idler wheel vs direct drive technics impressions

I just purchased on Audiogon from a great 'goner in San Jose, Kurt, the lenco l-75 idler driven turntable which had been heavily modified by Jean Natais with a beautiful cherry plinth. The tt is set with a rega rb-700 tonerarm and a shelter 501mk2 low output mc cartridge.

I can only give a very preliminary comparison of the lenco l-75 versus my other turntable the technics sl-12105mg.

I thoroughly enjoyed the technics directdrive turntable driven by a well regarded benz micro ace low output cartridge. I think in many ways its the perfect low budget table. It provides accurate speed, ample bass, easy to use, inexpensive, and provides for numerous upgrades. I upgraded mine with a tonearm dampen kit and a better turntable mat.

The lenco l-75 is using a new shelter 501 mk2 cartridge which is a highly regarded under $1,000 cartridge. Since the cartridge is still breaking in my observations are merely preliminary. The tonerarm and cartridge have only been set tentatively until the cartridge is fully broken in. At that point I will have it professionally set with proper vta and stuff like that since I am not an expert in these matters and want it done optimally.

Even at the outset one can readily tell that the Lenco is a superb sounding tt with a wonderful sense of rhythm, ease of use, with wonderful imaging and soundstaging.

Many people seem to think that you must go with belt drive or direct drive but the idler seems to me to be the perfect combination of the two. It does not have the speed issues that belts sometimes do (nor need belt replacements) but has better separation of the platter from the plinth than most budget direct drive units. The original lenco l-75 did not have the heavy plinth necessary to optimize the sound but the custom modified ones that you can buy from people like jean natais or make yourself avoids the pitfalls of the original units. The Lenco like the Garrard tt's are a less expensive logical evolution from the technics without spending a lot of bucks. Its nice to know you don't need to spend $10,000 on a tt and tonerarm to get even more analog glory than the tecnics. I would reiterate that I think the Technics is a no brainer purchase in the $1,500 and below category. I think the Technics was better than my previous $6,000 Marantz reference sa-7s1 cd player (albeit not nearly as good as my current playback designs cd player which is better than even the exalted emm labs equipment I used to own)