Turntable with stable speed.

Hello all,

Thank you for all of your replies! This new table will be intended for a secondary system and therefore I'm not looking to break the bank, so to speak. However if I cannot find a relatively inexpensive table that can keep a steady speed, I'd rather not buy one at all, or wait until I have more saved up and do it right. So for right at the moment I'm hoping for around the $3K or less mark. If it can't be done, I will wait and continue saving and do something later in the year...maybe a nice Xmas gift to myself and get me something nicer. I'd be willing to hear all of your suggestions therefore.

I've been giving some thought to the Well Tempered Amadaeus table which lists at $2850 including the arm. It seems, according to reviews at least, to punch above it's weight class in many areas....but not sure of it's speed stability. I have not been able to audition one myself as of yet.

Stevecham, I am aware of the off centered holes and yes, what a pita that can be. Thankfully most of my albums are fine in that regard, but there are always those few that you'd like to listen to that are plagued with that issue.

Syntax, I see in your system list, you have both the Klyne and Lamm phono stages. How do they compare to one another?

No_regrets, Don't overlook locking into to pure 33.3. If you listen to classical music, and music with acoustic instruments played with complementing harmonies, any slight deviation from 33.3 will corrupt the listening experience.

I doubt that a TT exists that will not have some amount of speed fluctuation due to varying degrees of drag. However, there are TTs that minimize the speed change such that they reproduce music that is pleasant to hear.

I found great satisfaction with a Luxman DD that was designed by Micro Seiki. Lewm, Audiogon member, has extolled the virtues of the Kenwood L07D amongst other vintage DD turntables. From his threads, he completely understands the merits of speed accuracy and constant pitch. I recommend you review his threads.

Perform a little research on vintage DD tables (JVC, Sony, Kenwood, Luxman, Technics). They may not have the audiophile cache. However, in your price range, they offer unexpected value, especially, when compared to new DD.

Note: I have tried belt, thread, idler, rim-drive. My wife and I are very sensitive to change in pitch and true pitch.

SL-1200.... There I said it!

Add a SME arm and you should be set!

I should have added Denon DDs and spelled it "cachet" rather than cache. I would like to hear a Technics 1200. I understand they are an excellent TT.

Hi Redglobe,

In a perfect world, yes I'd love to be able to lock in on the 33.33333 but what I meant to say is that if the speed accuracy is to be off, I'd much rather it be that the speed is off by 1/100 of a percent and remain steady at that speed than to be 33.33 but fluctuate +/- of that 33.33 as that is extremely noticeable and irritating to me. Thank you for sharing your suggestions with me on the various direct drives.

Rlawry, Thank you for your mention of the SME 20/2. That is a very highly regarded table and I'm sure you are loving it immensely. Unfortunately, they are more than what I'd like to spend at this moment, however if I cannot find what I'm looking for in the $3K range....I have no problem waiting until I can afford something nicer such as this.

Drpank, it seems that most of the various technologies tried to address the problem from different angles, yet still struggle with the aspect of speed stability. Do you have any suggestions you would like to share?