Is Direct Drive Really Better?

With high-end designers getting into the Lenco game, then expect to see rebuilt Lencos begin to appear at high-end audio shows, and perhaps one day, me along with them."

The ironic juxtaposition of high-end designers with you along side them notwithstanding, do you or does anyone think that high-end designers will be satisfied with trotting out rebuilt Lencos at high-end audio shows?! Please. While they may allow this initially as a co-opting exercise to further whet the market's appetite and bring recalcitrants into the fold, the high-end designer is "high-end" by definition of being high dollar, not necessarily high performance. They won’t make diddly rebuilding Lencos and they will do NOTHING that won’t make them diddly. In their hands, the idler wheel will soon be a titanium/graphite composition coated with rubber from first-growth virgin Indonesian rubber trees, the platters of some exotic ceramic, and the plinths made from only the very rarest hardwoods taken from the deepest, most dangerous African forests and assembled in finished using strictly proprietary, superior (though unproven) methods. Why? Because ONLY with these combinations can you bring out the very best performance. And, we all want the VERY best, right? Old song, new verse. The only other way for them to profit at the levels they will expect will be to sell it as a super cheap alternative with the hope of totally cornering the market for those looking to spin a few oldies and not wanting to spend more than a couple hundred. Yeah right, THAT’s going to happen, that market demands good sound.

Clearly, the idler wheel tables have A LOT going for them, especially when thoughtfully and effectively restored and when compared against much higher priced tables. I’d even say that idler wheel tables have the ultimate edge on belt drives. Of course if one is happy with what they hear from their own table, who can argue? I, for one, do not really care which technology is used, provided joy is attained through listening. This hobby is FULL of folks wanting you to believe that “you haven’t heard your music till you’ve heard it on this”. And, that’s where dough gets separated from wallet. The beauty of some of the latest idler wheel and DD units and restoration efforts is that nearly equal, equal, or even better performance can be attained at a lower cost - which allows either more money in the jar or more money to be spent on music. I am not holding my breath that high-end designers will be promoting that ethos – now or ever.

Macrojack, I’m not sure if this is cogent, but it is heartfelt and well considered. :-)

This is an excellent topic and discussion! What I find so intriguing about the resurgence of interest in DD and idler wheel designs is the retrospection it is prompting abou how the high-end has developed. Do you all remember Harry Pearson's first review of the Linn LP in which he described it as something that appeared to have been built in a Bronx garage? He took huge flack for that. He had been an SP-10 enthusiast, but gradually shifted in other directions as DD lost favor in the high end. Art Dudley's latest S'phile column acknowledges that he (and most of the rest of us) may have bought into a certain way of thinking about turntables that we perhaps we need to re-consider. This is fascinating stuff, don't you think?

Seveeral of the threads here about the Technics SL1200 (w/ KAB mods) compare it to belt-drive tables in the same price range. Okay, so it's serious competition to Regas and Music Halls. But tell me, Psychic and others, is it serious competition to the next rung up in belt drives: Linn, Nottingham, Basis, VPI, Kuzma, etc.? Forget about the Walkers and Rockports even, but in the segment around $2K - $4K do the DD's compete? David, (4yanx), am I right that you moved from a Nottingham, which you were very enamored of as I recall, to a DIY idler wheel TT? Has it been an unequivocal step up?

Do you feel a difference between being run down by a car (being actively driven by a motor) or a large rock rolling down a hill ? I would say that both will crush you equally, one using its motor, the other a very large inertia.

Sure, Sean, but you're asking the question from the wrong perspective. What if you wanted to run somebody over, which would you use? Seems to me that "direct drive" would be the right tool for the job!

Sean,
Assuming nothing about relative sizes of car and boulder, and knowing nothing about polar moments (sounds like a phrase from a travel brochure) I would surmise that the boulder would be slowed somewhat by your body since it was coasting whereas the car which is actively powered could be completely unaffected by your presence in its path.
What I'm imagining here makes perfect sense to me but that does not mean I'm sure it is supported by physics. Does someone out there have a background in physics and an opinion on this matter?

Drubin, there has been a lot of buzz, in my opinion at least, for a couple of reasons. One, people love to argue what they like and/or know best. OK, true, but not the main reason. There are valid reasons for promoting idlers and DD's and for questioning why belt drives currently dominate the scene. Inquiring minds want to know if it is because they are superior or just good enough that one can't really tell much difference or because of some nefarious or market-driven reason. IMHO, when in doubt, bet on the market. That is why I am HIGHLY skeptical of the "high-end designers" sudden interest in idlers. Clearly there have been idler advocates for quite some time - the restored Garrard projects go back quite a ways. Only a matter of time before folks started using similar tables to similar ends. Kudos to Jean for trying it with the Lencos but, by his own admission, it isn't a novel idea. But, with all the current buzz, Garrards, Lencos, Rek-O-Kuts, Russcos, etc., etc. this is beginning to look like something that audiophile will BUY! Thus, perhaps, the apparent "suit" interest.

To answer your second question directly, yes I loved my Spacedeck. It is still in service, however, with one of my sons. I still have a Hyperspace and it is a great table. However, we (another son and I) have built now six Lencos. All sound terrific, frankly. The best of our efforts will compete with turntables costing many times more, and we have friends that can attest to this fact. I some ways, they sound better, especially in the lower end and in that indefinable “pleasure” factor. I am neither an engineer nor a psychologist so I will not try to explain the “boogie factor” these tables seem to have. They are good but, on the other hand, not everyone has the time, patience, skill, or whatever to rebuild one. Also, if not done RIGHT, they can be loud, rumbling messes (whether anyone who has built one wants to admit that or not). In other words, proper implementation is crucial. I have had MANY folks write to me wanting me to build them one because they like our plinth designs and because they want to do the comparison but don’t have one or more of the necessities listed above. Again, this will pique the interest of those wanting to cash in. We, ourselves, have deferred except to make a couple for friends. Given recent improvements in my back, this may change quickly, though, especially if we can help a few folks before these old ones are all gone and you can only find one from a high-end designer at a high-end price. Ha! :-)