Why will no other turntable beat the EMT 927?

I've heard a number of idler drive tables-927, 301, Thorens, etc. and they do share an appealing quality--a bold, dynamic, prick-up-your-ears quality. I have also heard a belt drive table that had that same kind of sound--the monster Audionote table with three 2 hp motors. A common element seems to be pretty high torque motors.

Not having heard many tables in side-by-side comparisons, I could not even begin to speculate on "best." Even if one heard direct comparisons, one could only pick a personal favorite for that particular system. The very notion of a universal "best" is not worth debating.

There a plenty of great sounding vinyl systems that I've heard built around a vastly different set of tables--Audionote, Garrard, Gabriel, Verdier, Basis, Kuzma, to name just a few.

In my own system, I enjoy a Basis Debut with vacuum clamp and motor control. I have no idea how it compares with other tables in my system because I don't switch tables at all (WAY too much trouble)--I just know that I like the sound.

Omsed,

I own a modern high performance table, the Basis Debut V with vacuum clamp and outboard motor control unit, and I like it very much. However, I have also heard Lenco, Garrard and Thorens tables that sound VERY good too,with different strengths and weaknesses vis-a-vis the Debut and other tables. The sound from these tables is very lively, upfront and "present," though they do have more rumble and a less refined sound. You take your pick of compromises with all tables. The closest to a have it all table I have heard is the BIG and EXPENSIVE Audionote table that has three 2 hp motors and three huge power supplies for the motors, plus a speed control unit. The size of the power supplies and the PRICE were non-starters for me.

The fact that the considerable mass of the cartridge is way out on the end of the "lever" means that inertial mass is higher with a 12" arm. With modern materials and technology, it is possible to make the mass of the arm itself much less so that the inertial mass (same as "effective mass" is in the proper range for the compliance of most low compliance cartridges. But, that lower mass means some compromise in rigidity and dampening of vibrational energy transmitted down the arm tube. In other words, for the same effective mass, a 9" arm can have more material to make the arm more rigid. This is a matter of a tradeoff, with modern material making the negatives of longer length less than in the past.

By the way the benefit of a longer arm that I like is the smaller change in VTA from different thickness records. I am NOT one to fiddle with VTA changes for different kinds of records.

I am NOT fond of any digital vs. vinyl spat. I have good gear for listening to both, and because of convenience and availability of material, I listen mostly to digital media at home (exclusively digital in the car and at work). Very little in the way of current issue classical, is available in vinyl, and so much of current issue popular music is actually recorded digitally, so listening to digitally sourced material is, for me, inevitable.

I really love the convenience of a music server and the ability to put together a wide, and unusual program of music for an evening with much less effort. I like being able to scan a large collection of music (so far, I have ripped 3,700 CDs to WAV files), which helps me find long-neglected items in my collection.

Still, when it comes to "showing off" the music that is most stunningly realistic and exciting to hear, it is MOSTLY records I turn to. I have no idea whether there is some, as yet unquantified, and inherent, superiority of vinyl, or if it is a case of better mastering (or deterioration of original masters used for the digital reissue) or any other reason, but, really good vinyl delivers better dynamics and a sense that real bodies producing sound occupy the space in the soundfield. I do find that clicks and pops too often intrude in the playback of classical music, and so I don't do that much listening to classical on records; with all other genres, I find vinyl to more often sound better than the CD issue. High resolution files can sound really good, but, the amount of material issued remains limited.