Is Direct Drive Really Better?

I would agree with Pabelson.

When you consider that some of the vibrations on a record groove are measured in the billionths of an inch, the importance of keeping motor vibration out becomes critical. It would seem to me that the cost and engineering of doing this with a direct drive would be prohibitive compared to a well implemented belt drive.

It's interesting that some CD player manufacturers, like CEC, use belt drives on their units.

What I remember about the rise of belt drive at the expense of DD was the feud between Ivor of Linn and Michael of SOTA. It went on for years to the delight of the audio press. It seemed to be staged in much the same way as the WWF feuds. It caused audiophiles to choose sides concerning which suspended table they preferred. VPI and Oracle were also both ascending and the unsuspended direct drive tables were forgotten. A few years later, digital took over.
Now that the belt drives are all going unsuspended, we're again looking at direct drive and seeing that they actually outperform even the most prestigious belts.
This is what I felt when I asked the question but I was wondering what sort of agreement or controversy I might find. So far, I have 1 noncommittal, 2 agreements and someone who thinks I'm joking. What's your opinion?

I think digital belt drives are high end snake oil, but I as most could never find a direct drive table within reason that could compete with a mid priced belt drive table.

Direct drive TTs and belt drive digital: my ticket to high end salsa music reproduction. My KAB modded Technics 1200 and Modwright modded Parasound belt drive transport are great performers in any league.

Curiously enough, I ran into my father's friend who introduced me to high end when I was in high school. I was telling him about my KAB modded Technics 1200. He had to admit that selling his Technics SP-10 for a SOTA vacuum was a mistake.

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I have to admit I love my Technics SP-10MKIII. I also have a Linn LP12, Micro Seiki 1500FVG, Teac TN400, Dual CS5000, Empire and a few others laying about. I use the Technics most but the Micro is great too.