New TT ideas please

Here's what I'm looking for: Clarity, detail, accurate timbre, clear and realistic imaging, quickness, depth, neutral, pitch black quietness, beauty and musicality. I don't want any darkness or anything that is laid back. I want something that can work with detailed cartridges (dynavector etc.) and with gorgeous cartridges (koetsu etc.).

Good list.

What you're seeking is a TT that will "always" spin at at exactly the chosen speed while simultaneously sinking as much resonance energy as possible away from the vinyl/stylus interface. Therefore, there are some turntable "features" you should avoid:

- suspended tables (unless very expensive); they sap speed and bass energy, soften dynamics and raise the noise floor by feeding false (non-musical) energy back into the cartridge

- belt drives that use stretchy (rubber) or slippery (thread) belts; TT makers normally chose such belts to "protect" the platter from motor noise, which tells you they prefer bandaids to applying good engineering to minimizing the problem at the source; elastic and slippery belts are invariably vulnerable to stylus drag, which slews transient leading edges and robs the music of lifelike speed, snap and energy; even the rotational inertia of my 35 lb. platter is not enough to make belts like those sound acceptable

- low mass plinths that can't sink lots of resonance energy; resonances raise the noise floor and this masks the low level details which deliver realistic timbre, sharp images and realistic soundspaces

"Beauty and musicality" are in the ear of the beholder of course. Neither I nor anyone else knows what those terms mean to you. Your technical requirements are easier to address, as above.

Spend some time researching and thinking about these approaches, which avoid the above pitfalls better than most:
- Galibier
- Teres
- Redpoint
- modded Lenco or similar

Happy hunting!
Doug

Woah there Doug.

+++ [Avoid ] suspended tables (unless very expensive); they sap speed and bass energy, soften dynamics and raise the noise floor by feeding false (non-musical) energy back into the cartridge +++

How does my suspension do all these things?

I had an unsuspended table not to long ago and it was less dynamic, had less bass impact and had a much higher noise floor than my Oracle. (It also cost more than my Oracle).

I suspect the sonic shortcomings were directly related to the fact that each and every micro vibration was dumped straight into the cart, something not happening with my Oracle.

+++ elastic and slippery belts are invariably vulnerable to stylus drag, which slews transient leading edges and robs the music of lifelike speed, snap and energy; even the rotational inertia of my 35 lb. platter is not enough to make belts like those sound acceptable +++

I tried both stretchy and zero compliant belts on a couple of DC motored tables. In both cases (stretchy and non compliant) I could detect the same noticeable drift. It has little to do with the motor to platter coupling, but everything to do with a puny DC motor that cannot cope with stylus drag.

Rotational inertia the most capable way of keep consistent speed without introducing noise. It is most certainly more capable than a puny DC motor trying to chase its tail in a closed loop system.

Regards
Paul

Hi Pauly,

How does my suspension do all these things?

By obeying Newton's Third Law of Motion.

I had an unsuspended table not to long ago and it was less dynamic, had less bass impact and had a much higher noise floor than my Oracle. (It also cost more than my Oracle).

I suspect the sonic shortcomings were directly related to the fact that each and every micro vibration was dumped straight into the cart, something not happening with my Oracle.

I suspect you're right. There was clearly something amiss with a more expensive table that couldn't match a less expensive one. I did mention that a well designed, high mass plinth is needed to damp resonances on a non-suspended table. Maybe your previous table lacked that?

Motors & belts:

You're right about motors of course, they're vitally important. Clearly a "puny" motor, whether DC or AC, will have more trouble resisting stylus drag than a more robust one. And a noisy or cogging one will be unsuitable for direct torque coupling to the platter. (Can you imagine a direct drive with a noisy or unstable motor? Ewww.) The best of all motors would be powerful, quiet and would provide constantly linear acceleration, not a simple task.

We may have to agree to disagree on motor/platter coupling. I have experimented with at least 10 different belt types, on two tables and with three different motors. This was with platters weighing 25 and 35 lbs. respectively, far heavier than an Oracle's.

Despite these hefty platters the differences between one belt and another are invariably audible. Elastic belts ALWAYS stretch on leading edges of transients (that's what "elastic" means of course), and a more powerful motor simply exaggerates this. After reaching full extension, the elastic then seeks to return to its resting state on the trailing edge of the transient. This is also audible. Slippery belts (silk thread, silk tape, etc.) also degrade the sound. When a transient increases drag on the belt/pulley interface, a slippery belt slips. The effect is pretty similar to the leading edge stretch of an elastic belt, though there may not be any rebound on the trailing edge.

High rotational inertia cannot overcome stylus drag. That's a physical impossibility. All it can do is lower the frequency and amplitude of induced variations in rotational velocity. That may dampen stylus drag effects but it will not audibly eliminate them. A strong motor with a linear torque coupling to the platter is the only way, at least IME.

Best,
Doug

Doug: thanks for taking the time for your response. I purposely left beuty and musicality as features there - knowing that only I can determine those :) But you certainly did address the rest. What about platter? Do you have a view as to whether a solid acrylic platter (a la Clearaudio Master Solution) or a metal/hybrid platter affects my desired outcome? Also, the belt thing is always interesting as so many pretty "high end" TTs have belts (again, the Clearaudio Master Solution - rumoured to be quite a lively table, BTW).

So your view would be that a Clearaudio Master Reference (same price as these names generally) would lose energy/liveliness and muddy transients relative to those brands mentioned. Are there European brands that fit that bill (ie Transrotor Fat Bob?). From a design perspective (and it matters) Redpoint is the only one that works for me from this bunch. We do, oddly, have a local Redpoint dealer.

Thanks

I respect Doug Deacon's knowledge and contributions to these threads.

However, it is unfair to paint belt drive and/or suspended turntables with such a wide brush.

There are belt driven suspended turntables that will stand toe to toe and even outperform the brands on his list based on the parameters he's chosen. Some of them even cost less.

Disclaimer: retailer