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Turntable Speed

I own a Transrotor "Atlante" turntable. I purchased it about 2 years ago with all the available upgrades (platter and tonearm). This unit was $4500.00 without cartridge. It is a belt driven product with an outboard power supply which lowers the incoming voltage to the 18 volts the motor requires. My problem is turntable speed. My 'table speed is about 34 rpms. I could be more accurate if I had better measuring equipment. Anyway, that's about 2% over the correct speed and you can definitely tell the difference in sound quality between 34 and 33 1/3 rpm!. I was a little upset with this revelation and called my dealer about it. I also talked with the dealer's supplier. I received several reasons from these people as to why the speed was not accurate among which was that my power was "out of tolerance." But when all was said and done, none of the given reasons held water and I am now being advised that really there is nothing that can be done. That there is no defect in the equipment and if the speed problem continues to bother me, I should invest $1700.00 in a Transrotor speed controller. As I think over this, I wonder why platter speed is never mentioned or measured and reported on in the reviews for turntables in the major audio mags. (This could be because there isn't any problem, except for my 'table, or there is and no one is admitting it). To my way of thinking, platter speed has to be one of the primary functions of a turntable and that manufacturers would be making sure that their products' platter speeds were within strict specifications. At least better than 2% margin of error as is the case with my turntable.

My question is: Is platter speed error a given in this industry or is my 'table actually in need of repair? And, if platter speed is an industry problem, why are we as consumers paying thousands for equipment which actually doesn't work up to expectations?

frepec
martykl
3,563 posts
 
I believe that this is also a problem more specific to Transrotor. I have a Sirius that also runs a bit fast and in researching the issue found a lot of Transrotor owners had similar problems. Since the unit is not in use, I haven't pursued a solution. I suspect that there are reasonably priced 3rd party speed controllers out there and I'll pursue one if I put the Sirius back to work.

Good Luck

Marty
0thd
22 posts
 
For the kind of money high end turntables command the speed should be dead on, no matter what the incoming voltage, within reason. Or it should be adjustable.

Speed is just as important as stability of speed.

I like to play guitar to a lot of music and if the speed is not accurate the guitar is out of tune with the music and that is frustrating.

I've got a Transrotor Fat Bob S. I was fortunate because it came with the a speed controller that included fine adjustment for 33 1/3 and 45.

I'm not sure I agree that any cheap controller will do the job though.

If it's not rock solid that will drive you just as crazy.
jaytea
77 posts
 
I totally agree with 0thd. I owned a very highly regarded Avid Acutus (Stereophile Class A) before, and despite the fact that I really liked its sound, I decided to sell it (well..traded it in towards my SME 20/2) just because I could not stand the fact that a $11,000 hi-end turntable lacked a speed controller. Before buying it, i assumed that the speed would be accurate and rock solid for this expensive turntable but it proved me wrong.

I think you should either sell it and get something with a speed controller, or buy a controller for it. Otherwise it will drive you mad!
thsalmon
348 posts
 
You should measure the speed using a strobe that allows you to do the measurement with your stylus in the groove of a record. I'd bet you'll be very close to 33 1/3 when the drag of the stylus is taken into account.
frepec OP
17 posts
 
Thanks to all who have taken the time to respond to my questions. I would like to clarify something which may not have been apparent from my post. That is, I like the Atlante. I like the sound I get and I like the "fit 'n finish" of the product and I like the way it looks. In no way was I implying that Transrotor turntables were less than quality products and I really have no desire to replace mine. That said, I am getting the idea that platter speed is a problem for owners of other brands as well and like Jaytea, have lots more expensive 'tables than I do. It also appears that an outboard speed controller is my only option at this point. That's OK, I just wanted to know for sure.

It still is and probably will remain a mystery to me why we as consumers are obviously not getting all that we are paying for, and yet, we are still willing to pay for products that require us to invest in more outboard products to get the original product to work correctly.

Thanks again for replies. One more reply. To Thsalmon: I did use a strobe with a stylus groove.
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