2. analog
  3. 179351-74445

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
mahler123 OP
3,063 posts
 

  I had the TTU.  $400 wasted.  I used it from day one.  It broke I took it back to the dealer and they couldnt fix it even though it was under warranty.  It sounded the same with and without.

mahler123 OP
3,063 posts
 

@best-groove 

 

read further down the thread

robert_1
47 posts
 

I think that for a few hundred dollars more  it would be better to get the Technics SL 1200GR with the cartridge of your preference and you'll be done. BUT there's a few upgrades that you could  (if wanted) to bring it to almost the Sl1200G level.

You can6go wrong with Technics at that level. Plus is more modern, and better overall from the ones of the past. 

sokogear
1,054 posts
 

If the TTPSU sounded the same with and without then it was probably spinning at the correct speed. If it broke (can't see how that could happen since it is a box with no moving parts, but maybe something internal failed?),Rega would replace it. You could even call their US location - they are very responsive- they pick up the phone!  

In any case, the market for Regas is strong for a reason. When I sold my P5, I got $300 for the PSU! I sold it separately since I had previously upgraded the arm and sold the table and PSU individually separately. Sorry you don't like them, maybe you didn't have it properly isolated.

mahler123 OP
3,063 posts
 

@sokogear

 

With all due respect, been there, done that, about a decade ago. Details a bit fuzzy

now. There was a (red?) status light that would go on with every use,  stopped going on. I took it out of the system. As previously mentioned, this didn’t change the speed instability issues one iota, which led me to conclude the whole product was either a hoax or else that it was broken from day one. I took it to the dealer (Holm Audio, Woodridge Illinois). Over the succeeding weeks they told me they had multiple calls with Rega. Keep in mind that it was still under warranty. Rega refused to accept the item back, basically claiming that it was impossible that it could be defective. I filed a complaint with the Consumer Protection Agency and the Better Business Bureau.

They then took it back, returned it to me 6 months later (and multiple calls) unchanged. Status light still didn’t work, table sounded no different with it plugged in, but guess what...it was no longer under warranty! Rega offered to sell me a new one at a $25 dollar discount as their "final offer" settlement. I declined their generosity.

 

  It also made me wonder..how bad is the speed stability, and the feedback that they must get about it from consumers, if they had to invent an entirely new product to correct a flaw which shouldn't have been there in the first place?

 

 

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