AudioMeca Romance Turntable Plus Romeo Arm - With New Sumiko Blackbird Cartridge

Description

WHO WE ARE
SkyFi Audio is a small startup business specializing in the purchase, reconditioning, and reselling of high end audio equipment. We only buy equipment that we admire and are passionate about. No mid-fi, no gimmicks, no junk.
Each piece of equipment is cosmetically restored and fully tested in our well-equipped lab by an engineer with 30+ years of experience in the HiFi world. If it does not meet or exceed the original manufactures specifications, it will not be sold. We are very selective about the equipment we purchase, focusing on mostly analog, high-build quality, American, and European built units.
Through our sister company, which is an authorized dealer for McIntosh, Audio Research, Sonus Faber, ClearAudio, Project, and Sony ES, we have access to OEM parts, service, and support.
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This is simply a stunning turntable from French maker AudioMeca.
Finished in gloss black acrylic with brass machined parts.
Featuring a high performance Romance tonearm, and a brand new recommended Sumiko Blackbird High Output MC (Moving-Coil) phono cartridge.
Calibrated and working perfectly.
SkyFi is an official Sumiko dealer so you can choose an alternate cartridge at the bottom of this listing; or send in your own for our 11-step in-house calibration.
From a review of this 'table from tnt-audio:
So what else is unusual?
First the turntable. I mentioned the relatively low weight - relative to other expensive tables mind - and please don't imagine it's flimsy in any way, it's just that acrylic weighs less than metal. It is 'semi-suspended'. Rather than three springs allowing a fully floating subchassis, the Romance has foam 'springs' at the front and a spike forms a 'hinge' at the back. In theory this offers less isolation than a true three-point system, but vibrations are supposed to be 'sunk' through the spike and down to the base. The big advantage is that there's none of the side-to-side wobble of a suspended table and set-up, as explained above, is child's play. However placing a stylus onto a stationary record, turning the volume to normal listening level (for me ) and tapping the chassis produced a 'thud, thud' from the speakers, the Orbe sounds more like a gong. So the damping/isolation seems fine.
The main bearing is in the form of a point and needs just a touch of oil on the tip. There is no conventional shaft, just a ring around the bearing to stabilise it and provide only two points of contact.
Now the arm. This is a unipivot and is designed using Lurne's purist approach based on the idea of a 'perfect mass', a concept he's championed for over 30 years. This I will skim over for the moment as Pierre Lurne has promised an interview on this, but by having the centre of gravity only just below (and a little ahead to give downforce) the stylus/pivot axis and a straight arm with mass arranged symmetrically around it, the result is that the arm requires the same force to deflect it in any direction. With a low centre of gravity such as with the Kuzma or Hadcock (and many other) arms, when the arm has to rise to clear a warp the centre of gravity must be raised through a much greater arc, thus increasing tracking force at the worse possible moment, it also acts as a pendulum with its own resonance. Likewise with such a 'perfect mass' the arm can be deflected left and right with equal force - important with eccentric records (all of them). In fact in philosophy it's as far from the Kuzma as it is possible to get with a unipivot..
Item
Included
Original Box
No
Manual
No
Remote
Not Applicable
Cables
Yes - Power
Physical Condition
7
Working Condition
10
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PURCHASING GUIDELINES:
We do not accept or review any offers that do not go through the official eBay system. We have too many items for sale and it’s nearly impossible to keep track of offers outside of the official system. Please don’t message, email, or text any offers.
TRADE IN POLICY:
We accept trade-ins of equal or lesser value under certain conditions. Please visit our website to submit your gear for full consideration. We will only consider high-end equipment from mainstream manufacturers such as McIntosh, Mark Levinson, Audio Research, Krell, etc. and will typically pass on displays, projectors, receivers, dated surround processors, and mid-fi equipment of any type. We will offer a fair value for your equipment, but keep in mind we’re running a business and will need to be able to resell the equipment at a profit after investing a great deal of time and resources in testing, certifying, repairing, cleaning, and packaging the incoming equipment. If you’re looking for top dollar, we suggest selling direct on your own.
SELL US YOUR GEAR (Working or Broken):
We’ll also purchase your used or broken gear and arrange pickup if you’re in our local market. Simply visit our website to submit your gear for full consideration.
SCHEDULING AN APPOINTMENT:
We are currently operating from our shop inside our dedicated building in Glen Rock, NJ. You’re welcome to make an appointment if there’s a piece of equipment you’d like to see in operation before or after purchase. We have several well-equipped and dedicated listening areas, plus a dedicated listening studio with tons of equipment of all makes and models. We’re not a store, so please don’t make an appointment if you’re just curious as to how a speaker or piece of equipment sounds. In essence - no tire kickers please.
You can message us here on eBay with any questions or to schedule an appointment. We can also arrange to install, calibrate, and tune your newly purchased gear in your listening room if you’re local to our area. This is super useful when purchasing large speakers or heavy amplifiers. It’s also great for ensuring your new turntable is setup correctly in its final resting place.
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