Why will no other turntable beat the EMT 927?

Dear kmccarty,

You are coming quite a good way being familiar with the idler technology as well. Having tested many DDs like Nakamichi, Sony, Micro Seiki etc. I ended up with a Denon 100 and Victor 101. For me all different drive technologies bear advantages and some downsides too.

Yes, the EMT 927/ R-80 can. It is not only a well built massive machine but also absolutely stable in speed. My R-80 does not have a felt brake which was introduced to level down the slightly overdriven speed (a planned design feature). This means you will not hear that kind of brake noise. Nevertheless the big and robust synchronous star-shaped motor makes a little noise which you don’t hear anymore when going one meter away. Additionally I am using the Dusch Multiconverter DU 937. It provides the R-80 with a variable frequency, thus controlling & adjusting the revolutions by electronic measurement. Using the Timline the stable light shows me I am keeping exately the right speed. In this way I cannot use the R-80’s inbuilt stroboscope. The DU 937 is also a high grade fine net-filter against frequency and voltage variations.

I am carefully speeding at below +3 % in the variable modus (+/- 10%) thus avoiding any vibrations by the motor. This is important, otherwise the internal phase spacer of the motor will change his working points and allow vibrations.
My EMT has not an inbuilt phono stage allowing me to use the EMT JPA 66 pre/phono pre.

Yes, the excellence derives from the wholistic design and the precise building. It is a lot of fun operating the big switches, starting the platter from the first moment while the massive table rests on the heavy and cleverly constructed suspension frame

Dear Thucan,
Have you ever considered this. All people are created differently. This means that even our hearing is different. 
As we know some people are high frequency sensitive, Others are tone deaf (may explain a lot of mainstream music these days), some are timing sensitive (like me).
As we age our high frequency range gets curtailed, but we tend to better at listening. Other things we were sensitive to such as timing, tone, or image placement, becomes more prominent.
I personally like timing, so I tend to like fast electronics, sealed and/or planer speakers; tone lovers may well go for warm and lush sounding equipment - such as Klimo valves; some loe high resolution so they love DNM for instance.
As a result of all of this, can it be the case that for your ears nothing other than the 927 will float your musical boat?
Sorry to say this but have you considered psychoacoustics here - let's face it - in the UK unless a turntable was made in Scotland, ran a tiny bit fast and was belt driven - then nothing else would do - even an EMT 927 or a Rockport Sirius!

Can I just add that there is a very knowledgeable uk salesman (company name escapes me) he has a Rockport Sirius amongst his collection. He also sells various decks second hand. Of the affordable decks he rates the Townshend and Funk Firm decks ery highly.

Dear lohanimal,
You are very right on stating that people are different and also their listening customs vary quite much. I do think that when we have practiced a good time in our hobby, also having enjoyed good systems, our ears get trained being enabled to hear the overtones too while at the same time some frequence rages in the communication and higher areas may get lost.
I am very open to other tables as you may see on my AudioCirc page. I am not listening to my R 80 only. And there are other excellent desings out there. For me it is always an excitement comparing good tables and experimenting with different phono chains. Nevertheless I am always puzzled how a 60 year old design is able to beat some of the modern 100.000 tables.

Hi Thucan
Love your audiocirc page. You're clearly a man with comprehensive listening experience (and tastes...)
Whilst not 'on topic' I noticed that you have a Dartzeel Amp. I've heard quite a few Dartzeel amps, and they get rave reviews the world over, but to me - I just don't like their sound. My point being that our tastes reflect our differences in physiology often, and they then manifest themselves in the choices we make.
I've never had a chance to hear an EMT 927, but I have heard restored Garrards and Lenco's and they sound so full of life, and I think they are astonishing. I don't think one ought to limit a belief in the brilliance of a product as a result of age. Caterham 7's are amongst the best track racing cars and they were made in the 60's. The Concorde hasn't been repeated despite being made in the 70's without the computers we have now. A hand made George Daniels watch is still more accurate than a quartz mechanism.
I have a yet to be restored EMT 950 - and it makes nearly all modern super decks look like toys - they have considered and integrated every aspect of the design. Maybe the 927 is like the 'great white shark' evolution never required it to be altered.
There are few true groundbreaking products out there - most new products are sales driven. The 927 was designed to go into stations and not require the EMT engineers going out to fix them. Nowadays things are designed to be fussy, and constantly repaired - maybe a sign o' the times.
Anyway - I am now going to ogle at your website