Is Direct Drive Really Better?

I'm pretty sure it was a clear belt that was used on both the 280 and 320.

I also remember him using a clear belt.

That's the 2 mil mylar belt, which is a close second best of all the ones I've tried.

Dan may remember seeing a holographic silver belt on our table. It out-torques the 2 mil clear one by a small but audible margin, not because of the color (presumably) but because it's about 10% thicker. This seems to be the optimum material for this application. When I went up to 3 mil mylar the sound started going fat and soft again. That belt was too stiff to make the sharp turn around the motor capstan without slipping.

At any rate, that clear belt is quite good. This makes your report on the superiority of the DD table even more convincing.

My son, who was with me at the Teres show, said the 380 had more pluck. I guess that more or less sums what Dan_Ed was saying about the difference.
Dan, where you wrote IMHO above, Does that mean "in my humiliated opinion"?

I find myself wondering where something like a Technics SP-10 would fit into that hierarchy. It has the torque but not the platter mass of 380. Would it outperform a 320? If not, why not?

Good one, Tom! :) A good question as well. I suspect that the SP-10 would have better tempo but perhaps not quite the dynamics. That's just my humiliated guess. (Really wish I hadn't missed the Druids!)