Which vintage direct drive?

I like all these suggestions and advice. Most of the models I listed were 100v Japanese models I realized. I like the idea of the vintage coreless/brushless DD, they seemed to have evolved into developing a more mature drive system. One of the things that is a bit tough to accommodate, is that the Trans-fi tonearm needs to be on the same horizontal plane as the top of the platter. This means that I have to get risers or make a new plinth. The Victor or Panasonic is at the top of my list, I think. I tried looking into an SP10mk2 earlier, but most of the sellers' tables had a lot of cosmetic damage. 

Getting the Trans-Fi I knew I was investing in a project, so I can be flexible. 

Yes, the QL-10 had the entire package of the plinth, tonearm, and drive system, but, I believe, the drive system is exactly the same, just 120v.

The belt drives I really enjoyed were an old VPI Jr. and Nottingham Interspace, although I did not like the arm of the Nottingham (man, could they make turntables but their arms were crazily overdamped ). 

My choice:
Luxman PD-444
Denon DP-80
Victor TT-101
Technics SP-10mk2
Technics SP-20 

from this list i think Luxman PD-444 is the best of them all in terms of usability for almost any tonearm, designed for two arms (long and short). 

Victor tt-101 is the most problematic, hard, expensive or impossible to fix. You may never find a working sample. 

Technics is great, but not for "9 inch arm. 

Denon is nice! 

Wolfie, I didn’t pay too much attention after I mounted the air bearing tonearm and listened for a minute - it was one of the second tier Technics, maybe an SL1500 mk2. Anyway, compared to the Nottingham Mentor (Dais bearing, modern motor controller), the DD was unlistenably coarse. To me. In my system.

I bought the Technics because it was real cheap and I wanted a second TT - but the Technics was not the answer, so I gave it away. Kept the Trans-Fi arm.

And agreed about the NA tonearm. About as adjustable as a concrete block.

Sorry for the long delay, injury kept me away. 

I've decided to mod a Dual 721. It's a brushless DD that is more reliable than most and very simple design with excellent measurements. I will make a plinth and pair this with the Terminator tonearm. Making the motor parallel with tonearm is the most important part. Next, would be making a quiet box for the air pump  (harder than it seems). 

Great suggestions though and I do appreciate the help. 

Terry, You compared your top of the line Nottingham to an old technology, and chronologically old Technics DD.  That is really not a fair comparison of belt-drive vs direct-drive types.  The Dias would be far superior to the Technics, in so many ways other than the drive system.


Eno, So far as I recall, the Dual 721 is one of the earliest coreless motor DD turntables.  (I guess it came out after the Dual 701, which was the first.) Nearly all the coreless turntable motors that have followed on to the Dual borrow heavily, if not completely, from its design.  (Even the Brinkmann Bardo motor in the present tense.) In fact, I read that Kenwood got sued by Dual, because the Kenwood coreless motor so closely resembled the Dual design.  "Brushless" is neither here nor there, but is it quartz-referenced for speed control?  I ask because I think that idea came along later, late 1970s.  It's what distinguishes the Technics SP10 from the SP10 Mk2, for example.