Simon Yorke S8

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mtbguy68

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Hi all,

I'm looking to auditioning a Simon Yorke S8 turntable but won't be able to go to the dealer until I get back from holidays in a few weeks.

I've hunted around for any information but not a lot on the web. I had a good conversation with Simon Yorke (a very nice guy)regarding the turntable but wanted some initial feedback from some owners prior to my audition.

Are there owners here who maybe able to give some information on their experience and how it sounds against other turntables that they have used in the past. I have a 12 yo NA Mentor at the moment with SME IV arm. My music taste is quite wide but primarily from the 1980s onwards with splattering of jazz and some classical.

Thanks for any comments.
 
According to his website Simon Yorke doesn't make the S8 any more so auditioning one is going to be even more difficult.

http://www.recordplayer.com/en/turntables

I don't think he has made it for some time. Didn't the S7 effectively replace it - and he has now discontinued that.
 
Sorry forgot to mention that the S8 is secondhand. Simon confirmed that they have not made one for a long time now but he said he can confirm the history of it if I get the serial number from the dealer.

As it is very rare It was a longshot looking fr someone who have extensive experience compared to their other decks. May have to wait a few weeks to satisfy my curiosity.

thanks for the links.
 
Ah...I see - all has become clear, you have already located a dealer with an S8 (well done that man). I've only ever seen one a couple of times so can't be of any actual help - sorry.
 
My friend has one - an S8 with the cello custom power supply - so its somewhat better than the standard s8. He uses it with a brinkmann modified breuer 5 arm and an ortofon kontrapunkt b. I myself have also heard the S7. Its my 2nd favourite deck after the brinkmann lagrange that I ended up buying. The yorke might be slightly better for jazz but the BLG is better for rock classical and acoustic. What is the rest of the system and what arm and cartridge does it have fitted?
 
No choosing involved. Each deck has strengths and weaknesses and different types of music are more or less prone to showing up each weakness. For example a deck with flabby bass might well play choral music quite well but be useless at reggae. The s8 has exceptional timing and so is very good for jazz.
 
"Timing" (whatever that means) is more important for Jazz than for any other sort of music? Curiouser & curiouser, as Alice said.

I think you might be trying too hard. What are the Brinkmann's weaknesses, in your opinion? "Timing"?
 
Timing is important for all music Bub however subtle jazz timing inflections are some of the hardest for a turntable to reproduce. Its a stern test and the yorke passes it better than most. Its slightly more laid back style also suits jazz. The brinkmanns main weakness is a slight colouration in the treble due to the arm resonance which adds a little bite in the treble. The brinkmann also plays jazz very well but some people may prefer the yorke on that genre. Other examples would be the amazon reference - not that great on rock but very good for acoustic and classical, or the sme which has similiar qualities - or the avid which is great for rock but not so great for female vocal. Or the lp12 which does nothing well. The Yorke and Brinkmann both play every genre pretty well which IMHO lifts them above these other decks. Given the posters tastes the yorke should suit him ideally.
 
I think I might be inclined to buy a turntable that plays everything well , I have only heard a suspended Yorke it did not impress.
 
brizonbiovizier said:
Timing is important for all music Bub however subtle jazz timing inflections are some of the hardest for a turntable to reproduce. Its a stern test and the yorke passes it better than most. Its slightly more laid back style also suits jazz. The brinkmanns main weakness is a slight colouration in the treble due to the arm resonance which adds a little bite in the treble. The brinkmann also plays jazz very well but some people may prefer the yorke on that genre. Other examples would be the amazon reference - not that great on rock but very good for acoustic and classical, or the sme which has similiar qualities - or the avid which is great for rock but not so great for female vocal. Or the lp12 which does nothing well. The Yorke and Brinkmann both play every genre pretty well which IMHO lifts them above these other decks. Given the posters tastes the yorke should suit him ideally.
Click to expand...

This seems like a pretty fishy set of ideas to me. Did you work them out for yourself? In any event, I agree with coops: I'd prefer my TT to not discriminate between records, which it doesn't appear to do.

Another prominent hi-fi expert told me recently that my system, with the SME, is only fit for "rock music", so it appears that opinions (however barking they may appear) are divided on this one.
 
Actually it does play some genres better than others - as one ex-sme owner whose opinions you used to worship will attest, having sold it to buy a deck that can actually play rock. Try to get out a bit more - last time you blew the cobwebs out you made a big step forward and innumerable other such steps await you
 
No-one whose opinions about hifi I really value has ever owned an SME deck*. Strange. One of them has posted in this thread, though.

I really don't buy into the "good for this, bad for that" thing about hifi. For a start, how do you define "jazz", "classical" or "acoustic"? What is "rock", and does it all sound the same? A turntable is only a machine.





* Edit: Just remembered Martin.
 
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I have played around with a couple of Simon Yorkes and they are very good turntables. The best thing is to take a few of your records and go and have a listen for yourself.
 

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