[Pseudocarp]

Looking to buy a used WT Amadeus and have found a GT and and GTA for sale. Has anyone heard them head to head as I was wondering whether the GTA was worth the extra £500?

Thanks

[rob400]

Threadkiller (Charlie) is the man to ask here. Both great decks for sure.

[threadkiller]

Hardly the expert- what's a GT?   

[rob400]

Hardly the expert- what's a GT?   

It's a turntable that's almost as good as a Versalex 

[Pseudocarp]

I think that the difference is with the plinth. The GTA is sandwiched aluminium whereas the GT was a slightly earlier version and the plinth is made from acrylic.

[bernie_f]

Hi.
What about mine?

http://www.audio-markt.de/_markt/item.php?id=5878102228&

Have a nice day anyway
Bernie

[threadkiller]

Oh, you mean the Original Amadeus? The wonderful? Better than the Versalex?
Now I remember...gee, it's all coming back to me...

The GTA has perhaps a tad more bass due to its material, that's all, and only slightly.
Oh, and a black ball.

The new Amadeus will have the Symmetrtex arm, or whatever the new stupid name is. It could be better, Firebaugh redesigned the pivot point.  To improve tracking. Haven't compared yet.  The new arm can be retrofitted to older models.

[threadkiller]

Bernie, your table is great! Plus I see you have the Auditorium mat.  Good deal!

[Pseudocarp]

Hmmm, the pictures show it with a black ball. Reading the below I get the impression the GT became between the original and the GTA

The original Amadeus has enjoyed subtle revisions and upgrades and now with the introduction of the Symmetrex tonearm is officially MK2 . The better Amadeus GT has morphed into the GTA version - the acrylic plinth being replaced by a more massive and seriously engineered composite aluminium version.

Source:
http://totallywired.co.nz/welltempered.html

Apologies for the seeming delay in my replies. They have to be moderator approved before they get posted. I have another reply where I mention the plinths a couple of posts up.

The

[threadkiller]

Bah!

[bernie_f]

Hi.
NO Auditorium-mat (i have one at home just for having a try). It is the original plastic mat that came with the early production batches. They then changed it to a flat foam version. The early version sounds superior imho, but tends to stick to the records if they are left on the platter for some hours.

take care
Bernie

[threadkiller]

I know, I know.  Either Auditorium is preferable to the plastic sheet. I have that, too.
Nichts gut.

[Erocka2000]

I think what I have is referred to as the GTAa which has a plinth that's one layer aluminum, one layer acrylic.

[Pseudocarp]

After a bit of digging I've found this review of the GT.

As well as the Amadeus GT under test there is also a non-GT version, which sells for around £500 less. I asked the UK  importer what differentiated the two models and he told me, with remarkable forthrightness, that the performance of the two turntables was identical as far as he could discern but that the GT had a classier-looking finish.

Source: http://welltemperedlab.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/hifi66-amadeus.pdf

Putting this together with ThreadKillers comparison of the GTa and original I'm guessing I can conclude that it's slightly weaker on the bass compared with the GTa but not so much that I should let this worry me.

I do have one other question based on the article though as it says,

The only drawback I found with the power supply, however, was that even having the unit connected to the mains was sufficient to dull and smear the sound of the rest of my system. Both my CD and HD players sounded bloated and lacklustre with the supply plugged into the mains. Thankfully, the offending item can be replaced for little expense: you can pick up a linear multi-voltage 1.2A regulated power supply, such as the one I used, for under £20 that does not degrade the performance of the turntable nor the rest of the system. If you replace this item, though, do make sure that you avoid switched-mode or poorly regulated devices at all costs.

Could someone explain exactly what the issue is here and has anyone had a problem with this?

Thanks

[threadkiller]

In Britain in particular, where they have wonky electrical problems, the supplied wall wart was causing ac problems. The importers of both US and Britain have changed that and included different wall warts, so that's no longer an issue.  Older posts can be ignored.

The Amadeus still rules, though the GTA looks flashier.  With the mk2 coming with new arm, we'll see.
The new GTA will have the LTD arm- as Joan Rivers says- bleh..

[Erocka2000]

So am I the only one who has the hybrid half aluminum, half acrylic plinth?

[threadkiller]

It's not half and half, it's sandwiched in between... Look closer.
You have a GTA.

[vortrex]

So am I the only one who has the hybrid half aluminum, half acrylic plinth?

My GTA was like yours, half and half.

[Erocka2000]

It's not half and half, it's sandwiched in between... Look closer.
You have a GTA.

I'm not sure about that. If you look at my pics, you can see the two layer plinth. The top layer is aluminum (or some type of metal) and the bottom layer is a piece of acrylic.

[threadkiller]

Does your top plinth layer feel a tad grainy? And is your ball black?