Chuck,
Initially I posed the question because of curiosity and an instinct that perhaps DD had been sent away prematurely by a trend that was propagated by an audio press I distrust and by a need for isolation which was addressed by suspending turntable chassis rather than evacuating unwanted energy. The suspended turntable trend naturally favored BD.
With the subsequent development of isolation platforms and vibration control, I wondered if it might be that DD is really superior after all and should be revisited.
What I've gotten from this is a strong awareness of controversy. There are strong arguements on both (actually three) sides so I would be less sure than when I started if not for learning about the Grand Prix Racing Monaco and Chris Brady's plans to develop a Teres DD. I mean, look at it, one of the pre-eminent BD designers says that after extensive experimentation he has concluded that DD has greater ultimate potential. Who among the respondents to this thread brings greater credibility?
So I am selling my Well Tempered Reference Table that I have used for 12 years and a slew of DD tables I don't like as well as my Luxman PD 441. There is a Technics SP 10 MK II, an SL 150 MK II and a Technics SL 1100A. They are all strong, stable and good sounding but I like the look and feel of the Luxman better and it has more of a sense of pace and drive. I also have a Yamaha PX-2 which is well made and beautifully designed with tangential tracking but it is a bit too gizmo for me. It might go to my kids since it is fully automatic and you can do everything except change records with the dustcover closed.
I think that, as it stands today, high end vintage DD on the used market represents the most bang for the buck in analog playback.
Initially I posed the question because of curiosity and an instinct that perhaps DD had been sent away prematurely by a trend that was propagated by an audio press I distrust and by a need for isolation which was addressed by suspending turntable chassis rather than evacuating unwanted energy. The suspended turntable trend naturally favored BD.
With the subsequent development of isolation platforms and vibration control, I wondered if it might be that DD is really superior after all and should be revisited.
What I've gotten from this is a strong awareness of controversy. There are strong arguements on both (actually three) sides so I would be less sure than when I started if not for learning about the Grand Prix Racing Monaco and Chris Brady's plans to develop a Teres DD. I mean, look at it, one of the pre-eminent BD designers says that after extensive experimentation he has concluded that DD has greater ultimate potential. Who among the respondents to this thread brings greater credibility?
So I am selling my Well Tempered Reference Table that I have used for 12 years and a slew of DD tables I don't like as well as my Luxman PD 441. There is a Technics SP 10 MK II, an SL 150 MK II and a Technics SL 1100A. They are all strong, stable and good sounding but I like the look and feel of the Luxman better and it has more of a sense of pace and drive. I also have a Yamaha PX-2 which is well made and beautifully designed with tangential tracking but it is a bit too gizmo for me. It might go to my kids since it is fully automatic and you can do everything except change records with the dustcover closed.
I think that, as it stands today, high end vintage DD on the used market represents the most bang for the buck in analog playback.