Direct drive vs belt vs rim vs idler arm

Ok I have to add that all these drive systems are "a little bit off all the time." just with different characteristics of deviance. The thread drive proponents usually depend on high platter mass to mitigate slippage and motor-derived speed instability, and this can produce a very quiet result and a certain relaxedness at the expense of vivid presence available from other drives. The Acoustic Solid thread-drive turntables are very good and sound beautiful, for example. Artemis achieved an admirable balance of characteristics with tape drive, including a reel-to-reel deck's tensioner. Tape drive applied to a wider range of choices in materials for platter, plinth, arm mount, and footer schemes could prove capable of reconciling drive differences better than most.

Drive transmission elasticity, servos, pulley eccentricities, LP eccentricities, warp wow, idler eccentricities, power anomalies, stylus drag, bearing friction, platter or sub-platter eccentricities all contribute to all drive systems being "a little bit off all the time."

Meanwhile, the drive system is just one influencer. How your turntable is deployed -- what it sits on, its footing scheme, its plinth and platter composition, whether it's coupled to or isolated from its resting surface -- can exceed the sonic differences between some of these drive schemes.

Listen to several if you can, and decide which drive's and implementation's imperfections least distract you from what's good about them in service of convincing musicality.

Phil

Phil,
Finally some words of wisdom.
I'm doing exactly what you have suggested- I have Technics SP-10 MkII in Porter Plinth, and just bought J.C. Verdier La Platine Granito (still installing). I will report my results in due time.

You cannot beat a well designed and implemented idler drive. Maybe some people should listen to an EMT 927 before writing about idler drive. Yes this is the drama with amateurs :-)

What is quite interesting is that there is a clear shift in the direction of higher torque designs. Do bear in mind that Nottingham Analogue go for a high mass low torque design that transmits as little vibration as possible. Likewise the Linn LP12 is not exactly a high torque motor, nor is the one on the townshend rock I recently acquired. That said all three of these decks sound excellent in their own way. A truly circular (hope you don't mind the pun) discussion. As I have said earlier my hearing has changed (or the grass is greener on the other side) and i am beginning to favour the high torque drive and boogie woogie of an idler.