Idler wheel drive vs Belt

Oh Marty, the cotton candy is mandatory!
I could never decide between the pink and the blue, so I always got both.
:^)

Bah! All of that is nonsense. I'm working on a Ferris wheel drive. They used to use these back in the 60's at amusement parks. Between that and the melodious strains of the calliope, I was in heaven.

I'm going with large gear and chain drive, driven by a high-torque 60 horsepower gas engine. Grease lubricated ball bearings, of course. And enough power to run the compressor for the calliope.

I can hear the wind-driven pipes now, with the beauteous notes of a polka enveloping my senses, and overlooking the whole amusement park from the dizzying heights of my Ferris wheel!

:^)

Umm, returning to earth for a minute, how about just buying what you like the sound of? Too mundane, I suppose.

Ok, if I am forced to comment on these drive systems, I'll just say that the application is the key to how well any of them will perform.

It has been clearly shown that all of the drive systems mentioned have been capable of excellent performance, in certain turntables.

It is up to the buyer to determine which turntables have the proper application of their respective designs.

I have a question for Jean.

Now that we've come to the situation where various sytems of drive have been used and accomplished significant performance levels, what do you think is the best one?

We now have a market which will bear any amount of engineering and production cost, because of the market for very expensive turntables. There is no need to worry about how much it costs now, for the high end units.

An idler wheel system of excellent construction and engineering could easily now be made without regard to expense. Direct drives and belt drives of very high retail price are being sold to audiophiles. In fact, as regards idler wheel tables, I think Shindo Labs and Lorricraft are even re-making the old Garrard designs.

In the "ultimate" expression of these drive systems, with all "the bugs" ironed out of most of them, what do you think will be the best performing turntable? At the highest levels, will the idler wheel compete with the best direct drive(Rockport) and the best belt drives(Walker, et al)? With all things considered.

What are your technical reasons for your answer?

This is an important question, and I'd be very interested in the answer from someone with much idler wheel experience.

Please bear in mind that these top level turntables have gone to an extreme extent themselves to ensure total speed stability, with no expense spared, and the designers are well aware of stylus drag effects. They are not affected by the usual things that may apply to cheap belt-drive or cheap direct-drive applications.

I'd love to hear from Lloyd Walker and Andy Payor on this thread.