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

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.

I have two Luxman PD-444 and it does not sound "digital" at all, my first Luxman with vintage japanese tonearms replaced by Technics SP-10 mkII with modern Reed 3p. I remember i’ve been using them together (technics and luxman) in the same system. I decided to keep Luxman and even bought another Luxman PD-444 a bit later. Sold my SP-10 mkII then. Put my Reed 3p "12 in the box on the shelf. Enjoying my pair of Luxman PD-444 with toneamrs like Lustre GST-801, Fidelity-Research 64fx with N-60, Victor UA-7082 and UA-7045, Luxman TA-1, Sony PUA-7 ... and this week my Technics EPA-100 has been mounted on PD-444 for the first time and blew me away with two different top of the line Grace LEVEL II cartridges. I haven’t used Technics tonearm for 5 years or so. It was my first serious vintage high-end arm back then. After nonstop experience with many different arms i have anothe EPA-100 in my system and i have to say this is amazing tonearm, it’s too bad that i can’t mount my EPA-100 mkII on PD-444 (it’s impossible).

I will compare PD-444 to my new Denon DP-80 in DK-300 plinth once the tonearm will be mounted. But i don’t believe the turntable itself have a big impact on the sound when we’re dealing with the best of the best Direct Drive turntables. I think the arms and cartridges are far more important.

And yes, i like pitch control option, not every DD turntable have this option, but it is nice to have it to correct pressing errors. Nice option anyway, i don’t care what the majority of "audiophiles" think about it. My Victor TT-101 and Denon DP-80 are both have pitch control option and everybody know that these DDs are top class in terms of speed stability.

P.S. I hate belt drive turntables!