turn table. Thump each turntable when the record is playing and see which is better.
You might consider using a flat record for testing instead of this warped one. What's the point of buying a high end turntable if you are going to put a warped vinyl on it.
The tonearm dance like mad, crossing countless obstacles along the way, this is a meaningless comparison.
The sound difference is from comparing a MC cartridge to a MM.
Vinyl records, eh? You just can't beat it, with all the pops, clicks and crackles you just know aren't on the master tape.
On old knackered vinyl maybe, no pops and clicks on good vinyl my friend.
The hilarious part of this is that it takes a digital media to point out the inadequacies of the old analog media. Digital to digital can actually be the best. Vinyl is an audiophile fetish. Wear related damage does not effect digital media with constant playback.
O preço de um gira discos, não o caracteriza como melhor, mediante o preço for subindo.
Esses exemplos de gira discos "High End", não são os melhores exemplos para testar a qualidade absoluta do seu som.
A muito mais baixo preço, há gira discos em termos qualitativos de sonoridade superior a esses ditos "High End"!
Saudações de Portugal.
A very unsatisfactory demo. Different carts,different electronic. But soundwise nothing was convincing.
On my old 1249 with a DV Karat on an vintage AX-5 even via a pair of decent old Actel speakers it sounds WAY more
clear and dynamic. Im pretty sure YT compression did its part.
Totally stupid unfair test The main difference is between Arms and Cartridge and these were drastically different what a waste of time and gives a false idea of the difference. I have reported this a spam and misleading
useless