Why will no other turntable beat the EMT 927?


Having owned many good turntables in my audiophile life I am still wondering why not one of the modern designs of the last 20 years is able to beat the sound qualities of an EMT 927.
New designs may offer some advantages like multiple armboards, more than one motor or additional vibration measurements etc. but regarding the sound quality the EMT is unbeatable!
What is the real reason behind this as the machine is nearly 60 years old, including the pre-versions like the R-80?
thuchan

@rauliruegas I will answer all your question. But your questions have an underlying tone of disrespect if things doesnt match your beliefs. Believe me there are many ears better than yours and mine, only if we have an open mind to accept other's experiences, we stand to gain something.

Anyway here are some details from my memory.

The 927, Nantais Lenco and Feickert Firebird were placed on the same BOX Furniture rack. 927 had 2 tonearms, 997 and Acoustic Systems Axiom. Cartridge were a combination of TSD-15, JSD Platinum & Phasemation PP-2000. The Axiom was swapped between 927, Nantais Lenco & Feickert and we also swapped the EMT and Phasemation carts various times to get the feel. The phasemation and EMT ultimately are not very different in terms of tone but phasemation seems to make things more refined and hifi, more pin-point. EMT carts are a little more flamboyant and raw, more studio like.

 

When I had the Technics SP10-Mk2, Mk3, Nantais Reference Lenco and Loricraft Garrard 301, the tonearm was a 47 Labs RS-A1 with Audio Technica ART-9, rack was a Hutter Rack from Austria. Later I also had EMT HSD-006 cartridge to replace the ART-9

That must have been fun. You mention that the internal phono stage of the EMT927 was used.  Was it also used with the other 3-4 TTs in the shoot-out?  It is unusual that you and your friends were nearly as enthusiastic about the 950 as you were about the 927.  Most EMT aficionados who love the 927 don't love the 950 or any other DD TT so much.  But this means absolutely nothing.  The 950 is "in reach" of most well heeled audiophiles, whereas a really well restored 927 is almost in oligarch territory now. Two I found on line are well over $20,000.  That matters when one is doing comparisons.  I am not a big fan of the speakers you mention, but they certainly are not terrible.

@lewm the system in which we compared the 927, Feickert and Nantais Lencowe used an EMT JPA66 Mk2 phono. It was not the 927 internal phono. So we had a common ground to compare the the three TT

950 is owned by 2 of my other buddies. They don't have a 927. But both of them aspire to have one some day. The 950 is being used with internal phono.

Sonically, 950 is the best DD I have heard. No one i know prefers a 950 over 927. Not even in the same ball park. As I said, 927 feels like there is nothing more to ask for.

 

 

 

Update: I have now heard the EMT 950 and 927 in the same room (another friend bought it). Both using the TSD-15 cartridge and internal phono stages. The 927 is clearly superior. It sounds bigger, more fluid, more explosive. 950 has the EMT presentation of big bold sound but ultimately sounds a bit dry (like every DD)

So 927 remains unbeaten

950 is a poor TT.

 There are many versions of 927 depending on the restore. Of 4 I heard only 1 done by the Dutch restorer was good and they go for 50k +. They are great for jazz and rock and sound big and bold with good groove, but don’t have the nuance for classical similar to modern belts. This can be addressed to a large extent by having a cartridge like the Dava field coil which