Direct Drive


I am firmly in the digital camp, but I’ve dabbled in vinyl.  Back in the day I was fascinated by Technics Direct Drive tt, but couldn’t afford them.  I was stuck with my entry level Gerrard.  I have been sans turntable for about 5 years now but the new gear bug is biting.  I am interested in the Technics 1500 which comes with an Ortofon Red and included pre amp.  I have owned Rega P5 which I hated for its speed instability and a Clearaudio Concept which was boring as hell.

  Direct Drive was an anathema to audiophiles in the nineties but every time I heard  one it knocked my socks off.  What do the analogers here think of Direct Drive?  I listen to Classical Music exclusively 

mahler123

Showing 1 response by clearthinker

@dover and @testpilot are not wrong.

DD motors are controlled by computer speed measurement and are constantly being speeded up and slowed down to achieve the designer's aim of a perfectly stable speed.  In the event they cannot achieve a stable speed because they are never running at the same speed, aka cogging.   @billwojo the evidence is in the engineering specifications of DD turntables that state they have constant speed monitoring and adjustment.  Written in black and white.

As Dover says, this is analogous to digital control of digital sources where clock error is responsible for perceived speed instability known as jitter.

The alternative approach of using high platter mass and Newton's first law to maintain speed consistency through inertia is a far better approach.