Direct drive vs belt vs rim vs idler arm

I agree with Viridian and (mostly) w/ Albert - execution is everything. I own (and have owned) all three types of decks, and I have had enjoyed some and others less so regardless of their drive type.

I would not necessarily agree with Albert that DD is the best, although I have had some DD decks that I think stack up well with the best BD and ID decks I have heard.

I will say that, IMO, the biggest downside to Idler Drive is that you will spend a lot of money and time (or more money for someone else'e time) to get a deck to sound as good as a top notch DD or BD deck. They are just more complicated machines.

Zd542, You are of course entitled to your opinion, as is anyone else, but it would be well to keep your facts straight. Like it or not, in a DD turntable, the motor is not "attached" to the platter in the way you seem to think. Rather, the platter is part of the motor. Typically, the platter is attached to a permanent magnet that revolves around, but makes no contact with, the motor's coils. Thus, nothing at all is in contact with the platter except the bearing, not even a belt. Any well designed DD turntable can compare equally or favorably to any BD turntable, in terms of noise. (In a BD turntable, there really IS an external motor connected to the platter by its noisiest part, its drive shaft, via the belt.) You may still not like DD turntables, but find another reason. Perhaps it sounds better if you use the term "magnetic drive", which seems to be all the rage among hi-end BD turntable makers these days. They are one and the same thing.

As with most of the group answering, I own all of the types mentioned, and at many different price points ranging from $8K to $29. My most played TT? Denon 47F, 103 cartridge. As Ron of rotisserie fame tells us, 'set it and forget it.'

ZD542

Which DD are good ?
NVS, Technics SP 10MK II & MK III, The Beat, Brinkmann, Rockport, flagship models from Sony, Denon, JVC, Kenwood, Yamaha and Pioneer's top decks to name a few.
Take care,

I agree with Viridian, execution of whatever design philosophy is the key, not the philosophy per se. Then comes the ears and brain of the listener and all the other things in life that bias us to prefer one thing vs another. (I find that I prefer brunettes, for example.)