Hi all, hope you had a Merry and very fine Christmas and will have a very Happy New Year!! Hope you sorted your Lenco Helen, good to hear from you again!! Glad to see you're progressing and having some fun by the sound of it Peter, from your description I'd say it sounds like....an idler-wheel drive!! Congratulations and welcome to the Land of Idler. And good idea Ronnie!! Shame on me for not planning a Christmas plinth. Next project, only to be installed over the Christmas season :-).
From the merry sport of Crush the Belt-Drive (and we're climbing the ladder here with some very serious and pricey pieces being crushed) we are progressing to Crush the Direct Drive!! Now, in the interest of promoting the Sermon of Speed Stability Uber Alles (speed stability is THE most important facet of turntable design), I had avoided going after the DDs, wanting to make common cause with them against the Ubiquitous and Dominating Belt-Drivers except in certain allusions and reports of some comparisons and experiences. Feeling all Christian-like and forgiving, I thought about it and sorta felt sorry for those poor belt-drives, their companies, their admirers and so forth, and thought "Really, this isn't very democratic of me, I shouldn't single out the belt-drives any longer," so I now declare Open Season on DDs!!!
Now, this is more an accident than a plan. As you all know, I consider quartz-locking the major problem with direct drive which, since it is being applied to a motor which revolves soooo slowly, and so magnifies any motor imperfections/speed anomalies. Quartz-locking IS an audible speed anomaly (like the belt, an error and an evolutionary dead-end), which results in a dry, mechanical, non-fluid sound, and to a certain extent a quashing of dynamics, especially in comparison to idler-wheel drives. Now seeing as I am, to a certain extent (and to many on many forums), a Pariah in this jelly-fish politically-correct world of no definitive statements or beliefs (even in physically-proveable empirical science) - and you'd better not pronounce or we will crucify you ;-) - I may as well declare War on the DDs too, and offend everyone democratically and equally!! Liberty, Fraternity, Equality is what I say ;-). Now, as I say, this is an accident: one Lenco of mine has finally and utterly squashed a maxed-out Technics SP-10 MKII at a total of some 80-90 pounds; and another one quashed an EMT 948. I hope to provide more details on these comparisons at some point, or better yet get the involved parties (both of whom own their particular machines) to post themselves!! Nevertheless let us ponder the meaning and import of these latest developments. The Technics SP10 MKII is considered one of best Direct Drives ever built, being the no-holds-barred brainchild of a very large corporation with near-limitless resources, Technics/Panasonic. Needless to say, it is quartz-locked, however robustly and well-built (much better than, again, the Lenco). The owner of said Technics had this to say, being the owner of a Giant Direct Coupled Lenco: "I no longer feel anything for the Technics, it is for sale."
Any EMT at all is a Legend, and even makes the more Snobbish, status-oriented Garrard owners (not that all Garrard owners are snobs, after all I am one, I speak only of certain of the more status-oriented ones) quake in their Guccis. The fact that a Giant Direct Coupled Glass-Reinforced Lenco made the owner of said EMT declare that the Lenco was going to cost him seriously in sleep (as he listened into the wee hours) should give those who look down their noses at the Lencos pause. Think about this fellows: a Lenco has the owner of an EMT 948 thinking about selling off his EMT. That the Lenco even provokes such thoughts is cause for celebration for all idler-wheelers, and for the cause of Equipment in the Service of Music. If indeed the idler-wheel is, as I claim, superior (and it is looking more and more likely), will not admission of this fact lead to better sound reproduction in the home for all? How very democratic and Christmas-sy, and an excellent way to start the New Year: with Real Progress, and not the illusion of Real Progress!! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!
Finally, let us consider once again the question of MASS (amen). Technics-ers have no debate about high-mass vs low mass: to a Technics-er, there is only one formula, a Heavy plinth. And the heavier the better. A minimum of 40 pounds for the plinth alone is the mantra. Whats does this mean? It means that high-mass, simple as it is, IS the answer. There is no metaphysical mystical affinity of SP10s for high mass and low-mass for certain idlers, there is only Speed stability (Uber Alles) and Mass (to stabilize and absorb noise), nothing else. Unfortunately, it is more difficult to get high-mass and Direct Coupling right, and those who can't make it work and refuse to acknowledge their failings muddy the waters for the rest of us. All I can say is persevere, it works, it's simple and effective, if difficult.
On the question of DDs, I do believe they can be very musical and superior to belt-drives, as I have heard superb DDs: the discredited servo-controlled DDs such as my Sony 2250 for instance, likely another sleeper like the Mighty Lenco. The Sony 2250 has an utterly superb main bearing, perhaps the best I have ever tested, is the product of awesome precision metal-work and it is a heavy and serious machine. But more than that, it is incredibly detailed, in a sunny Mediterranean way, sparkling and light. I've already begun to design and build a plinth for it, and we will see just how good it can be. Unlike idlers with their shaded-pole motors, DDs like the 2250 should respond very well to AC conditioning, in fact, this should be crucial to extracting all the potential from servo-controlled units. Once this one finished to my satifaction, I shall engage in the amusing sport of Crush the Legendary Quartz-Locked DD :-)!!
And getting back to idlers, I was once again considering the Rek-o-Kut last night, and I think there is, indeed, hope for it as a serious audiophile machine, even if it does have a soup-can of a motor. The idler-wheel itself is actually less massive than the Garrard 301/401's, which open up the possibility of Silence. I will apply the lessons learned from rebuilding and restoring Lencos, Garrards and Thorens TD-124s to maximizing the Rek-o-Kut Rondine I have. Remember, every single detail must be attended to. And the Rek-o-Kut is one seriously beautiful Art Deco piece, and I LOVE Art Deco!!
And get this all: the Giant Garrard 301 sporting a Morch UP-4 and a good MC is now my reference for delicacy and daintiness, which puts paid (and will in future in actual comparisons and demonstrations) to the Myth of the Harsh Powerhouse Garrard. The Lenco with JMW/Decca is my Rock'n Roll Machine!! And one last discovery I allowed myself for Christmas: the AKG P8ES is an absolutely superb MM, in fact, it challenges the very best of both MM AND MC! I hope you're all having as much fun as I am!! Happy new Year!!!
