Taking my AMG V12 for a spin...

[Kuoppis]

not surprising as the v12 has many very happy owners. your thoghts on the 12j2 tonearm versus others is a good perspective to hear. i have been quite interested in the Bardo and the AMG Giro - but now...

For a quite some time I thought the Bardo would be my destination TT, but comparing it to the Viella delivered quite clear results in favor of the AMG.

Due to its whopping 22 lbs platter the V12 runs incredibly smooth. And design of the bearing system is more sophisticated than in most TTs, distributing platter weight on a wider area. Never seen such a steady platter. And as you also mentioned, the 12” arm is excellent as well, offering superb adjustment options and reducing tracking error due to its length.

I think the Giro is also great but maybe more on Bardo level.


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[sharkmouth]

I do know of several people that have gone from Viella to Brinkmann & say it too is superior. To each their own ears!

 

[Kuoppis]

If I was you I'd get one of these as it's like a whole new tweak each time & a lot of fun if you are into tweaking http://www.arche-headshell.de/alignment-tools/smartractor/ This will make it so easy & lift the table up to the best setting you can give it. You have a great cartridge in there too, another is the V12 base designed LPs Benz, a great all round cartridge that the Viella was designed around & will give you most of everything, but not the absolute utmost top tier as far as stylus's go but just a lovely musical cart that can foot it with most. The SMARTractor is one tool that I was so pleased that I bought back in the vinyl phase I went through, nothing touches it imo.

Great minds think alike [emoji3].

I am just researching whether I can buy it somewhere today or if I need to order it. Was thinking about the Feikert tool. But I will look into the SMARTractor as well.

And, as a matter of fact, Benz Gullwing SLR is on order. Same cart as the LPS, but w/o the wood.


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[Kuoppis]

I do know of several people that have gone from Viella to Brinkmann & say it too is superior. To each their own ears!

Can’t go wrong with either, as it has been the same guy making them. You know that Röschlau first practiced for ten years making Brinkmann tables, before coming up with his own design.

The Viella is just an evolution of the Bardo, taken to a technically more sophisticated level. But family resemblance is quite obvious. The Bardo sounds a bit leaner to my ears, probably to due to the lighter platter and nervousness of the direct drive.


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[sharkmouth]

Can’t go wrong with either, as it has been the same guy making them. You know that Röschlau first practiced for ten years making Brinkmann tables, before coming up with his own design.

The Viella is just an evolution of the Bardo, taken to a technically more sophisticated level. But family resemblance is quite obvious. The Bardo sounds a bit leaner to my ears, probably to due to the lighter platter and nervousness of the direct drive.


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I do know all the history. Was also told there was a court case started by Brinkmann against Röschlau because of the V12 & arm.....

 

[Mike]

Awesome table, congrats. Any thoughts of getting the wood skirt?

 

[Kuoppis]

I do know all the history. Was also told there was a court case started by Brinkmann against Röschlau because of the V12 & arm.....

Guess at some point they decided to go their separate ways, that tends to raise the temperature a bit. But I presume nothing came about it, as both still sell their own designs.

Brinkmann’s own tonearms are adaptations of the Breuer arm. The 12J2 is however very different from Brinkmann designs, as AMG uses vertical springs which is unique in tonearm design.


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[Kuoppis]

Awesome table, congrats. Any thoughts of getting the wood skirt?

Thank you Mike, very kind.

I do like the more industrial design style, so I guess no skirt for me. IMHO skirts are for girls and Scots.


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[XV-1]

Lovely table - congrats

You like the Stillpoint's over the stock feet? You need the black stillpoints to match the table

 

[heihei]

Do AMG still make the Brinkmann TTs?

 

[Kuoppis]

Lovely table - congrats

You like the Stillpoint's over the stock feet? You need the black stillpoints to match the table [emoji3]

Appreciate it, very kind.

These are actually Finite Elemente Cerabase Classic footers. Based on a similar principle as Stillpoints, with ceramic balls transforming movement into heat. They just allow for more flexible height adjustment than the Stillpoints and the mechanism for it is separated from the actual decoupling.

The Viella can be bought with a HRS base, but I did not opt for that, as the Cerabases fulfill the same task and I already had them.


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[Kuoppis]

Do AMG still make the Brinkmann TTs?

Nope, they parted ways quite some time ago.


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[Kuoppis]

Got the Feikert Protractor today: re-doing the setup with proper tools.

Very nice tool, I must say. Rock solid.

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[slowgeezr]

Congrats, Kuoppis! That was one of the turntables I was looking at when I purchased mine. Silly me, little did I know that my table's manufacturer would retire and close down shop and offer no more support. I'd give the Ortofon another try, if you haven't heard it in the new setup. You might be surprised. When I sold my VPI and purchased my table, I used the same cartridge initially. It was shocking. Myself and my audio buds couldn't believe I was using the same cartridge. That was the realization for myself and my audio friends that a table could make so much difference.

 

[Kuoppis]

Congrats, Kuoppis! That was one of the turntables I was looking at when I purchased mine. Silly me, little did I know that my table's manufacturer would retire and close down shop and offer no more support. I'd give the Ortofon another try, if you haven't heard it in the new setup. You might be surprised. When I sold my VPI and purchased my table, I used the same cartridge initially. It was shocking. Myself and my audio buds couldn't believe I was using the same cartridge. That was the realization for myself and my audio friends that a table could make so much difference.

Thanks Steve, good to hear. I think the AMG is a solid piece of kit.

I actually sold the Ortofon with the previous table to get rid of all the old junk. But I am sure it would have sounded better on the V12.

The Teatro cart I just took as I got such a sweet deal on it. My actual cart for the Viella has yet to be delivered.


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[Kuoppis]

Teatro cart mounted.

AMG definitely know how to get the specs right: .4mV output, Titanium body, solid Boron cantilever, Line Contact Diamond, Neodymium magnets, separate coils for both channels, Pure Copper Ohno Continuous Casting (OCC), body moulded in the US, generator built and tested in Japan. What is there not to like?

Very solid performer, in comparison to my previous Cadenza Bronze it might be a bit more balanced, have a slightly better top-end extension and more downward extending bass (the V12 might have something to do with that though).

I’m running it at 300 Ohms resistive load. Tried different settings between 100 and 500 Ohms and this is what I liked the best. Nice balance between bass heft and sparkle, excellent dynamics.

Absolutely adore that froggy color [emoji3].

And it has the world’s most solid needle protector. Not sure what AMG are protecting the cart against, a nuclear blast? It’s moulded aluminum.

 

[Petro85]

Great minds think alike [emoji3].



And, as a matter of fact, Benz Gullwing SLR is on order. Same cart as the LPS, but w/o the wood.


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Great choice, one of my alltime favorite cartridges!!! i thought it similar but a step better than LP-S just by my ears, i didnt know they were basically the same when i heard them.

oh and dont discount the cadenzas, so much better on another table than the vpi

 

[pweg]

Great choice Kuoppis - i love my V12

When i bought mine i compared it to the Kronos Sparta, but found the AMG better for my ears

 

[JimmyS]

Got one a few months back replacing my clear audio ovation. Very happy with the upgrade.

 

[Kuoppis]

Great choice, one of my alltime favorite cartridges!!! i thought it similar but a step better than LP-S just by my ears, i didnt know they were basically the same when i heard them.

oh and dont discount the cadenzas, so much better on another table than the vpi

Thanks Petro, agreed and agreed [emoji3].

The Gullwing SLR is a really fine cart and up there with the best. A bit more transparent compared to the LP-S, while the LP-S offers a bit more body and is a tad warmer. But with the V12 22 lbs platter I do get enough body and bass w/o picking a warmish cart. I guess the difference in sound signature between the Gullwing SLR and LP-S comes from the different materials used.

The Teatro is an almost double as dear cart in comparison to the Ortofon, but that does not diminish the Cadenza Bronze qualities in any way. It’s a superstar for the money, the TT also plays a big role for sure.


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