Numbers behind belt drive and direct drive.

[wlmill]

I know I said I was done on this thread. I have been doing some thinking the past few days. Alot of you are right, you just have to ignore specs. From now on, I will let my ears be the judge. This is what I have always tried to do when purchasing audio. I do have to pay attention to wow and flutter specs because I am so sensitive to this.

I found a video on youtube that I am posting. I am not trying to start a debate about beld drive vs direct drive. I do not agree with everything the person says in the video. I just found it interesting.

 

[Bob_in_OKC]

I'm not sure how you can legitimately say you're not trying to start a debate when you present a case for one side of the debate.

 

[wlmill]

I'm not sure how you can legitimately say you're not trying to start a debate when you present a case for one side of the debate.

I did not post the video because he was putting down belt drive turntables. I am not putting down belt drive turntables. He was talking about wow and flutter in this video, that was what I found interesting. If you think I was trying to start a debate, then more power to you.

 

[wlmill]

I have removed the video. I hope that makes everyone happy.

 

[wlmill]

I have decided to repost the video. I am not trying to offend any of you, but I feel I am entitled to my opinion just like all of you. I found this video interesting because the person talks a lot about wow and flutter in the newer turntables. I do not approve of the title of the video and again I do not agree with all of the points brought out in the video. I said this in my origional post. I have told you guys, I would be willing to listen to some of these turntables. I never said I would buy one. The point I am making, I can hear the wow and flutter this person is talking about. One of these newer turntables would not be a good match for me.

BTW, I could not find a video to present both sides of this debate. For me, it never was a debate. I have nothing against belt drives.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXFQSEynv2M

 

[Dr Tinear]

Thanks for re-posting the video link, wlmill. While I don't share the guy's antipathy toward belt-drive turntables, having used an AR XA with 0.03% WRMS W&F and a Technics SL-230 with 0.045% WRMS W&F, I still found his presentation interesting. When I was shopping for a turntable in 2005, I went through a very similar data-mining exercise to the one he did in the video and reached a similar conclusion: For a listener such as me with a high sensitivity to speed instability and speed error, there are few or no turntables below $1000 that perform well enough to use for critical listening. I bought my SL-230 on eBay after deciding that new belt-drives couldn't hold a steady enough or accurate enough speed to satisfy my ears, and I've been very happy with my decision.

 

[wlmill]

Thanks for re-posting the video link, wlmill. While I don't share the guy's antipathy toward belt-drive turntables, having used an AR XA with 0.03% WRMS W&F and a Technics SL-230 with 0.045% WRMS W&F, I still found his presentation interesting. When I was shopping for a turntable in 2005, I went through a very similar data-mining exercise to the one he did in the video and reached a similar conclusion: For a listener such as me with a high sensitivity to speed instability and speed error, there are few or no turntables below $1000 that perform well enough to use for critical listening. I bought my SL-230 on eBay after deciding that new belt-drives couldn't hold a steady enough or accurate enough speed to satisfy my ears, and I've been very happy with my decision.

Thank you, I like older belt drives as well. I would love to find a good AR XA turntable. After reading about the AR XA I am sure this is a turntable that could make me very happy. I am sure the very high end turntables sound great, but I can't afford one right now. even if I could, I would pay very close attention to the wow and flutter specs.

 

[lini]

(...) I'm about to go home and put my perfectly measuring Levinson 432 in the closet tonight because my poorly measureing Leben CS-300x, with all of 18wpc, simply wipes the floor with it for sheer enjoyment of the musical presentation. (...)

John: *lol* Seems like you've arrived at the point, where you had to realise that even more perfect, while that can be just one's thing, may just as well turn out as rather boring compared to being able to choose from slightly different flavours of presentation - even more so in the long run. Well, welcome to the club, then!

Really, I've already seen so many audiophiles being caught in upgrade spirals for years, before being "cured" by some modest, but fun sounding system. That doesn't mean, that striving for the even more perfect wouldn't be a perfectly acceptable way to go just as well - but if one happens to belong to the other group, that's still the wrong way. And to me it only seems natural: Even the best steak typically isn't much of a pleasure anymore, if you have to eat it each and every day. And for my taste that doesn't only go for the music, but also for the way it is presented by a system.

Greetings from Munich!

Manfred / lini