Why will no other turntable beat the EMT 927?


Having owned many good turntables in my audiophile life I am still wondering why not one of the modern designs of the last 20 years is able to beat the sound qualities of an EMT 927.
New designs may offer some advantages like multiple armboards, more than one motor or additional vibration measurements etc. but regarding the sound quality the EMT is unbeatable!
What is the real reason behind this as the machine is nearly 60 years old, including the pre-versions like the R-80?
thuchan

@audioguy85 , I suppose the looks are subjective. If anything else is subjective it is a bad turntable.

@brunorivademar, When you have records with uneven surfaces and eccentric spindle hole those speed specs mean saw dust. Records are never going to be that accurate. Signal to noise ration is MUCH more important. Noise you can hear and when it comes to rumble wastes amplifier power and increases distortion. 

@rauliruegas , that is when Denon made great stuff although the arm on the  DP-100M was a stretch to far. The armless version was the one to get. We use to stick Infinity Black Widows on them. Shure V-15 heaven. 

When does a turntable, tonearm, or cartridge cross the time line between "modern" and "vintage"? Mijostyn’s beloved Cosmos turntable is basically the same as a Star Sapphire sold by SOTA in the late 1980s, and by his own admission, SOTA copied the AR XA (mid-1960s) in its essence. I would not deny that the Cosmos is improved over its ancestral TTs, but so too are "vintage" idler and direct-drive turntables that most of us are using in the here and now, in the sense that most of us using "vintage" designs have added new and better plinths, bearing assemblies, motor control systems, etc. The Eclipse system on the Cosmos or optional on any other "modern" SOTA turntable is identical in concept and operation to the Phoenix Engineering speed controller I use on my Lenco (which apparently rumbles despite a massive upgraded bearing and a heavily damped platter but I can’t hear it because my woofers are not 15 inches in diameter times two per channel, and I don’t boost the bass response by 10 or more db, as does Mijostyn). Methinks Mijo read "The Emporer's New Clothes" once too many times as a kid.

May have posted this one earlier 

 

 

Got a EMT950 turntable - the Germans definitely do accuracy well - this is the best I have ever seen. This one will be fully restored, then a part of my permanent personal collection.

Posted by Peter Noerbaek on Monday, October 1, 2018

 Good Listening 

 

Peter

My first cousin who stays in the same city as me had a EMT 927, Jean Nantais Reference Lenco Mk2 and Dr.Feickert Firebird at the same time.

Phonostage: EMT JPA66 Mk2

Speakers: ATC SCM 100ASL active

Cartridges: EMT JSD Platinum, Phasemation PP-2000

 

On this setup, the Lenco is clearly superior to Feickert Firebird. Equal in resolution, and better in terms of dynamics and pitch stability, and more life to music. And the Feickert is a really good $10k turntable. A very well engineered and good sounding unit. I will highly recommend it to anyone considering a modern TT under 10k. Just don’t tell me idler can’t sound tops.

 

The 927 is just hilariously ahead of all this. Way way way more resolution and dynamics. It is a proper full range, accurate, limitless sound. I don’t know which TT can better it, yet. May be a Kondo Ginga? Cousin has just bought a Micro Seki SX-8000. Lets see if that can measure up to the 927.

And yea i have personally owned the Technics SP-10 MK2 and Mk3. Good but, please! It is not even close to 927. The Mk3 is in the league of a nicely done Lenco but with higher resolution and a drier sound. Mk2, one step below. The humble EMT 938 beats Mk2 easily and approaches the Mk3 dangerously close. Infact for all those who love DD, you owe it to yourself to get a fully serviced 938 and see if the Technics is still in your rear view mirror.

 

By the way, i don’t like DD and I am not a EMT guy but i have had all these TTs in my own system.