If you were looking for a direct drive turntable ...

I am surprised that people still get energized over the drive mechanisms used in better turntables.  In my view whether a belt or direct drive is used is about as impropant as what color the plinth is.  It is true that my every day TTs are both DD, but I would be happy to own belt drives from Dr. Feickert, Kuzma, SME, Rega or Air Force and so on.  Really we should be focused on more important issues, like tonearms and cartridges, and trying to figure out a way to pool our resources to help each other sort through phono preamps and SUTs.

Dear @billstevenson  : I agree with you and I posted that several times.

I like DD but even that I have it I'm usinc a BD one.

Yes, most important than that is cartridge/tonearm and almost at the same level than the phono stage that's nothing less that the system link tha has to proccess the cartridge signal !

R.

Yes Raul you keep posting good information and It is appreciated by me.  I hope others are reading it too.  For example the recent technical paper of 9" vs. 12" tonearms, which is excellent.

Bill

Just for the record, in more ways than one, I don't think the Pioneer PLX1000 should be classified as "vintage".  It's a recent model apparently aimed at undercutting the cost factor of the Technics G series turntables, in that it is cheaper than any of those.  So, it's a candidate if you are on a budget, but not in the vintage category.  Pioneer did make a very high quality line of DD turntables back in the day, topped by the nonpareil Exclusive P3, which is now very costly if you can even find a good one. Below that was the Exclusive P10 and then the Pioneer line headed by the PL70 MkII, I think. (Chak can correct me if I have the alphanumeric designation wrong.)  All of these used coreless motors. These top 3 came with an excellent tonearm, too.

I have moved on from Belt Drive and Idler Drive, but still retain these TT Drives to use at my leisure.

I also have the opportuniity to listen to a SME Belt Drive, Linn Belt Drive and Garrard and Lenco Idler Drives in other systems.

Today I use a DD as my main TT and others I know have swapped out their Belt Drive TT's to be superseded by DD in their systems.

Taking the Drive out of the equation, there are other areas where the DD wins over.

The DD has in many cases especially on the models being refferred to, exceptional speed control built in.

Other Drive systems can cost much more to achieve a speed control that is with similar desirability.

An Idler Drive can easily have a Standalone Speed Control that commands a $1000+ and Belt Drives have had many add on ancillaries to improve Speed Control at similar asking prices. 

This is one of the reasons I became interested in a DD.

After hearing a DD in A/B comparisons to a owned and well respected Idler Drive,

I became a convert to the DD and have not looked back.