Is Direct Drive Really Better?

Macro

I think it would be unwise to make such a conclusion based simply on a number of responses on this thread. The almost universal employment of belt drive in high end tables is more than just a mere coincidence.

A poster indicated that the use of belt drive is mostly due to cost, rather than outright sonic performance. That may very well be true, but I then would have expected to see a few more direct drives available considering the tens of thousands of dollars some tables retail for.

Regards Paul

Hey Sean.

"Can people not see the equivalence of torque by stored inertia and torque by electrical energy (motor) ?"

No they cannot as they do not want to. If you look at the actors on this thread you will see they reappear numerous times on other threads bashing belt drive TT. I have posted questions like yours in the past and never got a coherent or sensible response.

A poster in this thread managed to name 4 DD TT which were reputedly good (note reputedly) and then went on to say that since a SL1200 is such a good seller that "these things point toward a degree of superiority". When I read that I gracefully declined to continue further conversation.

This simply yet another example of folks confusing consensus of opinion with facts. Sadly this is quite prevalent amongst audio folks.

As a hobbyist/DIY-er myself, I fully understand (and have empathy for) their passion for their idler wheel and/or DD turntables, so I will take no pleasure in bursting their little bubbles.

Regards
Paul

Hi Zaikesman.

No my comments had nothing to do with your posts. I had a look at http://de.geocities.com/bc1a69/index_eng.html after reading one of your posts.

My post is indicative of the frustration I have with folks who believe that a consensus (or should I say chorus) of opinions constitute a fact.

I have spent some time with an idler wheel (Thorens TD124) and the sound was really not up to scratch. Compared to a TD125 I had at the same time it was downright bad.

However, the after reading up on DD tables I think there may be something to them. The points laid out in the web pages and your posts do sound plausible. Personally my only preference is for sound I enjoy, not BD over DD. I need a project for summer so I want to see if I can lay my hands on something like a Denon DP6000 and see what they are about.

My only concern is that due to the fact that these tables have not been in production for a while, repairs may be an issue if the need arises.

Regards
Paul