Idler wheel drive vs Belt

Any of the various drive systems..belt, direct drive, and idler can work well is designed correctly and executed correctly with excellent isolation and resonance control. Main reason belt drive tables have proved so popular with high end is, in my thoughts, that the cost of entry to the belt drive high end market is much less than the cost of entry into the high end direct drive or idler wheel market.

Imagine how much money Panasonic (owned Technics Radio and Broadcasting Division which produced such gems as the sp10, epa100/500, and a few other very neat things) put into R/D and and then plant and equipment to produce such a fine machine; ditto for the Kenwood L07D or the top Denon professional units. Pioneer also made some cost no object direct drives, too.

Now, I like my Scheu Premier and the Acoustic Signature was an alternate and I went with the Scheu for the dual arm plinth for a modest uplift. I am under no illusion that this is simply a well designed table made out of acrylic. The bearing is fairly straightforward to manufacture once the design is finalized; that does not take millions of bucks to devlop...same with the acrylic platter and plinth and armboards. The motor is sourced from Maxxon and some electronics work is done by Scheu. This is not terribly complicated from an engineering and manufacturing perspective.

Now try to envision the plant and equipment and start up costs for the old SP10 and the SL1200 and its legion of variants. Who can afford to do that anymore with such a small market?

That is the reason we no longer have high quality direct drive and idler wheel turntables; manufacturing costs do not support production to such a small market.

Belt drive is the least expensive way to get good performance and the inherent limitations of belt drive are tackled by other solutions. Some use mass; some like DPS use other techniques to arrive at the same destination.

Check the price on a complete Shindo Lab completed 301 with the Ortofon arm. It is extremely expensive and in a completely different price category than such beasts as Teres, Scheu, VPI, Transrotor; same thing for the Loricraft. I think the "new" 501 offered starts at 7000 plus. This does not really address the issue of developing a "new" direct drive or idler wheel table. Loricraft simply takes the old Garrard design and copies and improves it.

If idler wheel and direct drive technology were economically viable then new units would exist. The upfront investment in such a thing makes it uneconomic. Hell, shure is even discontinuing its one good high end cartridge. I fully expect quality belt drives to continue to rule the roost.

Divo,

A place called Stirling Electronics sells refurbished Technics SP10 Mk II direct drive motors and the prices are not bad, actually. This company also can provide a custom plinth for the SP10 as well as SME and Audio Note rewired rega arms.

Loricraft also sells refurbished 301 and 401 tables and also sells a moderately priced "skeletal" plinth which they say works well. A more comprehensive plinth can be built or bought; all you need is dough.

The Shindo Lab and the Loricraft 501 are simply way too expensive for me to consider. A complete updated Lenco with a correct plinth, tonearm, and high quality isolation base is probably the best bet. Take care when looking at those 301 garrards with plinth and arm for under a grand on EBAY; they almost certainly will require total servicing and parts under the hood. Check out the prices at Loricraft for a complete restoration on a 301; not cheap. Makes more sense to buy a refurbished one from Loricraft with a warranty and be done with it. OR....buy a mint Lenco L78 and build your own.

You can have a refurbished Technics sp10 Mk II with warranty, a high end plinth, and a tonearm (sme or audio note arm 2; ie, rb300 with seamless run of audio note silver wire to RCA termination) for about 2000 US (I think; not positive if Euro or dollars) from Stirling Electronics. Damn good deal, actually. I seem to have misplaced the email from Stirling for prices. In any event if the plinth is good this is a high end rig and should suffice for most.

The url is:
http://www.stirlingbroadcast.net/

Stirling even has a brand new in the box sp10 Mk III for some ungodly price of 4500.....not sure if pounds, euro, or us dollars....

Of course it makes a big difference; check out the link, ask for quotes, and be sure to check the money quoted. Euro is at 1.3 to the dollar right now.

This would be a table that will run with most anything IF sited on a quality stand (think billy bags) or good isolation platform. I would ask what Stirling could sell a SME IV or V for as that would seal the table as truly high end.

Sounds like a great deal for a warrantied sp 10 mk ii with plinth and a decent arm. Pity the plinth will not accept a 12" arm and only 9" arms.

tbg....did your sp10 have the technics base/plinth or did you have it in a higher quality plinth and isolated correctly?