Detail, imaging, good bass

Not the easiest arm to cue. More surface noise than with top end players

Having emirated to Sydney system-less, I auditioned a few players before coming to the 6.9, all more expensive. Of these, the Perspective was the best, but I had an instant "no" to its sound - similar to that when hearing a Gyrodeck at a show a few years ago, so I blame the perspex...
Most others were either edgy (Rega 3) or smooth to the point of boredom (Thorens decks, Dual 505/4 - I remember the original as better - I'd even classify the Rega 25 as having a tendency in this direction).
The 6.9 managed the same level of detail as the Perspective, with a more natural if slightly bright sound (to my ears) and excellent timing/rhythm; a tunefulness approaching that of a Sondek with good ancillaries. Imaging is solid, something I have always associated with more expensive units. I've certainly found more on my records than with the Axis, my previous unit, particularly the timbre of different accoustic instruments, and the placement of instruments in different baroque ensembles. Bass may be a touch light for rock/reggae listeners but the difference between bass instruments and players is more obvious than with many decks, and I'd include the Sondek (well, the Sondek circa 1987) in that.
I've found two problems. One is the tonearm cueing; the arm sometimes jumps when I first move the cueing arm down, which is disconcerting. The second is surface noise, which is more intrusive than I remember from the Axis or the Sondek. This may be down to VTA, which is adjustable, or the Goldring 1042 cartridge I'm using. Or it may be the effect of a period of being CD-only. It's still listenable, even with very bad records.

In short, this is a bargain. At the price, its real rivals are good second hand examples of much more expensive decks. If you want new, and can still get a 6.9 where you live, go out and listen!

Similar Products Used:

Thorens 166, Trio(Kenwood) 1033, Linn Axis, Linn Sondek

Adjustability by layperson, imaging, bass

surface noise

If you can find one, an excellent, affordable entry to true high end analog

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Ariston Q-Deck

Great sound,very clear and open mids and highs imaging,excellent arm,look

antiskating,bass.needs careful sitting otherwise wow and fluter is listenable

A high-end turnable at an afortable price.
the detail of sound is excellent,the imaging is unbelievable,the arm can handle a lot of high-end cartidges.
Be careful in sitting.Keep it away from speakers and TV,otherwise wow and fluter is listenable.Antiskating is a little nervous to set it corectly.
The best turnable in its price category and far more

Similar Products Used:

Rotel RP-855,Thorens TD-166,Technics SL-1200

I had come to a decision - my one-year old Technics belt-drive turntable had to go. One year may sound like a very short period of time for "turntable turnover", but it was a very busy year, a year in which that turntable went from being the single most expensive individual component in my audio system to being the cheapest. The decision was fueled by the annoying harshness my 'table would exhibit in the treble whenever an orchestra hit a big chord, and further compounded by having auditioned a Music Hall MMF-2 turntable at one point, thus realizing just what vinyl records were capable of.
The Music Hall really didn't cut it in terms of ridding me of that treble blitz, especially on the brass music which is becoming a staple of my collection, so I decided I needed to look higher. Going one step up from the MMF-2 brings you to the ubiquitous $699 Rega Planar 3. Rega is almost universally hailed as the saviour of entry-to-mid-level analog audio. I listened to a Planar 3 on two occasions, and both times I was impressed by the rythmic quickness and punch that the 'table exhibited, but was still left feeling a bit underwhelmed on full orchestral music. I tried moving up still another step, to the $1200-ish VPI HW-19jr, and was still a bit dissapointed. Was I doomed? I really needed to keep my total budget for table and cartridge near $1000.

Enter my white knight - the Sumiko Pro-ject 6.9. The Pro-ject 1 and 6.1 'tables are pretty well known as being, respectively, a great budget table akin to the MMF-2, and a serious contender to the Rega Planar 3 for title of mid-level analog saviour. The Pro-ject 6.9, on the other hand, not only beats the Planar 3 hands down, but can often be found for the same money, which I did in fact.

The key areas in which the 6.9 betters the 6.1 is in the platter and the arm. The 6.1 uses a standard metal/glass/felt platter, while the 6.9 uses a much less resonant metal/acrylic combination. The tonearm on the 6.1 is the same used on both the Pro-ject 1 and the MMF-2. It's a decent arm, but it can't hope to compete with the Rega RB300, a truly excellent arm which is often seen on turntables costing two or three times as much as the Planar 3. The tonearm of the 6.9, on the other hand, is arguably equal in quality to that of the RB300 and has easy-as-pie VTA adjustment as well.

The 6.9 offers several feautures which are key in making it as excellent as it is at this price point. It has a true three-point suspension system to minimize the effect of vibrations on the record/platter/tonearm system. It has a built in record clamp to further stabilize the record. It has very nice cone feet with an excellent leveling system (including built-in spirit level.)

Well, in the end of course, it's the sound that matters. The first record I played after installing the table in my system was Bruce Springsteen's *Tunnel of Love*, the opening track of which has excellent percussion (both bass drum and cymbal) and a rich, harmonious synthesizer riff right off the bat. On my old Technics, this was one of my favorite discs because it managed not to completely suck. With the 6.9, it was absolutely killer. Within about a second my roommate turned to me and said "yeah, that's really, really nice." Okay, then, onto the harder stuff. My Deutche Grammophon/Von Karajan/Berlin Phil. recording of Modest Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition" had given all previous turntables fits with it's acidic brass sections and huge dynamic span. The 6.9 came through, making this disc truly enjoyable to listen to for the first time.

Over the next few weeks, things got even better. Apart from the many people who would stop by my room and say "I thought you were nuts for spending that much on an obsolete peice of equipment, but that sounds really, really cool", the main thing I noticed was a further decrese in treble edge and real increase in bass extension and power as the cartridge (a highly-reccomendable Goldring 1042 moving-magnet type) broke in. Considering my speakers are only rated at -3db@56hz, I was really surprised by the bass performance I was suddenly getting. On complex tracks such as the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra's recording of Ralph Vaughn Williams' "Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis", the string bass pizzicati were fuller, deeper, and more weighty than I've ever heard them.

My reccomendation is clear - if you're limited to less than $1000 for a truly high-end turntable, run, don't walk, away from the Planar 3 and check out the Pro-ject 6.9.

its the nest best of my turntables, the transkriptor skelton whith a formula 4 arm and a koetsu pickup is still better. bout the adders is not so great listenings.

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pinktriangel, goldmund studio, systemdex IIX900, rega plananar 3, transrotor skelton, linn lp 12, oracle delfi

this is a nice turntable for it's price, and you can make it even nicer if you'll follow these steps:
1. drop from your window the interconnect that comes with
the turntable and replace it with "coincident". you'll be shocked! if you don't have the money (300$), buy a "clotz"
wire (around 1$ for 1 M.)AND WELD TO IT "neutriks" plugs (around 4-5 $ for each), so that the interconect will cost you around 20-25$. i assure you that it's better than every interconnect up to 200$, and in some respects it even surpass more expensive interconnects.
2. since the balance weight is "dancing" on the rear arm, take it out,and put "isolerband" round the rear arm.
3. the same with the spikes, they are "dancing" too
(though less than the weight). take them out and put "isolerband" round the screws.

All I can say is - WOW! This turntable is great. These tables were manufactured by Sumiko and distributed through Jerry Raskins Needle Doctor. I found out from them that Sumiko only made 100 of the 6.9's. The 6.9 was manufactured to test the market. Since it did so well, Sumiko is producing its higher volume market version. It will be called the 'Perspective', and it will sell for $1,000.00. So, if you can find one second-hand like I did, I would advise you to grab it.
I was using a Technics SL-3300 previously. It is a very sturdily built diret drive turntable, which is fully automatic. It is a nice table. I was curious as to whether I would really notice a difference between it and the Project 6.9, the Project 6.9 being my first venture into high-end turntables. Again, all I can say is WOW! The staging and presence of the music on the Project 6.9 is astounding. I am only using $70.00 Grado cartridge - and it sounds great. I can't wait until I upgrade to the Ortofon cartridge that Jerry Raskins recommends. I am also considering adding a phono preamp to my system.

Anyway, I am really pleased with this Sumiko product. The used one I acquired had a platter that was not plane, causing a terrible wobble; also, the spirit level was empty. I called Sumiko and they had me return them. They then returned replacement parts for everything I had sent them - for FREE! I was impressed. The bottom line: I acquired a $899.00 Project 6.9 turntable for $395.00 used. Sumiko then ensured that I had what I needed to successfuly enjoy the benefits of the 6.9. Their Customer Service is excellent. This will lead me to Sumiko again, if I ever need another turntable. But the way the 6.9 is sounding, that day will never come.

Because of its sound, and the excellent Customer Support from Sumiko, I can't rate the 6.9 any less than the five stars it easily deserves.

Good luck Sumiko with the 'Perspective'!