Is idler drive better than belt drive or direct drive?
Dear @mglik : Next time could help you make your " work ": https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/direct-drive-vs-idler-drive-vs-belt-drive Regards and enjoy the MUSIC NOT DISTORTIONS, R. |
I own, and have owned, many turntables of all different drive technologies. I can't say that any one of them is better than the other, assuming that the technology is executed properly. All turntable drive technologies have fans and detractors. All technologies have specific strengths and weaknesses. At the end of the day, how does it sound? My TD-124 sounds great. So does my Luxman PD-441 and Pear Audio Kid Howard. They also all sound different but after hundreds or thousands of hours I can't say which one sounds best. They all do. IMO, the drive technology employed is less important than the symmetry between turntable, tonearm, cartridge, phono cable and phono stage. If it sounds great to you it sounds great. Period. |
LOL. MC.. Crack me up...I'll take ROCK... I like direct drive, when it's party time...YUP. I like rim, idler with belt, and belt drive when I'm getting serious with the ol vinyl.. Not as often as it should be...RUSSCO.. Garrard KILLERS Check them out. LOL they have a gear shift.. I love them.. I like hand made too.. fun to mess with.. I own them ALL, 401 (better unit) 301 better looking, TD124s, are a work of art... Russco/Sparta/GRK. 750 Fairchild (my personal favorite) got stolen. 24/7/365, for 30 years, then 200.00 USD worth of parts, another 30. Regards |
Here we go again. I do not know where this illusion that an idler wheel turntable has more "impact" and "drive." Music has impact and drive. Turntables do not. They just spin, hopefully at a constant and noiseless 331/3 RPM. Idler wheel drives are relatively a mechanical nightmare. They were necessary 1/2 a century ago to shift speeds and give a turntable enough torque so that a record could be slip Q -ed. Direct drive tables replaced them and radio stations never looked back. All these idler wheel tables out there were dirt cheap and great for cottage companies to mess around with the resurgence of vinyl. Even if an idler wheel table was quiet to begin with, with just a little wear it won't be. Anybody with an excellent sub woofer system that operates flat to 18 Hz can not use one without turning on a rumble filter. As an idler wheel drive wears you get rumble, wow and flutter. As a belt drive wears you get just wow and flutter. Direct drive tables do not wear and they are the most accurate speed wise with just a few exceptions. The only reason I would ever buy a vintage table is for a conversation piece. Impact and drive? Only by the power of suggestion. |
