Posted by Wayne Parham [ 67.66.230.81 ] on April 25, 2004 at 20:44:13:
In Reply to: linn, Direct Drive, homebuilds posted by manualblock on April 25, 2004 at 17:25:49:
I like direct drive. To be very honest, I think that popularity of belt drive on high-end turntables is more due to parts availability than anything else. Direct drive is a superior method, if you asked me. Make the platter massive to help mechanically regulate speed and voila, simple and pure.
But high-end turntables are by their very nature, hand crafted and built using job-shop techniques. The companies that build them probably find parts for belt-drives more in line with what they're trying to do, in the quantities they plan to do them in.
I have both a nice direct drive and a nice belt drive turntable. They are both fine units. The belt drive turntable cost about twice what the direct drive did, about $900.00. That is still sort of entry level for the belt-drive tables. It's a great table, don't get me wrong. I'd recommend it to anyone, and I got it from Triode & Co's David Cope, who's a sponsor here and a really nice fellow.
All I'm saying is that to me it's like having pushrods in an engine. I've got a really cherry Olds Cutlass with pushrods. It has a roller cam, B&M tranny and a nine inch Ford rear end. All the good stuff, it eats exoticars for lunch without even trying. But the overhead cam technology is better and simpler. That's what I think of direct drive for turntables too.
You can make either one very good, and even great. If I was going to pick a favorite platter drive system, it would be direct drive. I'd also pick overhead cams as superior to pushrods and rocker arms. Ironically, my hotrod car has pushrods and my best turntable has a belt. Now that I think about it, I'm also ruinning horns, which are the oldest loudspeaker technology going. I guess that means I'm old school.
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