Turntable speed accuracy

Sksos1. In a word, no. I do not own a TT Weights turntable. I own a tweaked Lenco in a slate plinth, a Denon DP80 in a slate plinth, a Technics SP10 Mk3 in a slate and wood plinth, and a Kenwood L07D. I should sell two of them, but I cannot pick which ones. They each seem irreplaceable. About 4 years ago, I went from a very good belt-drive tt ($5000 class) to the Lenco and then to direct-drive, and I have no second thoughts. But I do confess that vintage tt's appeal to the collector instinct in me.

Since others here have also indicated that their turntables of many various types have "failed" the Timeline test, perhaps it is unwise or unfair to keep harping on the one brand that you found to be faulty by that sole criterion.

Should have read Tony's post before writing the above post. I think the amount of error and the type of error Tony describes should be perfectly acceptable. It is a linear error; in other words it would be the result of the platter spinning a teeny bit too fast at some constant rate. That kind of error should be adjustable back to dead on accurate, and if it's not, it nevertheless would be inconsequential. I thought we all agreed that the concern is for transient or instantaneous errors related to variations in stylus drag. Such errors would in theory go either way, too fast or too slow. So the Timeline light might move back and forth in either direction from neutral.

Hi Halcro, I saw your video. It is impressive how well your tt holds speed, but that was a relatively short period of time. Can you let it run for 30 minutes to see the results over the long term? I am very curious to see those results. If the laser mark has no drift after 30 minutes that would mean your tt has speed accuracy on the order of 0.00002%. That would be far beyond expectations in my mind. Some suggest that the speed accuracy fluctuates, but I believe that speed error is cumulative when using a device such as the timeline. That means tha the longer you run your tt with the timeline the more error, or drift you should see. I don't think that cueing and dropping the tonearm will make the line move the other way due to the motor controller. It reacts to the torque changes.

Let me clarify my one statement a little better. Cueing up the tonearm is a one time event that may or may not cause the laser mark to move. It is not part of the cumulative error. So over the long term it has little or no impact on the results. Unless something funny is going on with the motor controller, the laser mark should drift slowly in one direction over the 30 minutes. That is the cumulative error.

Hi Tony,
I have left the Timeline running for an entire album side with zero drift.
If you go to YouTube and look up the Timeline video (not mine).....you will notice on the demonstration that his turntable.........demonstrates a significant drift when the tonearm is lowered.
The Timeline is the scientific device that conclusively proved that 'stylus drag' is a reality rather than a theory.
I cannot believe that my Victor TT-101 is the only turntable which can maintain this kind of speed accuracy?
There must be many other brands.......perhaps mostly of the quartz-controlled direct drive type......which are similarly capable?
If this is the case.......then we should have the right to expect this kind of accuracy from our turntables.
Even with my Raven AC-2 with thread drive.........the drift with a stylus in play is only 0.5mm per revolution from the wall mark. If I adjust the speed on the motor controller one step UP.....it then runs fast by 1mm per revolution. But these are both constant deviations which indicate that the turntable is maintaining consistent speed.......just not exactly 33.33rpm. If the motor controller had a finer adjustment......I could get it spot-on.

The Timeline is a wonderful instrument IMHO and it is not correct to believe that turntables cannot match its accuracy?
I await the day when you actually try one on your turntable.......it can only help you :^)