@dover, that is very true but in regards to the music they do not. The timing of the music is the purview of the artist. They do not play to account for speed instability of the playback device. Any deviation from a constant 33.33 is in error (assuming the lathe was not off). You are correct in that instability of the turntable can hurt the timing of the music if it is bad enough and older idler turntables are far less stable than good modern ones. Even if they are good when new wear on multiple parts will take it's toll. This may not be true of older DD table as they have fewer mechanical parts to wear. I have no idea what aging of electronic parts will do but all bearings will wear out eventually.
@rauliruegas The most ground breaking turntable of all time was the AR XA. It broke the norm and introduced brand new technology that substantially improved playback. All turntables before it were compromised by their idler drive mechanisms which were needed to change speed with the lack of electronic motor control. By 1960 that technology had exhausted itself until they were dumped on the market for pennies on the dollar and audiophiles on a budget started tinkering around with them. My very first table was a used TD 124 and for a 13 year old audiophile it was brilliant. But, even with a good cleaning, lubing and change of idler wheels it still rumbled like a freight train. Subwoofers were still a years away so it did not matter as much. Since the XA we have direct drive tables, electronic management of belt drive tables, vacuum clamping and various new thrust mechanism, magnetic and air. If you can think of anything else please add on.
@audioguy85 , subjective? that is a poor excuse. There is nothing or should be nothing subjective about a turntable. It's performance characteristics are easily measured. If it changes the sound it is because it has an unwelcomed resonance. This is not true of cartridges and tonearms. They can alter the sound in ways we can not easily measure. And as always most of what people think they hear has been psychologically modified.
