TechDAS Air Force One

[JoeN]

Originally Posted by jpgr4blu

Congrats Joe. Beautiful system--well balanced. I'd love to hear about the differences between the Techdas and Sikora after you've had a chance to evaluate over time.

Will do. I’m still breaking it in. But in my initial observations I’d say it’s quieter, better bass and midrange, pacing is better, and the sound stage is just amazing - best I’ve heard in a TT. The AF1 is checking all the boxes…

[jpgr4blu]

So far so good. Great to hear because the Sikora is no slouch.

[JoeN]

Originally Posted by jpgr4blu

So far so good. Great to hear because the Sikora is no slouch.

Yes, Sikora is great. I enjoyed it immensely. For the $$$ invested it is one of the best values in TTs. Fantastic bass and smooth operation. A mid range to die for.

IMO Sikora Standard Max compares to some TTs in the 50k plus range (AF3, AVID, Kronos Pro, Kuzma, and some SMEs and VPIs, etc.). It’s excellent. If I had enough space I’d keep it. But I only have space for one at present. And the difference between a 40k set up (w/o carts) and some 130k TTs (w/o carts) is substantial …

[Masterlu]

Joe… you are now a Charter Member of this Elite Club!



“Serious Vinyl Enthusiast”

[JoeN]

Originally Posted by Masterlu

Joe… you are now a Charter Member of this Elite Club!



“Serious Vinyl Enthusiast”

Thanks Ivan for this honoary title. I will cherish it.

I don’t understand why some call Brazilian businessman José Roberto obsessive just because he owns over 8 million records. It sounds reasonable to me

[Formerly YB-2]

Originally Posted by JoeN

I don’t understand why some call Brazilian businessman José Roberto obsessive just because he owns over 8 million records. It sounds reasonable to me

And I'm spending a serious amount of time alphabetizing & cataloging my 900 LPs. José must have a few 'librarians' helping him.

[Decibel Up^]

Wow, huge congratulations!

[JoeN]

Many thanks for all the comments. I’ll write up some notes on what I’m hearing here in a week or so.

[JoeN]

TechDAS Air Force One

As the name implies ‘the first among the first.’ Of course there is the Zero, David’s own AS-2000, etc. so the implication is that the AF1 is among the very best TTs in the world. Indeed it is!

First, my thanks to David Karmeli who flew in from Utah to install our TT. He’s an audiophile’s audiophile an expert’s expert in TTs and audio systems in general. He’s also a lot of fun to be around and to learn from. He’s genuine evidence that the best part of being an audiophile are the friends you make on the journey to audio nirvana.

Second, our goal with this turntable is obtaining absolute clarity and timbral accuracy and pinpoint imaging that I hear in live events. Natural sound as close to live music in my home system as possible. With TechDAS and the Vitus Masterpiece Phono Pre I’ve arrived at this goal.

What about the TT itself?

AF1 Construction:

The AF1 is a marvel in engineering and craftsmanship. Elegant lines and meticulous detail are standard on the AF1. The pump is silent. The table’s design and functionality are simply marvelous. Our TechDAS came with two platters - stainless and aluminum. We use the stainless for the best SQ.

AF1 Highlights:

Air bearing for the platter, air suction for the vacuum hold-down, and air bladders for the suspension system triangulate foot design, resulting in background quietness, excellent dynamic range, and tracking.

AF1 Setup:

David was meticulous at very stage of the AF1 setup. It took a full day spread out over two days to install. What takes the greatest amount of time is getting the SME Tonearms just right. Once properly set up they more than deliver with our Air Tight Opus 1 and MSL Signature Platinum carts.

AF1 Nirvana:

After a few days of listening and fine tuning our new TechDas Air Force One TT, here are my initial listening impressions.

Evaluating the AF1 is very difficult as all you desire to do is listen. I sit here and begin writing and then 10 minutes later realize I haven’t finished a single sentence. I’m in awe - a suspension of disbelief - of the natural sound. The sound is beyond mere words. You have to listen to fully appreciate, but here’s my best attempt:

The AF1 delivers dynamics, energy, detail, and slam! It has an uncolored nature. There’s freedom from resonances. There’s a seamless extended sound. Moreover, there’s convincing spatial information and sense of venue ambience. It’s has the most realistic and convincing vocals I've ever experienced from an analog source.

The AF1 has the ability to draw one front and center into the venue where the music is playing. It does this in a very natural way where one feels as if they are completely part of the original venue. When I hear Bach I sense I’m in Leipzig, Krall live in Paris, Eva Cassidy at Blues Alley, and the Doors at their (arguably) most famous concert at the Hollywood Bowl in CA. TechDas teleports to the venue.

On familiar LPs the groves are displaying many nuances I’ve never heard before. Time seems suspended as you hear so many more details in the grooves. There’s a sense of presence and emotional involvement. Surface noise is nil. No distortion! 3D images are the best I’ve heard and the midrange is astounding. The AF1 has a master tape-like serenity - similar to my friend’s Studer - and yet it seems a cut above even that (his words, not mine).

Though there’s a beautiful collective whole to the sound, each instrument has its own space. So do the vocals. They seem to magically appear and disappear from the immensely vast soundstage without effort. There’s a black curtain behind the sound. The music out of nowhere reaches out and immediately captures and emotionally grabs you. It’s transcendent!

The bass is deeper, tighter, and more linear than other tables I’ve heard. The pace and timing are magical. The overall presentation is full, rich, and naturally detailed. More texture, dimensionality, and clarity than I’ve heard in other TTs. There’s layer after layer of nuance. It's the whole package (table, tonearms, carts, phono-stage), rendering the information in the groves with total and complete resolution. You are immersed in blissful sound.

The sound produced by the TechDAS AF1 is on another level of anything else I’ve ever heard or owned. It’s unbelievable that such a superlative TT could be imagined much less produced. Sonic bliss!

[Masterlu]

Excellent review, thanks!