Honest question about cartridge vs. turntable performance.

Linn has just updated the most important part of their turntable, and it is not the motor, the type of drive, the speed control, the tonearm or the suspension system. It is the bearing!!! Precision engineering in the bearing is actually where I believe the biggest gains are to be had, others may disagree, but listening to what the bearing can bring is crucial. Direct drive tables are fine, so long as the motor doesn't cog ( which unfortunately a lot of them do) or contribute any noise into the platter. 

@daveyf, what exactly is the difference between the old and brand new Linn bearing?  

@testpilot There have been two prior bearings for the Linn. The original and then the Cirkus. The new one called the Karousel attaches to the subchassis with a three point system. It is also more precisely machined to a mirror finish at the base. The added rigidity and the precision go a long way in improving the signal to noise ratio. If one looks at the typical bearing that most turntables utilize then one can see the obvious differences. This aspect is not something that we see discussed that much, most naysayers of the Linn platform have no idea as to what the bearing in their favorite turntable consists of, or even how accurately machined it is ( never mind the current condition of said bearing!)...yet IME this is a huge factor in the ultimate SQ.

Mijostyn, I have long ago moved on from the Nottingham, after having also moved on from the Sapphire. Each of my five turntables in current use is either direct drive or (one) idler drive, a very highly modified Lenco, which really only uses the platter, the motor, and the idler wheel from a Lenco L 78. With all due respect to Sota  turntables, for you to talk about a Dohmann turntable with a built-in minus K platform or to talk about any spring suspension in the same breath with a minus K platform is a bit off the deep end, don’t you think.? The minus K is light years more advanced than any common spring suspension found on a turntable. And the Dohmann is indeed a world-class turntable if you have $40,000. I don’t categorically choose direct drive over belt drive, I only claim that for the same amount of cash investment, you get much more bang for the buck out of a direct drive turntable. And even if you have and are willing to spend the bucks, the dohmann and only a very few others actually give you value for money. Most of the rest of them are just bling exhibits. Your ad hoc arguments against direct drive just don’t hold water.

Atma-Sphere, I have this nagging itch that tells me it is the "less money"
part that is most significant here. Now, I have not had a recent direct drive in my system for comparison's sake and to be real It would have to have the same tonearm and cartridge to be meaningful. It is a hard comparison to make. We did do this at Sound Components back in the late 70's, early 80's and the results were uniformly disappointing as far as direct drives were concerned. Theories abounded but nothing was ever proven. 
I have zero interest in the SP10 however I would love to be able to listen to the Grand Prix Audio Monaco and the Xact Audio Beat under similar circumstances. Both are even more accurate and both go to length to mitigate magnetic interference with the cartridge. However at this time if I were to purchase a turntable it would be the Dohmann Helix, just another belt drive.