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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
sidssp
1,077 posts
 
@Halcro, I have no doubt Thuchan has more experiences on TT than I do but it doesn't mean he has listened to all. Unless he have, I think making a strong absolute "the best" statement is kind of premature.

@Thuchan, No, I can't tell you that because my experience with the EMT was more than 30 years ago and I have never compared the EMT with another table side-by-side.
peterayer
1,382 posts
 
Implicit in your question is that the EMT is the best turntable available. I don't think anyone can realistically prove this one way or the other because no one or group of listeners has compared it to all other candidates in the same system with the same arm and cartridge and tone arm cable.

I don't think anyone can answer your question. We can hope, or believe, or think, or wish, but we can not know. It can make for interesting discussion though.

I would like to read how Thuchan describes the sound of this table (as isolated from cartridge, arm, cable) compared to at least two others that he has heard in identical environments. That could get this conversation started.
nandric's avatar
nandric
4,086 posts
 
I remember (vaque)the review of 'the best 10 turntables' in
some Japanese Magazine in the 80is(?). To my surprice,
and that is why I remeber, one of the EMT got the first price.
Back then but also at present my 'technical judgment' was/is
'based' on the looks so I wondered how such an old-fashioned
and clumsy thing could win the first price? I see some of those
on the German ebay and always think that the seller made a typo
by the price. I don't believe that Thuchan would make me happy
by giving me his as present. So Thuchan I would prefer the
'Aussie one' while you can keep the best one.

Regards,
dover
2,173 posts
 
For readers who are unfamiliar with the build of the EMT 927, this article is a great read. There are very few turntables that approach the engineering & build quality of this deck, it makes many modern "superdecks" look like toys..
http://www.lencoheaven.net/forum/index.php?PHPSESSID=jsn2lbqo73mkpbr1qviqf0hca4&topic=7793.0
mikelavigne
2,142 posts
 
how do the other EMT tt's compare to the 927? such as the 948, for instance?

i know the 927 is an idler, while the 948 is direct drive. i owned a Garrard 301 for a few years and did enjoy it's 'meaty' presentation on certain music, but in the end i preferred higher resolution, more nuanced approaches as my everyday musical diet.

thanks.
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