Looks great

Unreliable

Let me make this clear. I enjoy the best. I have spent $20,000 on speakers and another $15,000 on electronics. I have easily $15,000 in interconnects. I have been buying high end audio equipment for 35 years.

I have had two Gyrodec turntables - the most recent with an SME IV arm.

I consider Gyrodec to be a piece of junk. It was a waste of money. I get better performance from my old Thorens 320 turntable. The Gyrodec spends nearly as much time in the shop as it does being used. My most recent experience cost me $2,500 in repairs - took over 8 hours of my time. I can't afford to spend time with crap.

I'm dumping this POS as soon as feasible.

Fantastic detail from ones recordings.
Shows up vocal weaknesses.
Produces a very open and expansive soundstage.
Great timing.
Doesn't need to be serviced regulary.

Needs a good stable platform.

Before I purchase the Michell Gyrodec I owned a budget Dual 503-2 which was my first ever record deck and i was quite content with it. But after a few years of listening to it, it just didn't sound exciting as I would have liked.
My dealer advised me to try the legendary Michell Gyrodec with Rega RB300 Tonearm and Goldring GX1012 cartridge. Well what can I say as soon as that needle gently dropped on to the record I was sold. The sound that i can only explain as fast, detailed, smooth with a big open soundstage. It was far far superior to my Arcam CD72T I just could not believe that records could sound that good.
Not only was it the sound that amazed me, it was also the build and engineering of the record deck. It was solid and not made out of your usual MDF rubbish. It was made out of beautiful perspex, metal, vinyl and those brass hyptnotic weights that when the turtable begins to revolve it is just fantastic to stare at.
I have now owned my Michell Gyrodec for 8 years now, and it still hasn't given me any problems. That proves how reliable the Gyrodec is compared to the Linn Condek, sorry that's Sondek that needs annual servicing to keep it sounding at its best. So far the only thing I did was replace the rubber belt which was beginning to perish, that stylus and I also purchased a Michell QC Power Supply on Ebay which tightened up the bass no end and also made it the sound much faster and excitng. Sorry I almost forgot, also the speed changing is now at the flick of a switch instead of swapping the belt over to the smaller pulley of the motor.

very rythymic, excellent bass, tracks perfectly

none

This is my second Gyrodec. My first was one of the original gyros, but the motor died after about 10 years and I had purchased it second hand. My new Gyrodec SE sounds much better than my old one (maybe it is the Sumiko 4.Vi arm?), I really can't nail down where the diffences came from as I changed the arm and table at the same time. Have yet to hear a turntable that I like more (not to say that there are no better ones but this is my personal best).

We use our Gyrodec with a SME IV and an Ortofon Kontrapunct b, I think this must be a good combination as we can totally forget about equipment and just concentrate on the music, it sounds as close to live as we have ever heard.

What weaknesses?

I have one of the very early Gyrodecs, aluminium platter and flat feet. My wife and I bought it many years ago for both its sound and build quality. Recently we considered having it updated and upgraded but the general advice we had from dealers was to trade it in and buy a new one. I contacted J A Michell Engineering Ltd and found them very helpful and subsequently took the turntable there and discussed what was available. We opted for a new stand alone DC motor with HR power supply, new bearing with Orbe spindle, new springs, exchange base board, Orbe clamp and Orbe type chassis damping. My wife preferred the look of the aluminium platter to the current one so this was retained with Michell's full approval. The work was completed in a week and the cost was considerably less than a trade in and replacement. Well done J A Michell Engineering Ltd!

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None really, it's like a cross between a Swiss watch and a tank

Looks great in the listening room - playing or not. Timing. Image location. Musicallity (tempered with actuality). A very revealing source. I have just bought a Sony 40XBR800 TV and it does the same to video. I have yet to hear a CD sound as good as good as the best turntable - but then I have yet to hear a $70K CD setup. (no I didn't own it). The Gyrodec with an RB-300 is a huge bargin.

Records deteriorate and must be kept clean. Lack of supply (got to be honest). It's a turntable.

Wonderful sound. I am reasonably immune to surface noise if the music grabs me - and with the Gyrodec it usually does. My Audiophile friends sometimes used to get together with various pieces of equipment for "evaluation". We always ended up with "Bop City" by Ben Sidran on the Gyrodeck for the ultimate source. There is a HUGE 'CRACK' at the beginning of the track on my copy - then you forget you are in Analogue land and just enjoy the music. VERY very good.

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Rega Planar 2,3. Listened to some of the Worlds best. (I have friends with much more money than me!)

Design,build quality far above price,superb sound from good condition vinyl.

Just the vinyl format,which isn't a fault of the gyrodeck.

Bought this deck to replace an old Dual cs505,as i have inherited a lot of classical lp's,and they were just gathering dust and not being played. Build quality is top notch,and design looks simple,but is ingenious and well executed.Mine has the Rega RB300 arm,with an Ortofon MC25fl cartridge.Deck is powered by Michell VC power supply. After being used to superb sound from my Meridian 588 cd (see Review)it reminded me how highly strung the vinyl format can be,what with surface noise,warped records,and a congestion in sound towards the end of many records,however,on mint or good condition pressings of well recorded music,when all the elements fall in place,the sound is entrancing via the Gyro deck. Music flows convincingly across a wide soundstage,imaging,slam,dynamics,etc are all there.I have a couple of mint lp's,Dire Straits,On every street,and Mike OLdfield's,Tubular Bells2,which i also have on cd,and replay is very similar to that of the Meridian588,which i consider very neutral,bass is good,snare drums snap thrillingly,on a good recording,there seems to be just that bit more air than cd can muster.All in all gyrodeck is recommended. System: Michell gyrodeck with VC power supply Rega RB300 arm and Ortofon MC25fl cartridge Trichord Dino phono amp Trichord Dino+ power supply Chord CPA2200 pre amp Chord SPM600 power amp Chord co odyssey speaker cables B&W Nautilus 803 speakers All except power amp,powered from PS audio P300 powerplant.

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Dual CS505,Thorens TD125?

Beautiful music full of detail, life, and emotion. Digs out ALL the information.

Setup is a bit challenging as the suspension can make mounting cartridges a bit of a pain.

What can I say but wow! This turntable destroyed the Linn LP12 (a full blown one with Lingo, Ekos, and Arkiv II cartridge no less)and only much more expensive ones from Clearaudio and Transrotor sounded comparable...not better but comparable. I am sold on Michell as the engineering is simple and makes perfect mechanical sense. This is reflected in the beautiful sound this table makes. I will someday upgrade the power supply to the new HR for my DC motor and maybe the Orbe upgrade kit as well...or I will just get an Orbe but I will never sell my Gyrodec SE. I love it!

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Linn, Kuzma, Transrotor, Clearaudio, etc.

Cool looks, very neutral sound that competes with the best regardless of price if tweaked and set up with fanatical care.

Requires some tweaking to get the best out of it.

I replaced a VPI/RB300/Benz L2 combo with the Gyro SE/SME 309 and retained my Benz L2. Overall, the Gyro was a significant improvement over the VPI especially in the areas of inner detail, taughtness of bass, imaging and clarity. Some of the difference may be due to the better arm. I found a couple of things that can improve on the Gyro sound. 1. Place the turntable on a stable, acoustically inert surface, preferrably not wood. I use a 1.5 inch thick acrylic slab which works very well. Marble or granite may work even better. 2. Remove the spring covers and wrap surgical cotton around the springs and then re-install the covers. This dampens the spring action and removes much of the inherent vibration. The result is astounding!!! Performance improves to an unbelievasble degree. Better soundstage and vastly improved rhythm and pace. Improved imaging in the sense that singers and featured performers move farther toward the front and become more distinct from their accompanying musicians. Amazing! 3. Make sure that the motor pulley and the groove in the platter are at exactly the same level. If they are not, the belt will not ride parallel to the platter, inducing friction related vibration as the belt slips against the grove in the platter. It really does make a difference in clarity, inner detail and microdynamics.

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VPI HW MKIII

Too many

None at the price

Mine is the latest Se edition. I use it with Van Den Hul MC 10 Special cartridge and Rega RB 300 and Electrocompaniet ECP1 phono stage. Sounds wonderful. My cd is now full of dust. Big difference in bass and treble. Retrospectively, I feel sorry for living the last 10 years without a turntable. It took me 3 hours to assebly but afterwards was all roses. I think it is a relative good value too. I won'' t keep going, becouse it''s all raccomendations.

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Dual clone, Rega Planar 3, Rega Planar 25

Great Detail, easy setup.

Gawdy looks won't go with many tastefull decors. However it will work nicely hidden away in a cabinate. Boring sound.

This table arrives very well packaged by mail and must be assembled. The instructions are clear and setup is a breeze. I ordered mine with an SME V tonearm and a Benz Glider cartridge. The turntable Mfg suggests this as a near ideal combination. After turning it on I was initially impressed but it did not take long to realize that this table is just another in a long series of LP12 wannabes gone awry. It is dry to the point of madness. I think some uninformed listeners feel that this is a neutral presentation however I fear that it is just lifeless. Music is not recorded this poorly.

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Linn LP12, BASIS 1400