Is Direct Drive Really Better?

Tbg...If you want to measure resonant frequency (and I presume Q) there is a straightforward way to do this. You apply vibration to the item you are testing, with frequency swept over the range of interest, and record vibration amplitude of the item under test using one or more accelerometers glued to the item at locations of interest.

You might want to perform such a test during development of the design so as to achieve a non-resonant platter.

O.K. Everyone seems to agree that we don't like vibrations and everyone seems to believe that speed stability is of great importance. The only diagreement I've heard has to do with which is more important. Doesn't it seem that bringing them both to manageable levels concurrently should be well within reach given what has already been accomplished?
Likewise it would seem that all of these 3 drive systems are capable of performance levels approaching perfection. So there are three best approaches and none are inherently inferior. Is anyone going to switch as a result of reading or participating in this thread?

Direct drive or die.

i think it is because turntable designers all have varying degrees of understanding of the entire turntable system, and place varying amounts of emphasis on "perfecting" the various aspects, within a certain price range, and possibly with different technologies and approaches.

It is definitely not a foregone conclusion that just because a company makes turntables, that they are "expert" in the field. And even "experts" have holes in their knowledge base. And even if they do know everything(impossible), they cannot implement perfection, or even close to it at any affordable price range.

So, what you buy is inherently a compromise.
What types of compromising, and how well the compromises work as a whole, will determine the results.
And, since different people have different listening tastes and sensitivities, different forms of compromise may appeal to different listeners.

That's why there are numerous manufacturers, who all provide a different set of engineering compromises, in an attempt to get the best result at the price range intended.

And it's the same with all other components, too.

Is it really possible to design the perfect turntable. I think not. I do not agree with Twl, that designers have a hole in their knowledge base. I think it is the knowledge base that has the hole. This and the absence of perfect materials.

Interestingly, were we all willing to convert the signal into digital information immediately, it might be possible for a computer to "remove" non-rigid materials' impacts on sound such as the new telescopes remove the atmosphere's impact on light hitting the mirror. Or remove the resonances of the table, or the LP being off center. All we would have to give up would be analog sound.