Is Direct Drive Really Better?

+++ do you think that in this moment your non-metal DD design is a better one? or do you make it in that way because looks better than an all metal one? +++

Good question Raul. The short answer is that we use hardwoods primarily because of the sound, looks are secondary.

The first turntable to come out of the Teres project was my design that used a well damped all aluminum base (http://www.teresaudio.com/fame/1.html). The very first base that Teres offered was 3" thick acrylic. It looked good and was both inexpensive and simple. The sound was OK but was not nearly as good as aluminum version. On a hunch we decided to try making a base out of rosewood loaded with lead shot. To our great surprise the sonic result not only exceeded the acrylic base but also far exceeded my all aluminum base.

I have experimented with many materials and have yet to find anything that delivers subtle midrange detail and texture like dense hardwoods. Carbon fiber comes close but lacks some of the warmth. I find that aluminum is detailed and pristine sounding. However, compared to hardwoods it sounds whitewashed in the midrange and there is a lack of "life". I think that there are a couple reasons for this. The first is rigidity. Most people are surprised to learn that hardwoods like cocobolo are much more rigid than aluminum. A 1/8 inch thick ½ inch wide strip of cocobolo cannot be bent with bare hands. However strip of aluminum of the same size is easily folded in half. Also hardwoods have a chaotic grain structure that varies greatly in density. This varied density is good at both dissipating and breaking up resonance.

I have also experimented with other metals and prefer both mild steel and stainless steel to aluminum. The steels offer a more clarity and detail but also sound a bit too harsh and analytical. Of the metals I find that brass is far superior to steel or aluminum. It is detailed and rich without ever sounding harsh like steel or smeared like aluminum. We found that replacing all of the aluminum parts on the Teres 340 with brass was a major upgrade. Brass is very expensive so it is not often found in turntables. However, I believe it's properties easily justify the cost. The new direct drive Teres will continue to use hardwoods but more brass will be used.

Teres: Although my TT is made entirely of cast aluminum, I can relate to what you say, since I have guitars with bridges made of all these options: rosewood or ebony; brass; or cast aluminum; and in this application the first two definitely work better than the latter, which thins out tonality and reduces sustain. My only question would be, is what we're looking for in a guitar bridge necessarily the same thing we want in a turntable base (or platter)? Your listening tests would seem to answer that, although the number of well-regarded TT's using acrylic or aluminum would seem to reach a different conclusion (can you imagine a guitar bridge made of acrylic?). And it intrigues me that Nottingham uses cast iron and VPI uses stainless steel, both of which unlike brass seem vibrationally more inert. Then of course there's Rega's ceramic platter...

Dear Teres: It is a fact that in your subjective TT evaluations you really like the wood " colorations " against metal ones, that´s fine.

My question about TT material was because you are in a new TT design and I only try to tell you: look for other material options.

Btw, some of the big names in TT, both DD and BD, are all metal designs: Rockport, Walker, Verdier, Acoustic Signature, Simon Yorke, Micro Seiki, Denon, Technics, American Sound, Final, etc, etc.

Regards and enjoy the music.
Raul.

A `feature' yet unmentioned(unless I missed it?) A DD TT unit that provides good enough torque to sustain resistance to stylus drag, unfortunately exhibits magnetic noise induced into the cartridge as it tracks the inner part of a record. I came against this on Micro Seiki TT's in the early seventies while working at Howland West Audio (Eden Grove Holloway, remember it?) and even after several visits from Micro's design engineers it was not completely cured, unless you reverted to using a Decca Deram ceramic crystal pickup!!! This was otherwise a very fine turntable and if you only listened to highly modulated recordings, wasn't a problem, very quiet classical recordings however......! So, I never bought one, However in '74 I bought a GL75 which I still use and enjoy. Yes the arm is a pig to set up*, yes the `v' blocks wear out, but that takes forty years, yes it IS a jocky wheel drive (completely out of fasion when I purchased it) so what? There is NO rumble (not even today on the original wheel!)Heavy percusive bass (remember early Reggae?) doesn't faze it and there isn't the faintest wobble in a drawn out violine note. The decoupled counter weight on a decoupled arm (rubber `V' blocks) really does give the music a chance to be heard.
* For those that want to try to set up a L75 arm, I've found that for best results the deck must be level, the arms height shoud be so that with the stylus on a record, the arm tube should be horizontal to the deck, there should be equal `clearance' bellow and each side of the arm tube and its shroud (undamaged `V' blocks).

In my last post I had the Shindo Labs turntable, arm, and cartridge. This, of course, was the remodeled Garrard 301 and a rim drive. I now have a Bergman SIndre turntable and arm with the Ortofon A-90 cartridge. It is a belt drive. They sound different.

I must say that I have had enough experience with isolation devices, most recently with the StillPoints Ultra Stainless Steel feet, to realize we are mainly just moving around the vibrations that are coloring our music reproduction. With the StillPoints, I finally know what real isolation means. I have them under my Bergman.

I once heard a good experiment with the same turntable with identical platters except that one was mpingo or ebony and the other acrylic. When the acrylic was put on, everyone said go back to the wood. I would love to hear a similar comparison or other materials for the platter and of rim versus belt and direct drives. Until that time, I love my Bergman.