Operation
Really pretty simple – turn on the compressor, wait a minute or two, turn on the motor. Place the record on the platter and manually press it flat, tighten the record clamp and you're ready. Damping can be adjusted during play, all other adjustments cannot.


Sound
My comments here are all by way of comparison to my VPI-IV/Graham 2.0 combination, which I loved and lived with in various upgrade stages for almost 7 years. As to the sound? We are talking an order of magnitude better than the VPI. The solidity of the images is simply amazing. In a darkened room, the sound emerges from blackness with rock-solid specificity. With proper tuning and tweaking, you get an enormous 3-dimensional picture with front-to-back depth better than I have ever heard. Pitch stability matches that of CDs. Wow and flutter simply don't exist, hence it's no surprise that the Walker produces unwavering images. Strings and flutes are exceptionally pure and sweet, like real music. The soundstage is stable and transparent, dynamics expanded and 'faster' than over the VPI but without any grain or glare.


Individual instruments became more defined. The soundstage truly floated in the room, seemingly removed from the physical speakers, which at times appear to disappear despite their considerable size. The only area where digital exceeded my previous vinyl performance was in bass detail and extension. The Walker now makes me question that assumption. I am hearing low-frequency information that I didn't know existed on my records. Try listening to Duets with Rob Wassermann. The clarity and precision of the plucked strings is amazing. What used to be somewhat blurred notes are now distinct. Whether it was understated bass textures, the booming bass lines of The Firebird, or smashing opening thumps of Neil Diamond's America, the Walker never fails to deliver both subtlety and extension - and I thought the Graham was good. The table with its air suspension, lead platter and massive
construction seems to dissipate any airborne vibrations which are thrown at it. Bass-intensive records at rock-concert levels are shrugged off with no effect on detail retrieval, soundstage stability or resolution. Possibly because of room acoustics, soundstage depth in my room has always been slightly shallow. It is now subjectively doubled. There is almost an uncanny ability to hear the original recording reverberations and decays when playing non-multi-miked recordings. There is information wedded to a musical rightness that I have just never heard in my records before the Walker.


The system is dead quiet and music literally rises from a jet-black background. There are times that one could forget listening to vinyl because it's that quiet. Not that the Walker sounds the least bit digital; but depending on the record, one obtains a similar level of superior noise floor and perceived S/N ratio. Dynamics are not just good, they are outstanding. I've owned this system for three years now and I am still startled at times by this dynamic explosiveness on the right record.


The table's soundstaging ability is its most outstanding achievement in my book. I'm a sucker for great soundstaging and the Walker has it in spade. Sheer size of width and depth just blows away my VPI, which was no slouch in this area. The Walker table also has the extraordinary ability to distinguish between the sounds of every recording. This resolving power to dig deeply into the grooves allows you to hear characteristics of not just the music but the recording process as well. Whatever is on the record is and however it was put there is delivered with an honesty that's seemingly devoid of euphonic colorations. The table delivers the subtle nuance of a string quartet Adagio to the dynamic power of a full orchestra con fuoco or the raw energy of Rock'n'Roll. Prior to the Walker, as passages became complex and louder, the sound became compressed and congested. Continuous definition became lost during complex crescendos at times.


Visitors who've heard my system with the Walker -- and regardless of associated electronics and speakers -- are almost universally stunned, often sitting in silence well after the music has stopped. The musical image is presented with a suchness that at times still stuns me. The midrange is transparent and neutral, frequency extremes are endless, grainless and perfectly intelligible. The overall range is well balanced, with the table/arm combo favoring no single frequency range over any other. Do not infer that the VPI/Graham wasn't an excellent system. If I had never experienced the Walker, I could have lived happily with the VPI forever. It's just that the Walker, to these humble ears, is significantly better.

Competition
When I bought the Walker, I considered the Clearaudio Reference as well. It's tough evaluating the merits of turntables in unknown systems. I wish I could have performed a side-by-side shoot out but I doubt that few people outside of The Absolute Sound ever had them both in a controlled setting. However, a Clearaudio dealer heard my turntable and was very impressed, stating that it was among the best he has ever heard. I did have concerns about the reliability of the Clearaudio Reference and the amount of work required to really get it to 'sing'. As to the Rockport, I cannot imagine that the sound is three times better based on price but this is only a guess. Perhaps Stereophile's Michael Fremer will test the Walker some day.


There is one other factor that weighed in on my decision process. Although I never did audition the Rockport, people whose ears and systems I trust claim it to be an absolutely amazing device - a technological tour de force with spectacular sound and features. My concern was over the nature and size of these builders. I have to assume that both Rockport and Walker are relatively small operations. What happens if 10 years from now, Andy Payor and Lloyd Walker both retire to a South Pacific Island? If their respective tables undergo serious failings, which would I want to own at that point? This question reaffirmed my Walker decision - not that I could have afforded the Rockport anyway. The Walker employs only two major mechanical parts that could conceivably fail and disable it - the compressor and the drive motor. Both are commercially available so this table should, theoretically, be easy to keep in working condition for my grandchildren 50 years from now.


Maintenance
Aside from a few basic chores, the system requires relatively little routine maintenance. Condensate water from the pump/filter system must be emptied monthly. Allocate about 10 seconds to this task. Compressor oil needs bi-annual checking. (It does seem a little odd to buy Mobil 1 motor oil for your turntable.) The air-bearing arm is completely self-cleaning. There really is very little upkeep for such a complex beast.


Quibbles /Weaknesses
Except for the discussion of price, the overall quibbles are minor:

Price
On an absolute basis, one might say that I am crazy. But compared to what you're actually getting as a completely thru-engineered mechanical system plus the quantum-leap improvement in sound, it actually might be a decent value for the money.

VTA
Admittedly, the Graham's ability to adjust VTA during play has spoiled me. I know Walker's position on the detrimental effects of VTA during play (see Q&A for more on this), but boy was the Graham system easy to use.

Cueing
Again, the Graham really spoiled me. Its silky-smooth damped cueing was a delight. I would lower the cueing lever, the needle would slowly drift down and I could be comfortably seated by the time the music began. The Walker lets the needle descend at the speed of your lowering the cueing lever. That has taken some getting used to. Also, a screw on the cueing mechanism came loose once, with the arm coming down unexpectedly to bounce the needle across the record. Argh! A simple tightening solved the problem for good but from a convenience standpoint, I'd take the Graham's cueing any day.

Platter rotation
Sometimes you have to start the platter spinning with your finger. Not so much a quibble as an idiosyncrasy.

Pump on/off
I forgot to turn off the air pump on several occasions. Late at night, off to bed after a few glasses of wine, I'd sometimes awaken like a woman who has left the stove on. I'd trudge into the basement to switch off the pump since it wasn't designed to be left on continuously. Such are the trial and tribulations of an audiophile's life.

Cartridge Alignment
Again, there is nothing like the Graham's see-through plastic alignment jig but I bet that the Wally system is more accurate. Alas, that's not scientific and just a guess on my part.

Tweakability
A knock against the Walker -- courtesy of Harry Pearson -- is that it can be tweaked to almost any sound and therefore does not have a sound of its own - therefore how do you review it? But then, is a table supposed to have a sound of its own? He is correct in that pressure settings, VTA, VTF, azimuth, center of gravity, damping, belt tension and resonance control all have an audible effect on the sound. It is an interesting philosophical debate but I can just as readily side with Walker's assertion that unless a table offers adjustments over all its mechanical parameters, it can never be optimized for best performance. And so every turntable and arm has adjustments. The fact that the Walker has more than others is relatively meaningless to me in terms of usage. It is easy to use and I am finding new and ongoing enjoyment from rediscovering all my old and newer records. As the overall resolution of my system has increased, so has my appreciation for the adjustability of the Walker. This table is such a remarkably accurate device that I am finding out how the slightest adjustments (we're talking VTF adjustments of a few 10,000th of an inch) do matter. Walker gives you the adjustability of all other tables plus several more. I have grown to appreciate these when it comes to dialing it in for optimal performance and different records.


Reliability
As I've said before and after owning it for three years, there isn't much that can go wrong with this turntable. Marble, lead, brass and carbon fiber don't break easily. Short of replacing the silk belt -- due to my own stupidity of leaving the motor on after the air supply was shut down -- and tightening one screw on the cueing lever, nothing has gone awry with the table. This thing is completely stable and reliable. Like the Energizer Bunny, it just keeps running and running.


Summary
Prior to the arrival of the Walker, I never truly appreciated the importance of the turntable in the musical chain. To me it was speakers, amps, cartridge, preamp and turntable - in that order. Lloyd Walker has caused me to completely rethink my priorities. With the possible exception of the speakers, the Walker turntable is the most important component in my system and certainly the finest source component I have ever heard. This magnificent beast is built like a tank and from the finest parts and materials and delivers more music from my vinyl than one could possible imagine. Simply put, my analog quest is over.