Can you show any published specifications or third party measurements of wow and flutter on belt driven tables under $1000? Rega doesn't seem to specify other than that it is "low" and Project tables in the same price range as the SL-1200 (less than 0.01%) exibit more wow and flutter than Technics. I also noted that the Technics has a better SNR to a comparably priced ProJect table by over 10 dB.
I use the Technics as an example because it's widely known and quite familiar. Tonearms today are certainly improved over those from the 70's. This is why I suggest finding a state of the art direct drive system that allows the user to update the arm.
Please understand, I'm not saying these belt drive tables are bad or will sound bad. The level of prejudice against direct drive tables will always baffle me. When you look at the hard facts of what they can do I fail to understand why hardly anyone recognizes their capabilities for high fidelity playback.
Please don't throw in the "if they're so good, why don't they dominate the market?". The market was dry since the advent of CDs. The amount of research and development that went into many of these designs was extraordinary. Because many of those direct drive systems were mass manufactured they could afford a slim profit margin. If one of the large electronics conglomerates wanted to make an entirely new turntable that met the standards of those in the 70's it would cost significantly more than what they did in the 70's sans the inflation.
Look at the ProJect and Rega tables and tell me that you don't see the numbers adding up. Little DC motor, piece of laquer covered wood, a piece of round metal or glass, a rubber belt.... These parts aren't very costly to design nor manufacture/buy. The tonearms and cartridges are the most sophisticated parts on these turntables, and the only parts that have progressionally improved.
Seth, I have done my best to obtain the best data I can. I'm going to present the data as a personal history of development.
However to put things in perspective. Wow and flutter should be less than 0.1%. I can attest to the fact that numbers higher than this are audible.
Rumble should be less than -40db certainly.
Once speakers with a decent bass response became available rumble in turntables was a significant problem.
When we moved into the OP in 1953 we had a Connoiseur turntable by A.R. Sugden. I can't get the picture on the NET to copy. We could build speakers then which made the rumble from these turntables audible.
Tracking force was 10 GM. There were two heads one for LP and one for 78.
These turntables were used by the BBC at the time. Audio Fidelity left a lot to be desired. So my father and I set about making a unipivot arm out of largely antenna tubing. We built moving coil cartridges winding copper wire fine the hairs of you head round a naked diamond stylus, suspending it on a nylon thread, between the poles of a magnet. The connector between head and cartridge was the UK Belling Lee FM/TV antenna connector. We used a military surplus microphone transformer for impedance and voltage matching.
We achieved much better Fidelity and a tracking force of 3GM, before any commercial product did.
The first turntable we had that did not rumble was the Garrard 301 which my father obtained around 1959. Shown here is one of mine with Decca ffss and Decca professional arm.
From my handbook the specs are wow less then 0.2%. That must be conservative, as I have never heard wow from a 301 after warm up.
Flutter 0.05% an excellent result.
Rumble is quoted as "Almost non existent." However Loricraft have measured it at -45db. The 401 improves on this by about 10db.
So this turntable was a massive leap forward.
The next turntable I acquired was the
Thorens TD 150 and I mounted a Decca ffss Mk II arm on it. This turntable was the first of the Belt Drive turntables. The AR came out about the same time but is significantly inferior.
The TD 150 is still sought after and highly regarded. It is historic.
The unit appeared in 1965, and I bought mine in April of 1966 after Ralph West's enthusiastic review and measurements in Hi-FI News and Record Review in February 1966. Unfortunately I can't find a copy of that famous review anywhere on line, but a lot of references to it. The manual unfortunately has no specs and I can't find any measurements anywhere. However I have never heard a trace of wow or rumble from it in 44 years of use.
Mine is shown here with SME series III and Shure V15 xmr. It is the middle turntable.
The performance of this turntable has been so satisfactory that I never felt obliged to upgrade to the Thorens TD 125. I acquired one about four years ago, not working and restored it.
The Mk I was
reviewed in Gramophone by John Borwick in Sept. 1969.
Wow was 0.07% and rumble so low he could not measure it.
I have the MkII version and it is a superb turntable, probably as good as any, at any price. I have mounted as SME series III on it.
So those are the turntables I'm most familiar with.
The Technics SL1200 has an excellent specification also.
Wow and Flutter 0.025% and rumble -56 db unweighted.
My biggest objection to this turntable is that you can't mount an SME arm on it or a lot of other premier arms. In my book however, if it won't take an SME its off the list.
Now what of a modern belt drives? The Project expression has a wow and flutter of 0.5% which in my view is unacceptable.
Rumble is an excellent -70db.
So this one comes up short on speed stability.
I cold find no specifications for the Rega.
As far as arms are concerned I think the newer budget offerings on the whole are better than 20 to 30 years ago, but in general are far from optimal. The biggest problem is that few are damped. Damping is crucial to good LP reproduction.
The audiophiles are smitten with moving coil cartridges of which I'm not a huge fan. Because they require large magnets and in general have lower compliance somewhat heavier arms are in order to get the resonance around the optimal 10 Hz.
I favor the Shure V15 series, especially the V15 xmr. Sadly this is NLA but I have three and some unused spare styli. The SME series III arms were conceived around the V15 series cartridges. The silicone fluid damper is synergistic with the damper on the cartridges. The SME series III is light weight, very rigid and non resonant. The carrying arm is Titanium. The base carbon fiber with the usual precisely machined SME low friction bearings. The vertical bearings, as is the case in many SME arm designs are knife bearings.
As far as I'm concerned a Thorens TD 150, an SME series III arm and a Shure V15 xmr gives I think the best LP reproduction you can get. A Garrard 301, 401 or 501 would give similar excellent results.
The SME series two arms are certainly worth acquiring and will be a big improvement over most arms issued with turntables.
Mine is shown here complete with damper bath.
I have had quite a few experienced audio enthusiasts here over the last few years, and one of the things that always gets there attention is the quality of LP reproduction in the studio and the downstairs system. Comments like the the best LP reproduction they have ever heard are frequent. Most of my discs are pop and crackle free and I think most would be hard pressed to tell it from good digital media.
Stan Kelly, the designer of the Decca ffss, first drew attention to the importance of arm damping and built it into the bearings of the ffss arms. This damping is significantly improved in the professional arms.
There is a lot of nonsense put about that LP reproduction was not understood in the sixties and seventies. This is nonsense. Very good research was done by Cecil E. Watts in particular. Stan Kelly and especially Alastair Robertson-Aikaman also moved the science forward as did the BBC and many others.
Of course then as now there was a lot of junk about. However companies such as Garrard, Thorens, Decca, Ortofon, SME and Goldring Lenco were pre eminent. Their products are well worth seeking out today, and generally will give superior performance to most of today's offerings.
Our LPs via the right equipment can give a huge amount of pleasure, I know mine still does. I especially enjoy my Thorens TD 125 Mk II set up downstairs in the winter. I spin a lot of vinyl by a roaring fire in the winter. This is highly nostalgic for me as I used to play LPs by a coal fire at the OP when I was home from boarding school in the Christmas vacation.
