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Direct Drive Rumble

I remember back in the 70s when direct drive was an upgrade from belt drive in every manufacturers lineup. This was before Linn, SOTA, etc. took over the world of turntables. Conventional wisdom has it that direct drives couldn't compete because they were noisier than belts. The theory advanced at the time and still held by many was that the belt mitigated the influence of motor vibration on the whole system. What I recall, however, is that there were consistently lower rumble figures for the DD tables over the numbers posted by the belt drive units. Is there another measurement besides rumble to indicate motor vibration and its deleterious effects?
macrojack
rgordonpf
82 posts
 
If you have been following the threads over on Vinyl Asylum regarding idler-wheel turntables you will know that the next few months should see a new DC motor drop-in replacement for many of the idler-wheel tables of yesteryear. Removing the motor vibration from idler-wheel tables will give those TTs a major sonic improvement. And could spur the development of totally new idler-wheel tables.

Teres is just one of several companies coming out with new DD turntables. It looks like belt drive TTs are going to be caught between an upsurgence of direct drive and idler-wheel tables. That has got to be good for vinyl lovers.
macrojack OP
1,303 posts
 
It will only be good for the vinyl lovers who can afford them.
The rest of us will have to find ways to make do with yesteryear's product. Of course, that may only apply to DD. Do you have any idea what the retrofitted Idler motor will cost?
rgordonpf
82 posts
 
Hi Macrojack,

"It will only be good for the vinyl lovers who can afford them."

I disagree. Everytime someone with bucks buys a new DD or rim drive TT, a used belt drive TT will probably go up for sale. With the supply of used BD TTs going up and the demand for BD TTs going down, there should be real bargains available in the used market for us mere mortals. Everyone benefits, except the manufacturers who can not keep up with the change in technolgy.

No price has been announced for the DC idler-wheel replacement motor. It will initially be sold in Japan.

psychicanimal
1,738 posts
 
Macrojack,

You'd be astonished as to the performance that a KAB modded Technics 1200 can deliver for about $1K.

Everybody that has auditioned my unit has been impressed, including Steve Rothermel, designer of the Ridge Street Audio Sason loudspeaker. Call Kevin and he'll hook you up: http://www.kabusa.com

***
213cobra
885 posts
 
I've owned Linn, Transcriptors, Thorens, VPI, Pink Triangle, Mission, Systemdeck, Kenwood, Sony and maybe even some other belt drive turntables since the early 1970s. I was socialized in my early hifi days to prefer belt drive turntables. But some things don't stick. Continuously since 1980, I've had a Luxman PD441 (and later added a PD444) direct drive turntable. Various Linns, VPIs, Pink Triangles and Thori co-existed with the Luxman and it's the Luxman 441/444 that's always been left standing. They've won on sound, speed consistency, drive, tone, isolation, lack of noise, immunity from ambient factors. Rumble? I've never had so little on any turntable. It's essentially undetectable. If there's any coming from the turntable, it is dwarfed by rumble recorded into most discs. This Luxman series has a magnetic-repulsion arrangement for a "load-free" (I think it's really "reduced load") spindle/bearing.

A Verdier is interesting to me, but I stopped bothering with belt drive. I continue to get superb tone and energetic presentation from my Luxman PD 4XX turntables. Watch out for either a 441/444 and snag it.

Phil
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