The Serac is designed by Thom Mackris of Galibier Audio. Thom was one of the founders of the Teres Project, and was involved in Redpoint Audio before founding Galibier. The Teres tables started out priced affordably, but escalated rapidly. Redpoint was always expensive. So were the top tier Galibier, but Thom released the Serac as a way to keep high performance analog playback within reach.
The Serac shares many of the same parts as its more expensive brethren. It was the same bearing as the Stelvio, the same motor, and the same controller board. The places where the cost savings measures were implemented are as follows. A 4" thick machined piece of PVC is used for the platter. This was a hold over from early Redpoint experiments, it sounds great but looks a bit industrial. The motor pod is a round polished cylinder instead of the facted one of the Stelvio. And its a bit lighter. The base is made from a 4 inch stack of MDF versus the machined aluminum. But the Serac was discontinued because it just became too expensive to build over time, as the machining costs of the platter and bearing continued to rise, as did the cost of the motor housing.
In 2015 Thom revised the motor to a more robust Maxxon, and updated the speed control circuit. This was a $1200 upgrade, which has been installed in this table. This is a DC motor and I use an automotive jump pack to provide battery power and charging. It works nicely, and it can be placed a decent distance away from the table.
I am going to include a SOTA S202 tone arm. Thi is a current product on SOTA's line up, and sells for $400 currently. This is a modified Rega RB202, which has had improved internal dampening, and a composite head shell structure. Also the external wiring has been upgraded, and higher quality RCA ends installed.
Wait there is more! I am also adding on a Pete Riggle VTAF, which gives you on the fly VTA adjustment for the Rega. As many know, the stock Rega has no option for VTA adjustment, but now that is not the case. The VTAF sells for $199 factory direct.
Serac originally $3300
motor upgrade $1200
SOTA arm $400
VTAF $200
Total $6100
Sell for $2200 plus shipping plus 3.3% if Paypal
Thom Mackris said that the Serac is 95% of his $10K offering, and has been the best value in his line up. The cost of production stayed too high, and his time was better spent building his higher tier products. So for a reasonable price you get a table that is superior to any table you are going to find at The $5k price range, even used. Sure its not the sexiest looking table out there. But it has the goods under the hood, it has the bearing, platter,motor, and controller of an incredible turntable.
