Turntable Power Source Benefits

The motor is not separated from the platter. It is connected to the platter by the belt. Vibrations, and motor variations can be transmitted via the belt to the platter. Anything that will allow the motor to operate smoother, and with less vibration, will make the TT sound better. This includes any effective power conditioning, DC systems, etc.

The Walker motor controller is not just nice to have, it's a necessity. Having run it on three turntables now I am convinced that analog without it is not doing what it is supposed to.

I bought my first Walker controller for a Basis Debut Gold Mk IV, so I could change from 33 to 45 without having to move the belt from one pulley to the other. Imagine my surprise when I got a HUGE upgrade in performance.

Last week I had to do without my Walker controller and was forced to plug directly into a dedicated (star ground) hospital grade outlet. My performance dropped so drastically that everyone in my audio group mentioned the fact during our Tuesday night session.

To make this even more unbelievable, the Walker controller is effected by the feet under it, the brand and design of the power cord going in and out of it, the type, size and amount of weight on top of it and whether it is plugged directly into the wall or through a power clean up device.

Oddly enough, the Walker (so far) has been performance limited by every surge protector and power conditioner I've tried. I have the new Exact Power conditioner on it's way here to determine if that product effects the system in a positive or negative way.

As dopogue stated, it is frustrating that this is so evident in listening tests, yet there appears to be no logical reason. Especially true for my Walker turntable that (should) be so far removed, due to design.

The controller powers the motor, which spins a brass pulley, that turns a silk belt which rotates a 70 pound lead platter. Does not seem possible for the power cord to be heard through all this "linkage." Oddly enough, the sound of the power cord on this controller is almost exactly the same as when the cord is attached to my Soundlab speaker or my mono block amps. In other words, the bright power cords sound brighter in each case and darker sounding cords sound darker in each case.

Gotta agree with Albert, I got the Walker for my Basis for the same reason (even worse with the Ovation, you had to change the pulley to change speeds) and have been amazed at the improvement. The speed stability is a big difference, of course, but my understanding is also that the TT motor can send a lot of noise back into your power lines which can affect your other equipment's performance; the Walker, as well as the Bylux filter I previously used, puts a stop to that. Otherwise, I'm at a loss as to why it works as well as it does, but I've taken it out of the system only once to see what would happen and put it right back in again. We tend to overstate the effect of these things, so I'll just say that while an objectivist might not be able to point out anything different, there was an ease to the presentation and flow to the music that seemed just a little lacking without the Walker. Haven't played with power cords on it yet, but I'm about to after Albert's post.

So, Albert and Rcprince, and also thanks to everyone who has commented. Good stuff. Are you saying that you plug the Walker straight away into the wall using a preferred PC? What PC do you find works best in your case? What feet? Then would the turntable motor plug into the Walker? Would one not then be limited by the motor's PC,too? Seems there may be no end - UNLESS a person went to battery power.(?)Since the Walker costs about as much as my table, it may be awhile before I can make that plunge, but I do have interest.

Mot, the power cables I'm using with the Walker controller is Omega Micro blue from the wall to the controller and Omega Micro red from the controller to the motor.

I am a huge fan of Purist Audio and use their interconnect, power and speaker cables everywhere in my system except for this application. Evidently Loyd "tuned" the controller, his turntable and the Omega power cable to work together.

As for the feet, the Walker comes with Valid Points and they work best there. I have not been successful with using the six or so additional sets of Valid Points in other places in my system, but with the controller it is a winner.