So I got me an Amadeus, and sold my Simplex to a first-time table owner who's about to get his mind blown...
What do I hear so far from the WTA? Awesome music from a looker of a table!
Again, as I recalled from listening to both these tables at dealer's shops, the WTA has a smidge fuller and more extended bass, sounds a bit more authoritative, and the soundstage is bit more enveloping. My recollections were spot-on, though I wasn't positive if the various carts and amplification systems might have contributed to the differences, rather than the tables themselves. Just mounting one cart so far, the sonics seem exactly as I remembered.
In my own place, running the Shelter 501 mkII with an Auditorium 23 black mat. In addition to the sonic differences noted above I also notice that the Shelter has less tracking-related issues than with the Simplex, using the standard 19 degree alignment. The Shelter carts reproduce piano very well, and the WTA adds slightly more weight/body to balance the resolution of the 501, again compared to the Simplex (as well as my memory of the Audiomods arm) - this is a very good thing with the 501. The Simplex's shorter arm might have a smidge more speed/PRAT, but the WTA arm is no less coherent, and has other qualities I like (see below).
With the Simplex, using an A23 mat and Herbie's turntable footers added a 3D quality and a bit more clarity to the sound and imaging. With the WTA, the stock squash ball feet already have a good overall balance, and adding the aftermarket footers draw out more of the midrange and lower treble, adding a more upfront, spatially-enhanced presentation that is just a little better than stock - the perception is lower noise floor and higher resolution than stock. I'll probably continue to play with this. I have the table sitting on 1" mdf shelving "sandwich", with rubber crumb sheets on 3" resinated bamboo cutting board between the mdf to damp train vibrations in a CLD configuration. I've played around with a lot of different material for my turntable shelving due to the nearby train, and both the stock WTA feet and Herbie's feet are relatively sonically immune to the material they are placed upon.
The WTA setup seems to be a bit easier than the Simplex, but perhaps this is because I've already cut my teeth on the smaller table and already am familiar with the WTL idiosyncracies. Tracking (again) seems improved, likely due to the longer arm and increased effective mass - no IGD to speak of. Speed stability seems a little better, but I've only had it a day (and truth be told, whenever the speed would go wonky on my Simplex, I knew the belt would be breaking soon). Build quality is better than the Simplex (with caveats below). The squash ball feet do not seem unevenly compressed, unlike with the Simplex. Some people have commented on the improved ease in handling the WTA arm vs. the Simplex - I don't necessarily consider one better or worse. You get used to either one and don't worry about the other. I like the feel of the WTA parts a bit better overall, but the Simplex, while obviously lower cost, get the job done just as effectively if not as pretty.
Caveats: The WTA has added hum to the system that wasn't present before. I had to switch to another power supply I had lying around. The plinth has a rough texture, and will be harder to keep clean than the Simplex's smoother, shinier finish. The mini-DIN connector has a less positive, looser connection compared to the Simplex. Given the dimensions of the table, I will have to make a dustcover to reduce maintenance needs (no big deal).
More later as I optimize the setup...
