Looking for a mid-priced TT to install my 2M Black Cart

I would stick with Pro Ject and just get a better table from them. Perspex would be my choice but it's a couple hundred over your budget.

I would never buy a direct drive turntable.

The only advantage of direct drive is high torque and more stable speed. The extra vibration and noise from a direct drive turntable is why I would not have one. My turntable has one belt. Don’t know where you’ve been the past 40 years or so but you may notice that the best turntables are not direct drive. The only DD ones I can think of are Japanese. Wait, VPI is coming out with some sort of 40th anniversary DD table (they must be cleaning out their warehouse of extra parts).

Peter, I have a speed controller for my table so I don’t have to move the belt when I want to play a 45RPM record; the controller has a three digit digital readout showing the speed. I will claim it’s as accurate as your motor that runs on 60 cycles straight from the wall. Furthermore, I can use a paper stroboscope to confirm if the table is running correctly if for some reason I would want to do that. I do not believe that most turntables are direct drive; at their most popular, they probably only had half the market back in the 80’s. I would wager that at present, of ten turntable owners, maybe two of them will be DD. Edit: I went and checked the specs on my speed box; it is plus or minus .001% I don't know the stated accuracy of any DD tables but I would be surprised if they are any more accurate than that.

Well, guys, I’m not cutting new vinyl on my turntable; comparing how records are made to the pros and cons of belt vs dd is a strawman argument. I understand that dd is higher torque and more stable speed but higher torque is not necessarily needed to spin a single record; a belt drive table will assume correct speed quicker than you can lift the tonearm and put the stylus on the record. Furthermore, if your platter has enough mass, its own inertia helps keep it running at the same speed. DJ’s use direct drive tables because they can physically turn the platter backward, which can’t be done successfully with belt drive. If you go to mfgr websites like VPI or Oracle or Pro Ject or Music Hall or ClearAudio, you will note the lack of dd tables. Even on the Japanese sites MOST of their tables are belt drive. This whole subject is similar to the perennial argument about whether tubes or solid state sound better; most ss amps have a distortion factor of something like .0001% whereas tube amps distortion figures are typically "less than 1%." A difference of several orders of magnitude. My speedbox accuracy of .001% is a similar order of magnitude difference (.001% of 33.3RPM is a very small fraction of a revolution per minute). I will stick with vacuum tubes and belt drive and there is nothing that will make me change. To address the question of what made me "switch" to belt drive, I've never had a dd table; never wanted one. Plus, when you flip the switch on your table and nothing happens, you are faced with a substantial repair cost; if that happens to me, it is likely I am looking at maybe $25 to be back in business. Also, back into the initial parts of this thread, someone suggest the OP get a different tonearm; the Debut table he has cannot accept a different arm; there is no provision for that on that model.

I will take your word for that.

Well, Lewm, I never asked to be "left alone" by stating that I have never had and will never have a dd table. The fact remains that (1) most tables are not dd. (2) they never had a majority share of the market. (3) a platter direct coupled to a motor spindle will have vibration and noise transmitted through it; you probably won't hear it, but it's there.....it's physics, not a product defect; same with belt drive but the vibration and noise is dissipated by the rubber belt. Just as you apparently will never again have a belt drive, I have no problem with that (and I don't consider you to be un enlightened for doing so as you apparently think I am for my choice....cute); no different than preferring GM over Ford or front wheel drive to rear wheel drive.....they both work. As for being enlightened, I am. I am cognizant of the pros and cons of both drive systems and will stick with belt drive. The only example of market hype I can think of is Bose speakers. I was involved in the audio business in the late 70's and early 80's when dd was relatively new. I don't know why it never took hold. Looks to me like democratic process in action, though. Cheers.

Thank you, Peter. I wish you the same enjoyment.