What makes for a "great" turntable?


I know that the cartridge, tonearm, phono pre-amp and other upstream components make records clearly sound different, but what is it about different turntables themselves (cartridge and tonearm excluded) that affects the sound? I would guess isolation from external vibrations and rotational accuracy. After this, what else is there that makes a great $30000 turntable sound better than say a much lower priced "good" table?

Also, how significant is the table itself to the resulting sound compared to the other things, ie tonearm, cartridge, phono pre-amp, etc?
mapman

Showing 1 response by fightingwords

I dont have perfect pitch as Newbee might, but I certainly can hear pitch modulation as well. mostly on poor pressings of some indie rock favorites of mine. It doesnt destroy my experience though.

I favor a turntable that isolates vibration, and acurately communicates the music. take it for what its worth, but you'll find yourself much more happy if you buy a good TT rather than a good looking TT. I prefer unsuspended from the few I've heard. There is a turtable for everyone out-there so have fun with it, it shouldnt be a stressful decision (but I have made it that way in the past).

Luckily though, I'm a sucker for almost all TT designs so I'm set on the asthetics. (except some of the high end clear-audio stuff--those are rocket ships not turntables)