Why According to some Turntable extremists Pitch Control and Direct Drive is Sacrilege?

Here is an interesting site about DD turntables:
http://www.edsstuff.org/dd_museum.pdf
Here are their comments about Luxman PD-444: 
"Top-of-the-line Lux form the end of the 70s. Now this is a deck where you can mount your Fidelity Research FR66 or SME 3012 quite easily. Typical for all Lux decks: The plinth made out of brushed aluminium with rosewood sides. The PD-444 is a fine deck maybe a little overpriced at around 1000,- Dollars on the 2nd hand market. "

This site from: 2000, so, prices for this gear in number of times less then today :-(

Alex, Funnily enough, I went from SOTA Star Sapphire III to Nottingham Analog Hyperspace (a big improvement) to modified Lenco (a big improvement over the Notts) to my current stable that still includes the Lenco plus four vintage DD turntables: DP80, L07D, SP10 Mk3, and Victor TT101.

Harold, I don't know what was wrong with your PD444, but it ought not to have sounded "digital".  Did you have it serviced and calibrated at any point?  Proper calibration is absolutely key to getting the best out of any DD turntable, old or new.  But if you're living happily, that's all that counts.  As for me, I could not go back to (as affordable) BD at this point, even though I have listened to a few really good ones that cost more than $25K, too rich for my blood.

geoffkait,

"The exact same thing just about happens for CD players - the incessant hunt and peck action of the laser servo system trying to keep the nanoscale laser beam on track produces audible distortion."

Turn the ESP on and your Discman will never have that issue.

Lew, its speed stability was ROCK STEADY it spinned flawlessly. The speed itself was precise 33 1/3 RPM all the twenty minutes time takes a side of an LP record. Actually I quite often found myself just watching the strobo disc that appeared dead, minutes after minutes till the stylus reached the run-outs. Very fascinating, from technical point of view so to speak. Changing speed happened in two seconds and all the same accuracy both in speed and speed´s stability with 45 RPM, and back and worth, endlessly. Technical perfection. Everything worked flawlessly. And as for the music, all sounded hyper accurate, dynamic and thus "perfect". Like digital should, "flawless" as some people point out. Yes I had managed to achieve flawless TT combo but I hated the sound.

I´m talking about how the music flows, that PD444 completely failed.

So why on earth should I have calibrated a technically flawlessly working true high tech vintage Japanese machine ? Send it where, to Japan ? Costs a minor fortune. Ridiculous. Why waste my precious time and money and why even bother when your first impression is disliking the sound ? Couldn´t care less. Well, actually I removed the flimsy elastomer feet and it was huge improvement. I did try and I really would have liked that beautiful stylish machine. Well, it has been hyped so much during the decades so they managed to fool me. I sold it for a good price, got fast rid off it so a happy ending.
What does digital mean to different people is another question, I mean all in digital with its pros and cons. I like its advantages but I just personally have always hated digital sound.

And my ORACLE DELPHI remains my last BD deck, I just love its sound. But doesn´t spin flawlessly but that´s the least of my worries : )
Keep spinning the discs

No one would say that unless they are showing off how they spent $100,000 on a 50kg flywheel with bells and whistles just to do what a solidly designed high-torque motor can do on its own.  But to each his own.  The motor is the lesser enemy of vinyl and another other direct contact media.