What makes for a "great" turntable?

Okay after 50 years in this hobby and having owned more turntables than most members. Back in analogs golden day the tables of choice were Dual and Thorens and many of those survive to this day.But Dual and Thorens now are mere ghosts of what they once were.

However for the last 25 years or so have been firmly entrenched in the VPI line up of turntables. The reason for me is quite simple. The VPI turntables are well thought out, superb construction and parts and most of all service is just a phone call away, plus they have a firm dealer network. Another plus is the clear upgrade path that VPI tables have, when one wants to move their existing VPI to another level, without having to buy another new turntable or start over again with something else.

Yes I continue to evaluate other brands that come through here such as Project,MMF series,Clearaudio,Sota, and others. This is not to disparage those brands, but none of those have for me the overall comfort level of the VPI brand.

If push came to shove, the only other turntable out there I would go for is the Simon Yorke turntables. A friend of mine has the S 7 and this is in my opinion the finest turntable I have ever had the pleasure to listen to. Each time I visit him I am just totally mesmerized by the outright musicality of the Simon Yorke. I have never heard anything in turntables that can touch the S 7. But that level of excellence does not come on the cheap. And the rest of your system must be up to the task of running an extreme turntable such as a Simon Yorke.

For me the VPI brand offers the best of all parameters that I seek. Is there better out there? Sure there is and it will cost your dearly to move into that realm

Real simple..........a "great" turntable is one which spins records at the proper speed, is reliable, and, most importantly, makes you want to play LP after LP after LP. A great turntable is one which makes you forget about the turntable itself, and allows you to focus on the MUSIC.

I spent many months doing a ton of research, and thanks to many of you fellow 'Goners, I finally bought my new analog front end ----- a Rega P3-24 table w/ Exact 2 cartridge. I am absolutely thrilled with the way it matches beautifully with the rest of my system, and I'm now at the point I was hoping I'd be at all along......I don't think about Rega or VPI or SOTA any more,... I simply close my eyes and enjoy the tunes. Miles, 'Trane, Rollins, and Mobley have never sounded better. So, I guess, I have a "great" turntable. HAPPY LISTENING, ya'all !!!

"...rotational accuracy"

FWIW, this issue is, to me, the Achilles heal of the analogue process, whether inherrent problems arrive with the LP or is caused by the TT. I hear and can't stand pitch errors, especially obvious when listening to solo instruments on sustained notes. So I find that TT's that float my boat, are those with very heavy platters, unsuspended, and have isolated motors. Nottingham's use this design principle. At least that cures pitch problems with the TT, if not the source.

Folks who don't have 'perfect pitch' are blessed IMHO. :-)

I dont have perfect pitch as Newbee might, but I certainly can hear pitch modulation as well. mostly on poor pressings of some indie rock favorites of mine. It doesnt destroy my experience though.

I favor a turntable that isolates vibration, and acurately communicates the music. take it for what its worth, but you'll find yourself much more happy if you buy a good TT rather than a good looking TT. I prefer unsuspended from the few I've heard. There is a turtable for everyone out-there so have fun with it, it shouldnt be a stressful decision (but I have made it that way in the past).

Luckily though, I'm a sucker for almost all TT designs so I'm set on the asthetics. (except some of the high end clear-audio stuff--those are rocket ships not turntables)

Recently I went on eBay and ended up buying a Beogram 4500 with MMC-2 cartridge, both NIB. This table is a suspended design and while I was somewhat nervous about that, I have ended up being very pleased with this table to the point that I now use it exclusively. IMO it's not as good sonically as the non-suspended Scheu Premier I own, but it's darn close.

I think what has really surprised me about the Beogram 4500 is that I now spin more LPs than when the Scheu was in use. The Beogram has a linear tracking arm that just requires you plug in the cartridge and set VTF. Pitch is easy to set and has been pretty stable. One button cues the arm and drops the stylus down, then auto lift returns it at the end of the side. No issues with cartridge/arm matching, VTA, azimuth, etc.

I think the biggest hoot though is the built in RIAA equalizer so just plug the attached phono cable RCA ends into an open line input on the preamp. I was a little skeptical about the RIAA equalizer but everything is quiet and the sound is very good. To my surprise Peter at Soundsmith confirmed for me that the design of the RIAA equalizer is actually pretty good.

So while there may be better designs from a technical perspective, musically this is the greatest designed turn table I have ever owned. It's user friendly, sounds great, and is fun. As others have said, if it makes you enjoy the music...