Well, doing as I do, several months ago while enjoying listening to my system, I was also thinking about the next upgrade. Where’s the weak link in the current system? What’s going to give me the biggest bang for the buck if I make a replacement? It’s always been part of the process for me. That, and instigators like David and Kevin, who are always happy to “help” with suggestions for the next piece of gear. I believe it was David that suggested the Spiral Groove when he learned that I was considering a replacement for my VPI Prime – which was actually a great recommendation!
Always it’s best to be able to listen to something in your system in your room before making a final decision. But sometimes that’s just not an option and you need to take a leap of faith hoping that the reviews you’ve read translate to your room. That’s what I did with the Spiral Groove and I couldn’t be happier that I did. Note: I, along with a number of SFAS members were able to hear the Spiral Groove Revolution at the January, 2019 Phono Stage shootout event (
https://sanfranciscoaudiophilesociety.com/event-write-ups/phono-stage-shoot-out-january-26-2019/).
The Spiral Groove is amazing. I bought it on Audiogon as a SG 2 with the Spiral Groove Centroid arm and in that configuration, it was immediately and noticeably better than the VPI Prime. More solid, awesome bass, three dimensional, smoother yet revealing and most of all quiet – spookily quiet. On a record in good condition, there is virtually no surface noise – it was a revelation to me. After owning the SG 2 for about a month, I had Allen Perkins upgrade to the 2.2 (https://www.facebook.com/SpiralGroove) before he moved to Wisconsin which was a very worthwhile upgrade. New platter, spindle and feet improved everything. With a relatively small footprint (approx. 18” x 15” x 7”), the SG2.2 is quite massive, weighing in at nearly 70 lbs.\
Allen’s attention to detail is supremely evident in this turntable. His focus on minimizing any sources of vibration, instability and noise allows his turntables to extract as much information as possible from the record grooves without adding any additional deleterious noise resulting in a truly amazing sounding turntable.
If you find one, I’d highly recommend giving it a try!