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

Chakster you really dont get it do you? My belt drive does speed as well as a direct drive and is a 65# beast. Some other belt drives too. Any reasonably engineered tt can do it ( manufacturing a different story ) plenty of other parameters affect sound at least as much as w& f.I like the Technics too but I’ve heard direct drives sound like a hollow mess. Again, one topology not necessarily king. Dont be so cynical it’s all good

"I don’t want to own all types of turntables, i only need a few..."

As much as I understand where it is coming from, no wonder normal people think audiophiles are slightly ridiculous.

: )

Let me put it this way ... my PD444 sounded like hollow... well accuracy if you like. In other words, digital. And actually its seeming dynamics sounded more like just sheer power not real dynamics, e.g. music really, just power. All in all, its sound didn´t manage to move me emotionally, spiritually nor intellectually.

I know exactly what´s happening deep inside that monster deck, that Godzilla of ancient DD TT dinosaur.

You really , really , really should read , then comprehend BEFORE you reply. Where did I say or give the idea I was all about belted tables or cheap plastic stuff. Why are you so demeaning to anyone who points out there are other choices besides what you narrowly see and opine like your the gospel according to chatter.

We’re all aware of the different turntables on the market, you want me repead it in every post? I prefer Direct Drive over any Belt Drive in the same price category, no doubt. Yes, it’s my opinion. And i hope it does not heart anyone’s feelings. Everything Belt Drive is the same price category is cheap junk compared to vintage Direct Drive turntables, let’s say $1200-2000.

I like , own and appreciate all drives for their individual sound and the unique way each approaches the same goals for playback. I currently own an Orbe SE with Graham 2.0 tc arm

That’s fine if you have unlimited budget to buy all the turntables (all kinds) and room to place them. This is a typical audiophilia. But you Graham is a copy of the Audio Craft tonearm from the past as far as i know.

Recently purchased back my Micro RX 5000 and put on an Sme iv arm and the max 282 I had kept.

I expected that, but as i said this is extremely expensive turntable and only a few people can afford it, not each of us can throw $40k on a belt drive turntable, but with a limited budget DD is a better choice, always.

I recently refurbished an SP 10 mkii A and set it in a panzerhotz and carbon plinth with the EPA 100 mkii arm I bought with it. I have a Reed 3p arm to be used on a custom table I am in the middle of building (mass weight heavy plinth and platter belt drive.

So please name any Belt Drive than can compete with SP-10mkII within $1200 price tag. I have EPA-100mkII and Reed 3p "12.

I use to repair and refurbished many of those Japanese DD tables so it’s a mystery to me why your so thick and quick to defend what you don’t need to.

I have no needs to repair any DD, except for the Victor TT-101 (considered one of the best DD ever). And actually this is a benefit of vintage Direct Drive too, they can work for 40 years and you can only replace caps if needed. and add lubricant. And yes i don’t need a turntable musseum in my room, i already have 4 different brands and that’s too much.

I NEVER said they were inferior or belts were better....that’s your thing to run others choices down because they don’t match yours and even go off half cocked when no one said your wrong , but desparaging others opinions and choices is not impressive, at all.

If you can’t choose then you’re running turntable museum, normal people does not need all those turntables, can you imagine a person with just ONE turntable and limited budget? People like you reminds me a salesman in the shop full of turntables claiming they are all good, well maybe, but a buyer needs just ONE of them, a buyer can’t buy all of them. Then the problem is a choice between one kind or another.

I am fully aware of how good many DD tables were in their day and how the value they have can be good IF YOU LIKE THE SOUND OF THEM.

The sound is pretty much a cartridge and tonearm, phono stage and speakers. Now you and a few others will tell me i am wrong, some people will tell me the fuse has a sound, but let me ignore it, i am not so crazy yet. In other words i like "the sound" of vintage direct drive turntables, when it comes to the best ones.

To some they don’t do it for them , some like a good idler , others a good belted unit for THEIR preference and budget. Not everyone can afford what some of us took a lifetime to build up and enjoy.

Everyone on audiogon forum can afford brand new Technics GR instead of some plastic looking cheap Belt Drive at the same price!

This I do know, many a Rega owner is happy with what they have, enjoy it and that’s all that matters. Owning this stuff isn’t impressive chackster, it’s fortunate we do , but the guy with the lowly belt drive you actually used the word hate to describe. ......he enjoys his own preference, his music and gear as much as anyone....so why be a jerk and look down on them.....respectful attitudes to fellow enthusiasts costs nothing. .......

These guys are asking for advice here and willing to upgrage their turntables, not me. Most of them never ever heard a good Direct Drive, but were forced to buy cheap belt drive for rediculous price by the dealers and reviewers. Then came you claiming all the turntables are good, no matter belt of direct etc. Not so helpful for guys who needs something better without breaking the bank, they are already victims of propaganda of the digital world.

I resume: On the lower budget under $2k direct drive like new Technics GR is always better, some vintage direct drive TT are under $1k + tonearm and plinth, and there is nothing on the belt drive territory that can beat it, really. This is a common sense.

P.S. My opinion is irrelevant for an audiophiles with turntable museums in their home, if they can buy all the best turntables at any price then life is good already.

@chakster

Museums are for looking and usually for looking at static objects. My tables are used, as they were designed for and enjoyed as such. Often get sold and different models are refurbished and or rebuilt and enjoyed and the cycle continues. A museum would be for say a pair of older unrestored DD Japanese JVC 101,s sitting unused , underapreciated, and just static weights......or is that mosileum. .....for some it’s one and the same.... but hey critisize the someone putting them back to use and in use for others..the weakest link in your system would appear to be severe ownership bias and a severe case of under appreciation of others preference when indifferent to your own.
Japanese DD are not the be all and end all turntables for everyone no matter how many times you post it or how blindly you believe it is or should be everyone’s choice. Many ,like Harold described his time with the Lux 444 feel no emotional involvement to the sound as I did with my 444 decades ago when current. We all don,t hear the same or gravitate to the same tonal playback or listen to the same music, let alone key in on the same frequency or timbre within the music. The difference for some folks preference / hearing for choosing a drive is much like the difference between digital and vynil. One just works better at bringing out the music and drawing them in than the other does.
Its a choice, a preference and not yours to demean as a right or wrong thing at all. No one is ever forced to buy anything like you posted above and these guys that post for advice quickly tire of a constant wet blanket of DD is the best your belt is cheap crap etc. etc.etc ... I advocate a choice ...you only advocate your own biased ownership while claiming people are forced to buy what you " hate".....one of the worst things a dealer can do for many is to always run down the other guys products to lift the status of his own....you are doing that almost daily here as a fan boy ...enjoy your vintage DD Japanese tables as many people are and do....just be aware many others have made other choices and while they respect yours....try putting some karma back in the world and try " in kind " over indifference.........
Ps...those jvc 101’s in a constrained layered ring as a plinth and wrapped in leather as a finish with function, looks and sounds quite good with a nice vintage arm to finish it off with.....