Vintage DD turntables. Are we living dangerously?

Sorry, Dover. I was cranky that day.

For me, there's no perfect way to measure the phenomenon we are trying to understand, so I prefer listening tests.  Listening tests are inevitably subjective in nature.  However, lately I have been doing a lot of listening to my SP10 Mk3 as the Krebs mods "break in".  Richard originally suggested it would take some time, and I was skeptical.  However, now I must report that the Mk3 is "smoother", more "continuous" in sound by a noticeable amount, compared to pre-Krebsian era.  Furthermore, these virtues are attended by a new open-ness of the sound; the sound is freer of the turntable than before.  I would liken that difference to what I heard when I changed from a belt-drive with a conventional plinth to one with a plinth that resides only under the platter, a la Galibier or my old Notts Hyperspace or the plinths favored by Halcro.  Adding these new virtues to the rock solid timekeeping of the Mk3, and I cannot imagine anything much better. (Of course, the "timekeeping" should be better than OEM due to the effect of the Krebs mods to reduce the number of servo error corrections needed per unit of time.)

Lewm - there is no proof that the Krebs mods reduces the number of error corrections. Krebs provides no evidence that his "mods" reduce the number of error corrections. Krebs cannot provide any testing data to support the claim.
Although you say you cannot imagine anything better, it is worth noting that David Karmeli classes the SP10mk3 that he owns as a toy compared to his reference tables that include the Techdas, EMT 927, Goldmund Reference, American Sound & Thorens Reference. None of these are direct drives.
I share a similar view to DDK as I have heard both the Krebs SP10mk2 and mk3 and they simply do not have the resolution that my Final Audio VTT1 provides.  

 

Richard,
I have owned the Final for 25 years and in that time you have heard it once. I clearly recall your comment at the time which was "amazing".

During that 25 year period I have also had the pleasure of owning many other turntables - various Sotas including Star Vacuum, Well Tempered, Garrard 401and 301 idlers, Pink Triangle, Oracle Delphi’s, Roksan and others. I have just sold my Platine Verdier. I have personally set up many tables including various Goldmunds, VPI’s, Gyrodecks, Aura’s, Mapleknolls, Micro Seikis and others too numerous to list.

I regularly have listening sessions with audiophiles/music lovers, some of whom own Kenwood L07D’s and SP10’s and have no reason to replace the Final. I recently hosted a listening session which included the owner of a Micro Seiki SX5000 loaded with Graham Phantom’s who fully concurs on the relative merits of the above mentioned decks.

As regards "dynamic speed stability", there is a reason your SP10 and Halcros Victor have servos and speed correction - the SP10 and Victor cannot hold speed without the servos running. If you turn the servos and error correction off, neither of these Direct Drive TT’s will run let alone maintain speed.

The previous owner of the Final, Warwick Mickell was an opera lover, played harpsichord & wrote for The Absolute Sound magazine; pitch stability was a key requirement when he set out to select the best possible turntable, cost no object, in Japan, at that time. Warwick benchmarked the Final against the Denon DP100 Direct Drive and many other turntables prior to purchase - it was no contest. 
  
I’m sure there are other great turntables such as those I mentioned in my previous post - the EMT 927, American Sound, Micro Seki’s etc - that can give great musical pleasure.