Direct drive vs belt vs rim vs idler arm


Is one TT type inherently better than another? I see the rim drive VPI praised in the forum as well as the old idler arm. I've only experienced a direct drive Denon and a belt driven VPI Classic.
rockyboy

Showing 4 responses by br3098

I agree with Viridian and (mostly) w/ Albert - execution is everything. I own (and have owned) all three types of decks, and I have had enjoyed some and others less so regardless of their drive type.

I would not necessarily agree with Albert that DD is the best, although I have had some DD decks that I think stack up well with the best BD and ID decks I have heard.

I will say that, IMO, the biggest downside to Idler Drive is that you will spend a lot of money and time (or more money for someone else'e time) to get a deck to sound as good as a top notch DD or BD deck. They are just more complicated machines.
Of all the DD turntables I have owned, I would say that three stand out as "best" in my mind: The Luxman PD-441, PD-444 and the Teac TN-400. The two Luxman decks share the same drive system, but the latter with a larger plinth to accommodate two tonearms. The TN-400 is probably the most quiet drive system I have ever seen (heard?), but they didn't make many and so are fairly rare.
First, belt drive tt's in general have high mass platters.

Tony, some belt drive decks have high mass platters, but MOST? Some certainly do, but I would venture to say that most belt drive decks on the market, both new and used, do not have or were not designed with platters that I would characterize as high mass platter.

But I guess it depends on what you consider to be "high mass".