Initial Impressions of Music Hall MMF 5.1

[frenchmon]

I have heard several ProJect Expression tables in great length. They are wonderful tables at their price point, the Carbon arm is an absolute joy to listen to and brings life out of any cart I've heard on it.

I recently did a shoot out with an Expression Mahogany and the new 1.3 Genie. They both had the same cart and the Expression was so much more musical with better imaging and staging. Blew the Genie out of the water frankly, which was dissapointing for me as I wanted the Genie to be better.

My local shop deals Pro-Ject and has for years. Any idle afternoon I have, if the wifey is out with the kids, I can spend it there listening to gear. They have several rooms which mimic a real room in a home, of course the amplification is always super hifi...

The rooms are viewable in the "Store Tour"

http://www.targethifi.com/

Thanks PoppaC. I plain on making it my next table. Do you mean the Xperience Classic? If so that table cost $1499 while the Genie is $499 and the Xpression lll is $699. I would think both would be an upgrade from the Genie 1.3

What I have heard is the the Xpression lll is basically the same as the Music Hall 5.1 with a few trade offs. While the 5.1 has better isolation and two plinths...the Xpression has a quieter motor and better arm and a cheaper price. I dont know how true that is but thats what I heard. But to me they seem to be two different tables altogether.

I will try and get pictures up tomorrow.

[02audionoob]

Thanks PoppaC. I plain on making it my next table. Do you mean the Xperience Classic? If so that table cost $1499 while the Genie is $499 and the Xpression lll is $699. I would think both would be an upgrade from the Genie 1.3

What I have heard is the the Xpression lll is basically the same as the Music Hall 5.1 with a few trade offs. While the 5.1 has better isolation and two plinths...the Xpression has a quieter motor and better arm and a cheaper price. I dont know how true that is but thats what I heard. But to me they seem to be two different tables altogether.

...and don't forget the platter is different, too. These really are two very different turntables. It sounds like the only thing that's the same is where they're made.

If I had a choice between the two, I would take the Xpression based on the arm's value and sound. You can always isolate the table with DIY tricks or after market products. The dual plinth of the Music Hall is indeed great, but not enough to trade off a better arm IMO.

I think each person just has to hear one and see what he thinks. I tend to agree on the importance of the arm, but there's synergy that some turntables have and some don't.