Where is the next generation of direct drive?

Hammy: "Let me ask you- WHY WOULD YOU WANT THEM DIRECTLY CONNECTED?"

Since I am lazy, let me just quote an excerpt from another website:

"A huge advantage of a direct-drive record-player is the fact, that the whole mechanical system consists of just one moveable part (the combined motor-shaft/platter-bearing) which turns quite slow and has a big mass (the platter) attached to it - almost a mechanical ideal for quiet rotation. The resonance of the combined motor/bearing assembly lies in the range of 0,5 Hz due to its slow speed compared with the 50/60Hz resonance of the motor of a typical belt-driven turntable. All belt - or idler-driven record-players incorporate a lot of mechanical parts for adapting the fast speed of the motor to the comparably slow speed of the platter. Each of this parts implies an own sonic footprint by inducing resonances and suffering from bearing-tolerances in this more or less complex mechanical system......"

Yes, the motor underneath the platter of a direct drive turntable turns at 33rpm, which is half hertz! Now, that's quiet.

This kind of debate is getting really boring. I much rather see people discussing "fresh thinking," as Cocoabaroque suggested, in improving the sound of dd tables to "come up with an improved DD motor and mount it in a well-designed but affordable plinth, we would really have something that competes with the belt-drives."

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I hear a difference in favor of DD. There are many belt drives I've heard that I could easily enjoy but DD is not only more convenient, it also is more dynamic with more bass slam.
The problem with making modern "advances" in DD technology is the cost of doing that and the fact that you're dealing with a niche product. No large corporation is going to spend millions in R&D to sell a few hundred (or even thousand) turntables. The small manufacturers mostly just can't afford to. That's why the best vintage DDs are still the way to go for DD sound but have gone through the roof pricewise IMO. As long as my DDs are running I won't be going back to belts but I'm glad many prefer belt drive. It makes the old DDs a little more accessible.

I just scored a cheap ADC DD unit-- I'll tweak it and see what I can do, post results if anyone is interested.

Onkyo also made adequate DD decks, resembled their belt-drive units of the same era. At this price point, BD/DD performs about the same. Cheaper than dirt, so not much to loose in trying. My hunch is the small, lighter motors may have an advantage over the massive over-engineered ones. Its probably the nasty plastic plinths and auto-return mechanisms that mess things up the most.

You can't really compare the current direct drive high end models to the old Denons, etc. It's a whole different league and they have to be evaluated separately. I've only heard the Grand Prix Monoco extensively and I wouldn't say there's a belt drive turntable in it's price range that sounds better just because it's belt drive. I think at that level the difference is blurred.

I took on the TTWeights line of tables for this very reason. You can switch back between ultra quiet rim drive or tri belt drive. It offers something for everyone, no matter what your design preference. I only have the belt drive up right now, but in a week or two I'll be able to switch over to the rim drive, and I can post back my impressions. I think having 3 belts is paying dividends in terms of PRAT. Before hearing this table I thought high res digital offered the best sonics on a consistent basis. Now it's the table that makes more recordings sound realistic.