Direct drive vs belt vs rim vs idler arm

I am not sure if anyone has touched upon it, but in absolute terms, virtually every review I've read on Direct Drives say that stage width has a tendency to being narrower. Is this due to the fact that the motor is directly beneath the platter, and the magnetism has an effect on the upward downward portion of the record groove (the Stereo bit)
Not only that but I am curious as to whether or not anyone has tried lifting and butchering a direct drive deck other than the Technics SL1200's - I say this because quite a few such as numark ttx's have really good specs

Lohanimal,
It is more a function of the error correction systems used in direct drive TT's. Like digital, they have inherent jitter that destroys the time and phase relationships of the music signal. This results in soundstage aberrations as well as a lack of resolution due to smearing.
The designers of the SP10mk3 & Kenwood L07D tried to minimise this by running higher mass platters, but it is still there.

Agree with Dover. Listened yesterday to a SP10 Mk3 in a Artisan Fidelity Box ... I can't take that serious. More a toy than a serious High End Table. Piano and Trumpet Tones are changing multiple times, depth and physical presence does not exist.

Dover, While it's true that both the L07D and the Mk3 have heavy-ish platters compared to most DD turntables (the Mk3 having the heaviest platter I know of among all DDs), the two turntables are otherwise about as dissimilar in design philosophy as any two DDs can be. The Mk3 uses a mutipole cored motor and very tight servo control. The L07D uses a coreless motor and really very "loose" servo correction. The two turntables do sound different from one another.

Can't speak to Syntax's dismissal of the SP10 Mk3 without knowing the condition of the unit that he auditioned and what else was in that system. What Syntax may not have liked about a stock Mk3, even assuming it was working up to spec, is addressed by the Krebs mods to the Mk3 (and to the Mk2). Anyway, if one does not like DD turntables, one may still be a good person. And vice-versa with respect to belt-drive.

Syntax, had you heard depth and physical presence in that system before with a different turntable?

I read that Artisan Fidelity does modify the power supply and electronics in the table and controller. Perhaps not the same mod level as the Krebs, but it is not stock from my understanding.

Altering piano and trumpet tones sounds like speed deviation at a micro level, but isn't the Technics SP10 known for superior speed control, both accuracy and consistency?