Why will no other turntable beat the EMT 927?

Tbg, you may very well have the same opinion if you heard an array of turntables here, moving the same arm and cartridge (not just the same model, the same serial numbers!) in a system where I can demo any number of really great (and using various technologies) speakers and headphones. At the very least it might cause you to think a bit about your position. What part of the country are you in?

But this is not a case of one-up-manship. It's a case of it not being fair to begin with. This is my job 7 days a week. Designing and testing is part of that job. And if I am curious, I but what I am curious about to test different ideas/technologies/execution levels.

What do I like? Goldmund Reference is nice. Linn (pre DC motor) had great speed stability. Basis Inspiration is my cup of tea.

For old stuff, I like the Garrard 301 best. Easy to listen to, cuts out the harshest part of the record. But, there is a price for always sounding rich and easy. That's a coloration that does not allow the deepest levels of detail to come through. It's beautiful, perfect condition, a really cool working antique that reminds me of times I often feel I liked better. But I know what it is and is not. And it is not anywhere near state of the art. Nor are my other antique turntables. But I can admit that and still love them. I find in audio, when someone loves something they usually say "THIS IS BEST". Yes, shouting indicated on purpose.

My goal may be different than most folks. I am looking to get exactly what is on the record. No smoother, no rougher. No more bass, no less bass. My philosophy is that this will result in the most clear sound with the best records. Some will fall on the thinner side, some the thicker side. And the best will shine gloriously.

Part of the goal is that except during testing I do not want to be listening to the components, I want to listen to the music. In my experience, the lower distortion the components, the easier that is to do.

Omsed, kindly enlighten us further and do share what you like and why.

I'm an open minded end user and to date with my own personal first hand ownership of some tables am truly amazed with what they add or not to the music as a whole.

Tbg, your last posting the statements are interesting but at the same time subjective when you suggest one table

"greatly out-performed everything with which I compared it, including the Shindo."

So you are suggesting the Ref JN Lenco is that much better but you don't even actually have it yet. That's confusing, kindly enlighten us further with more details of what you found to be different.

I would think the platter it's self on these specific tables to be an important part of the design offering ...

I have even read JN has been working on a all out assault table which actually includes such but will be too costly for most, in communication with him he is way too busy making money with the Ref tables. More affordable.

When looking at another company it appears that they already offer this different platter.

Do share what knowledge you have gained about these designs in general.

Further to my last post, note that I have not said any one brand is positively best, or any one technology is certainly best. Contrast that to one of the posters, with much less experience than me, who said, in another thread:

"My reaction is that ONLY someone with a well done horn system can truly evaluation many components."

Now read some of the dogmatic statements in this thread again, including the starter. Can you really believe anyone making such posts

Omsed, Maybe everyone else here knows you, but I don't. If you have as much industry experience as you say, you or your products must be at least moderately well known. Can you identify yourself or your professional affiliation? Thx.

Kiddman, None of us fully agrees with any other one of us, so why be concerned about presumptuous overstatements?

Replying to Peterayer:

Peter: Omsed, Do you have a preference for drive type or arm type? I'm curious about which modern top tables you do like.

Omsed: After extensive comparisons the best sound I have heard is off of a belt drive turntable. However, that does not mean I am stuck on belts. Even with technogies that seem to defy physics a bit, I am all ears and always expecting revolutionary performance, in some regard, for everything I plug in and am ready to listen to. I'm always expecting that the next thing I try will beat my own designs in some regard. That certainly keeps me from adopting the attitude "anything not done here can't be good". That N.I.H. (Not Invented Here) attitude is very prevalent in audio, and I rail against it. So is the "I don't own it so mine blows it away" attitude prevalent.

Peter: Have you heard the Dobbins Beat, Wave Kinetics NVS, Rockport direct-drives, Walker, Basis, SME, Continuum, Kronos or TechDas? I'm sure there are others.

Omsed: No on Dobbins, Yes on Wave K., yes on Rockport, yes on Walker (many times and locations including here), Yes on Basis (many times and locations including here), yes on Continuum, Kronos, and TechDas.

When you say say "I'm sure there are others", certainly over 100 in my own systems. Merrill, VPI (many models), SOTA (all models except Comet), Kuzma (many), Rega (all), Versa (both models), Forsell, Goldmund Reference and Studio, Micro-Seiki (many), Thorens 124, 125, 126, Garrard 301, 401, Linn Valhalla, Linn with Trampolin and Linngo, AR original, AR newer version, Oracle (many), Transrotors, JA Michelle.......now that I've counted that starter list I see it is well over 100, and I have not even gotten into a lot of current brands. But in 3 decades of business it adds up. Arms over 100 also.

One thing I've learned: design TYPE, of any product, (i.e., gimbal bearing, knife-edge bearing, unipivot, belt drive, direct drive) most often tells little about the final performance. It's the design QUALITY and execution QUALITY (sorry for caps, not shouting, but don't know how to italicise) that matter most. The best designers, the best physicists, their minds are usually very open about new or different ideas, and rarely say one way is the absolute best way to do it. It gets me crazy on these forums when folks have to say things like "this is the only way"....", "horns are the only way", "Horns are all bad", "ONLY Vandersteen and Thiel speakers are good (an above dogmatic poster said that in a thread), "only direct drive", "only idler"....."