Audiophilepure

Charisma Audio Musiko Turntable

I can’t recall that listening with the Kronos Sparta was any more fun than listening with the Musiko, but then, my entire rig has come a long way since those days. Just switching from the complex ritual of cueing up a record on my hot-rodded LP12 with its mandatory periphery ring and heavy record weight to the simplicity of the Musiko (which didn’t get significantly better with a periphery ring), was value-added not just in dollars, but in serenity. No more Zen, no more mantra. The honor of the “biggest pain” is now bestowed upon getting the LP back in the sleeve.

If you’re stepping up from a Rega P3 or a Project Debut Pro you will have no idea of what I’m talking about here. You’ll just feel like the richest kid on the block with your new Musiko.

I had asked Bernard not to tell me the price of the table to give my mind free rein on assessing its value. I strongly suspected when listening to the first song with the Musiko that I would buy it. It was that dramatic of an improvement over what I was using. As I spent more time with it, I came to the conclusion, based on its sonic performance that the turntable alone would cost about $8000 to $8500 with a package deal with the Musiko tonearm coming in at just under $10,000. When I learned he was offering the turntable (without an arm) for $2995, I felt secretly embarrassed. But embarrassment is just a feeling, so I share it with you willingly because it conveys the value. It is a very fair price, if not an outright steal!

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