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Direct Drive

I am firmly in the digital camp, but I’ve dabbled in vinyl.  Back in the day I was fascinated by Technics Direct Drive tt, but couldn’t afford them.  I was stuck with my entry level Gerrard.  I have been sans turntable for about 5 years now but the new gear bug is biting.  I am interested in the Technics 1500 which comes with an Ortofon Red and included pre amp.  I have owned Rega P5 which I hated for its speed instability and a Clearaudio Concept which was boring as hell.

  Direct Drive was an anathema to audiophiles in the nineties but every time I heard  one it knocked my socks off.  What do the analogers here think of Direct Drive?  I listen to Classical Music exclusively 

mahler123
cey's avatar
cey
197 posts
 

audiophiles have a deep respect and luv for technics SL-1200 variants and the big denons. theres a new technics model/variant out. i forget the number.

the worst rumble ive had was from belt drive tables. 

pedroeb
493 posts
 
asvjerry

...and the master is cut with a tangential arm, but that will only trigger another fusillsade from the trenches that surround you... ;)

Do tangential playback arms sound any better?

A search found Clearaudio CAU-TP062 but the Clearaudio site doesn't even mention it. In fact it doesn't seem to be anywhere else. Is it a custom hybrid or something?

terry9
2,211 posts
 

Yes, tangential tonearms sound better. But they are a higher end thing, and you probably won't hear the benefits until you're spending a fair bit.

How handy are you? It's not hard to make a DIY belt drive table that will be far better than anything you can buy for the same price. I had a pretty hefty budget for a TT and used the money to DIY - and the result is quite phenomenal. And the journey was a treat not to be missed.

DIY forever!

uberdine
100 posts
 

I haven't heard it yet but Stereophile raved about the Pioneer PLX-1000. Add an Ortofon 2m Blue (the Red has terrible inner groove distortion) and you've got change from $1000. Although you'll need a phono stage as well. The Yaqin MS-12b (~$300) can sound really good with a bit of tube rolling. So yeah, about $1500 all up. This is probably as cheap as you can go and still get a half-decent result.

Incidentally I sometimes record my vinyl using Audacity and play it back digitally using Audirvana Origin to Dac to Power Amp. Sounds phenomenal

dover
2,177 posts
 

"If you want to buy a direct drive turntable you might as well buy a digital front end - its the same sound."

That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard! Just because a TT maintains perfect speed as the better DD tables are prone to due doesn’t make it sound digital. 

Bill, I totally agree with you, ABSURD. what a lack of understanding displayed by that statement.

Not really.

Direct drive turntables use error correction, which includes jitter, they do not maintain perfect speed.

One could argue that digital format development has vastly outpaced the antediluvian error correction systems used in old direct drive turntables, and for this reason you might well be better off with a digital source.

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