Pryso--I agree with your response, I've owned many good belt drive tables, and *tried* many DD. Even the biggest and most expensive DD's of the 80s like Denon was severly limited in capability compared to a humble Thorens or even a good Philips!
The responses here helped me find info on todays best DD, but they are too expensive for most of us. There were some interesting older designs, such as the Technics SL-5, 7 and 10-- these weren't too bad when they worked, but there were reliability issues. Still, for all the faults, they played records better than some of todays entry-level BD turntables with less fuss and bother. A good, simple linear tracker, even with a "close and play" lid can be greatly improved upon with a better motor and some careful parts and layout. No exotic or expensive parts, just some common sense audiophile thinking.
I think we've exhausted the tweaking with idler drives-- a good Thorens TD124, Garrard 401 or even a pimped rek-o-kut can sound quite good, albeit with too much rumble. A good DD has low rumble but can have speed control problems. If someone could come up with an improved DD motor and mount it in a well-designed but affordable plinth, we would really have something that competes with the belt-drives.
Just seems like we've reached the practical limit on belt drives with the upper range decks (Rega, VPI, Well Tempered) and can benefit from some fresh thinking.
The responses here helped me find info on todays best DD, but they are too expensive for most of us. There were some interesting older designs, such as the Technics SL-5, 7 and 10-- these weren't too bad when they worked, but there were reliability issues. Still, for all the faults, they played records better than some of todays entry-level BD turntables with less fuss and bother. A good, simple linear tracker, even with a "close and play" lid can be greatly improved upon with a better motor and some careful parts and layout. No exotic or expensive parts, just some common sense audiophile thinking.
I think we've exhausted the tweaking with idler drives-- a good Thorens TD124, Garrard 401 or even a pimped rek-o-kut can sound quite good, albeit with too much rumble. A good DD has low rumble but can have speed control problems. If someone could come up with an improved DD motor and mount it in a well-designed but affordable plinth, we would really have something that competes with the belt-drives.
Just seems like we've reached the practical limit on belt drives with the upper range decks (Rega, VPI, Well Tempered) and can benefit from some fresh thinking.