3 New UBER Decks - Is this Turntable's SwanSong? 🦢

@rauliruegas , Since our last discussion I have been playing close attention to the centricity of records. It is very disappointing. They also do vary form one side to the other, a lot!  Even such vaunted labels as Analog Production are not well centered. 
I did some research and found this. Go to 8:40   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_GBlzcaWlo
0.2 mm tolerance? My back side. Many records are pressed off by three times as much anyway. I am sure you have seen that. As you see in the video it is due either to operator error or faulty machine calibration which by default is operator error. Every run of records (about 1000) is QCed by pulling a sample and playing it. The QC techs are obviously not paying attention to this. 

Take a test record and with a pointed knife cut away 0.2 mm from one side of the hole and play a 1000 Hz test tone. The tone will wander up and and down. It is painfully obvious to any serious listener. 
I started playing records without looking at the centricity then writing down yes or no next to the title. Yes for concentric, no for out. After 10 records I put them back on the table and gauged their centricity. Picking out continuous notes I was right 8 out of 10 times. I encourage everyone to do this. The only way this will stop is if enough of us complain. There is no excuse not to stay within 0.2 mm. The tech looks at the run out groove under high magnification ( the video shows this!) Either he is off or the Machine is off. Take your pick. Having an accurate turntable does not mean a lot in the face of this type of error. The wow far exceeds the spec of any modern turntable. To gauge centricity draw a black line on a small piece of white paper and place it on the turntable's plinth. Move it around until the line visually lines up with the tip of the finger lift. Then you can watch the tip  of the finger lift float back and forth in relation to the line (reference point) 

What an eye opener!!!

Last night I was in a classical mood. Three European classical pressings from the late 70's were right on the money, dead accurate. Compare that to three modern Blue Note pressings, all off. One was so bad I sent it back.

 Lewm9 wrote

But “best speed stability, etc” and “accurate reproduction of the master” are two different criteria. One is scientifically measurable and the other is inescapably a subjective judgement. However to reach the latter goal wouldn’t you want to have reached the first goal (absolute speed stability) along the way?

The man (lewm9) is correct – how could it be otherwise. If K3 was say 75% less accurate (a wobbly jelly) could it approach “accurate reproduction of the master.”  Don’t think so.

Another poster wrote:  every DD I have heard sounds thin, lacking body, are grainy or have a grey wash through the sound, possibly due to error correction servos.

Seemingly these DDs were not good examples of the technology ie made to a price, as the majority of  cutting lathes were/are DIRECT DRIVE.

If you are going to bash DD you have to throw out the DD cutting lathes and drive them with a rubber band.

Another poster wrote:  every DD I have heard sounds thin, lacking body, are grainy or have a grey wash through the sound, possibly due to error correction servos.

Seemingly these DDs were not good examples of the technology ie made to a price, as the majority of  cutting lathes were/are DIRECT DRIVE.

If you are going to bash DD you have to throw out the DD cutting lathes and drive them with a rubber band.

What you fail to understand is that most cutting lathes have a 70-80lb flywheel and significantly more drive power than most domestic direct drives. - even the Kenwood, Technics & Victor. The dynamics of a cutting lathe and its requirements are quite different to the dynamics of replaying a record.

And you appear unable to comprehend that critiquing specific examples of direct drive does not mean that direct drive is in of itself a bad thing.

 

"you fail to understand"  Presumptuous.

"cutting lathes have a 70-80lb flywheel and significantly more drive power than most domestic direct drives".   

Correct - the process is controlled by the DIRECT DRIVE motor.

'The dynamics of a cutting lathe and its requirements are quite different to the dynamics of replaying a record'.

It is the same signal - the lathe requires much higher torque to cut the disk – replay is a smaller load – proportionally how much different I don’t know.

"does not mean direct drive is in of itself a bad thing"

What do you mean?

Do you mean direct drive can be good? 

Or in K3's case a stunningly spectacular achievement: Michael Fremer tells us so, despite your take down of the man. He is a terrifically fit 74 - his apparent age likely isn't much different to you. Michael reports K3 is a cartridge differentiation champ eg "an utterly natural, transparent, and convincing presentation via the Anna D with airy flute roundness, sparkling, effervescent percussion, and zero overhang." 

"blows the chrome doors off the Caliburn" ... Michael Fremer.