Is Direct Drive Really Better?

As I mentioned before, I think that the quality of implementation of the design can have as much, or more, effect as the design itself. Especially in these very high end tables which will all exhibit very good performance.

If a manufacturer does well at overcoming the basic flaws of any design, it may well outperform a one of another equally good(or better) design that is less well-implemented.

Also, I reject "wow and flutter" statistics, unless the separate "wow" and "flutter" components are individually stated, because they are very different types of speed variations, and should not be lumped together in a single specification.

Regarding my earlier posting statement about "tunnel vision", I still say that one cannot make a meaningful conclusion about a turntable's performance by one factor alone, including drive system. I could say that a Saturn V rocket can go faster than a Ferrari, but you can't drive a Saturn V rocket on the road. All aspects of the design must be considered.

If you want my answer, I can say that all forms of drive systems have the capability of being "the best", depending upon how well they are designed, and how well they are implemented. However, they may require very different approaches that are required to deal with the very different problems associated with each type of drive system.

In the end, it is the one that provides the most pleasurable musical experience for the listener that owns it, that will be "the best". And that also includes the price range, because if a listener cannot afford it, it is of little consequence to him how great it may be.

"...in the TT subject and from the objective approach it is a fact that we can only 'work' with the 'numbers' that are on hand: there are no others!"

There could be others, they're just not taken or not published. But I presume there's no technical reason, beyond a lack of will or resources, why turntable reviews couldn't include detailed measurements of speed distortions, noise, and resonant behavior that take into account spectra and duration, not just simple amplitude, as well as frequency and transient response/distortion at the output.

The status quo however is that turntable reviews (and cartridge and tonearm reviews) include no measured test results whatsoever. This is unfortunate, because I believe there can be a salutory effect on the product marketplace stemming from public accountability for technical performance claims and the availability of comparison data. It might be interesting if Teres would be willing to share with us some idea of what kinds of measurements are taken as part of a manufacturer's design and testing process that aren't normally published for consumer consumption.

Having been brought to my mathematical senses, I concede the point (obvious to all but me) that harmonic relationships do not change with an absolute speed change, provided the speed is stable of course.

Makes me wonder what we're hearing though. We're doing a few experiments and (gasp!) measurements. Stay tuned.

Doug, I can save you some time.

LP's are 12 inches, smaller 45's are 7 inches. Now there's no need for you to measure.

"Makes me wonder what we're hearing though"

IMO, either you're...

1) Not hearing what you expect to hear, based on extensive personal experience with the records tested

2) Hearing what there is to hear, based on the fact that you just played the record at the correct speed, and know which one is which

3) Hearing what you do expect to hear, based on your preconceptions about what effect will be wrought by a 1% speed change

...or some combo of the above. The acid test of this perception would be to use unfamiliar recordings and a helper, having them played back for you blind at both the correct speed and 1% off, to see whether you can consistently identify which playback is correct and which is fast or slow. I think this would probably be an exercise in futility though, maybe even at 2% in many instances, or even higher with some other types of music.