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 t_bone

Mapman,
You got it right with your second sentence, and Swampwalker said it a different way. But most important in all of this is to have fun listenin-ta-rekkids, and part of having fun is not stressing about it, so I agree that for many listeners, autolift is a great feature. The number one difference between a $30,000 table and a very well-designed table purchased used for 80% less is... well... $24,000. Usually that also means something in the looks and bragging rights department, but I don't need a work of art to listen-ta-my-rekkids.