Vintage DD turntables. Are we living dangerously?

Richard -
Last time I looked under the bonnet of the oscillator preamplifier on the Final, there was a bit more than a capacitor. Time to move on and focus on direct drive.

A direct drive motor turns once per revolution of the record. By comparison the Final motor rotates 54 times for each revolution of the record. This means that the error correction and servos in a direct drive application are constantly error correcting over a larger time period per revolution between poles. To put it into perspective a typical direct drive with say 8 poles has only 8 pulses per revolution of the platter compared with 218 pulses per revolution ( motor speed 1800rpm x 4 poles /33.33rpm ) with the Final. This along with the high inertia generated by the Final 26kg platter results in an audibly superior sound.

This same principal applies to idler drive type turntables where the platter is typically driven from a high speed motor with small pulley driving a large platter. In engineering we call this gearing.

Cutting lathes also use this gearing principle, high torque motors and high mass flywheel to achieve stability.     

Dover.
yeah yeah we have all heard ( read ) the arguments extolling the virtues of BD,TD and ID over DD.
My point was that a synchronous motor in a thread drive has local error correction and under dynamic loads it is in play (correcting) all of the time, just like global error correction in a DD. Error correction, something that you seem to dislike with a passion, is clear and present in your own TT.
Different in nature yes, but it is feedback 

Further the fact is that the Final slows when you lower the tone arm. This you have published. You say that this can be adjusted out, but this adjustment must only be a best guess average. So there will be dynamic speed changes since modulation level and the radius read are not constant on an LP. IOW the retardation torque is far from constant.

This is the dynamic speed problem that I hear on the Final.

While one can debate the efficacy of the time line in showing what goes on within a single revolution, Halcro has quite clearly shown us all that a good DD TT maintains speed under load. The Final does not and high platter inertia isn't enough to resist this slowing 

Yes some cutting lathes use a gear principle and then many are DD.

Dover, that may have been a typo on your part.  The SP-20 was another in their series of studio and consumer motor units.  The mastering lathe model was the SP-02.

http://www.lathetrolls.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=1223

Huge difference. ;^)

Thanks Pryso - yes indeed typo. Thanks for the link. If you google around should find a picture of the SP02 set up with 60lb Neumann flywheel. Be great to have a set up like that for a domestic TT.

Lewm or Halcro


One of you mentioned a thin leather mat made in Japan, could you post a link to it please ?

Thanks in advance


Peter