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So many great golden era DD tables out there, what do you recommend for $1000?

Pretty much as the title says.
Have been looking for a while for a decent DD table to add to my lot.
Have bought a few lower end ones and ultimately been dissapointed.
Now I know there were/ are literally hundreds of choices from the Japanese Golden era of DD tables.
Looking for suggestions from actual owners of solid DD tables up to about $1000 .
I have read and read but nothing substitutes for real experience.
This would likely not be my primary table, my Garrard 401 has that position for now.

Thank you.
uberwaltz

Showing 2 responses by hagtech

hagtech
176 posts
 
Is there a reason golden age DD turntables became golden age?  Or conversely, why did the high-end move to belt-drive? 

I think there is.

Fundamentally, golden age DD tables employed a PLL (phased-locked loop) to stabilize rotational velocity to a very accurate degree.  The problem herein is that the frequency response of this negative feedback loop (that's what a PLL is) is right in the middle of the audio band, sitting on top of vocals.  Yeah.  So for every disturbance or increase in stylus drag, there is a corresponding error term which gets amplified a drives a proportional (PID actually) response in the motor to compensate, adding it's own signature.  

I'm pretty sure Fremer pointed this out a long time ago. 

A DD may have an easy time hitting 33.3333 RPM long term average, but short term in-audio-band response may become audible and annoying.  In short, that's why a decent belt-driven table is more relaxing and less fatiguing over the long term.

Thoughts?
hagtech
176 posts
 
I can only think of one Japanese manufacturer still making DD tables.  Who else is left?

I've never owned a DD table, so cannot confirm via personal listening tests what the sonic differences might be.  But that doesn't make the servo circuit go away.  It is still there!  It does operate with lag and it does perform corrections within the audio band.  I just can't say how noticeable it may be.  Some tables will be better than others, obviously.

Belt drives have issues too, with elasticity, pulley tolerances, etc.  The key difference will be if there is a negative feedback servo or not.

The problem is similar with linear regulators.  They also operate with a servo within the audio band, reacting to changes in audio signal (unless circuit is balanced or class A).  In this case I have heard the differences.  It is even more pronounced when the audio circuit uses feedback.  Now you have two servos working against each other, each with a different step response!  If the filtering is not done well, the effect is a bit of "technicolor" brightness, sort of like the "sharpness" control on an old TV.  A little bit may be good, a lot is bad.  The sound can get shrill or smeared.

Of course, if you are a DJ doing scratching, then DD is the only way to go.  You need that torque.  :)
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