[rudy99]

hi,   i was about to upgrade from my yamaha ps135  turntable circa 83,  and i wanted to get a new one with key lock,   so  i was about to get a stanton atr8 150, then while having a discussion on belt vs direct, i was informed that direct drives can damage records??   ive read the s shsaped tone arm can do this, ive also read that some audiophiles believe the belt drives provide superior sq,( this probably due to motor proximity and obvious vibrations etc) but these new dd tt's are very well insulated padded etc.   
    so all tonight ive been surfing the web trying to find info that supports the direct drive damages your record theory to no avail.. i cant find any info confirming this.

have any of you guys heard this,  id hate to cause unnescasary wear and tear on my lp's.

please let me know what youve heard thanks

oh and also let me know if you know of a belt driven turntable that also has key correction (key lock) and pitch control.

thanks

great site

[Wayner]

First, welcome to the Audiocircles. Next, if you are going to spend $500 on a table, you might as well buy a Technics SL1200MKII direct drive. That has speed control that you are looking for and by the looks of the 2 tables mentioned, it looks like the Stanton may actually be made from Technics parts. Then there is the comment about S shaped tonearms causing record wear, well I'd have to say B.S.

Incorrect vertical tracking force, improper cartridge alignment and poorly adjusted anti-skating (which leads to mis-tracking) are the cause of record wear, not S shaped tonearms.

Wayner

[rudy99]

hey thanks,  yea i did see those but i thought i could find a stanton cheaper  dont know, but i dont think the 1200 has the key lock or "correction" . to makee vocals sound normal when u speed tempo,,   not sure thou maybe.    oh and my current tt is a yamaha p350 i typoed. fyi   
and also so the user is to blame for the s shape rec scratch.   but im still thinkin it would be an extra pain to set up and whatnot ,    is they re really any noticeable advantages to getting this s shapped tone arm making it worth the extra hassle, if it even is.
 thanks for the help

oh i forgot to mention that i was told that the direct drive was to blame for the extra wear and tear on the vinyl records regardless of tone arm type, and ive still have yet to find or read any evidence of this online?? u

[wilsynet]

There is nothing wrong with direct drive, there is nothing wrong with an S-shaped tonearm, direct drive does not damage vinyl, and the Technics SL1200 turntables are great bargains.

[Wayner]

There is nothing wrong with direct drive, there is nothing wrong with an S-shaped tonearm, direct drive does not damage vinyl, and the Technics SL1200 turntables are great bargains.

+1

Wayner

[wilsynet]

More to add:

Based on my own auditioning, there are some belt drive turntables that I think have better sound than the JVC QL-Y66F direct drive that I have, but at $2500+.  Hence, I would not say that every belt drive turntable is better than every direct drive, or vice versa.  I think it's a matter of execution and priorities.

At $500 or less, I'm not sure if I can find something new that I'd pick over the Technics.  There are some vintage choices and there's nothing wrong with that, but another whole conversation I think that we can get into if you're interested.

[doug s.]

"...will a direct drive tt damage my vinyl ??..."
yes - if you use a nail for a stylus...   

if my budget were $500 and i was restricted to new turntables, the wenerable tehnics would be at the top of my list.  if i could shop as i please, the wintage empires would move to the top.  others may have their faves...

doug s.

[Ericus Rex]

DD gets such a bad rap these days...and for no good reason!  I got a Micro Seiki DDX-1000 not long ago to see for myself if it sounded as bad as some people claim.  It sounds wonderful!  And has incredibly stable pitch control.  I guess the belt vs. dd argument is akin to solid state vs. tube; everyone's got a strong opinion but the truth is you can do both badly.

Damage to records?  Phooey!

[rudy99]

"...will a direct drive tt damage my vinyl ??..."
yes - if you use a nail for a stylus...   

if my budget were $500 and i was restricted to new turntables, the wenerable tehnics would be at the top of my list.  if i could shop as i please, the wintage empires would move to the top.  others may have their faves...

doug s.

hi,,, yea i have been considering the technics, but they were the most expensive,    but mainly need a tt with keylock,  and i dont think the technics do??? someone told me the mk5 has key lock  but ive had a bitch of a time confirming this, even from the panny website.
  so if noi technics have key lock im leaning toward the stanton st150, but does it really weigh 37  freakin pounds,,, maybe i should just get a stanton t92 unless someone can confirm that it sucks, i just worry after reading how the key lock functions can differ in quality from model, and since that is such a favorite feature of mine, i want to get the best quality/

also do any of those technics have coaxial outputs?    for some reason i am thinking that recording my vinyl to cdr on my philips old school cd burner would be greater quality than crappy usb.  same bit rate i think but still,?

[rudy99]

DD gets such a bad rap these days...and for no good reason!  I got a Micro Seiki DDX-1000 not long ago to see for myself if it sounded as bad as some people claim.  It sounds wonderful!  And has incredibly stable pitch control.  I guess the belt vs. dd argument is akin to solid state vs. tube; everyone's got a strong opinion but the truth is you can do both badly.

Damage to records?  Phooey!

ccool,, yea that is a good analogy, but ill bet the audio diffference between tube and  ss has to be way miore noticeable.

[rudy99]

There is nothing wrong with direct drive, there is nothing wrong with an S-shaped tonearm, direct drive does not damage vinyl, and the Technics SL1200 turntables are great bargains.

does technic make a table with key lock?

 or a coaxial out?

[wilsynet]

If what you're wondering is whether the Technics SL1200 has an ADC, it does not.  No USB, no digital coaxial output; it's just a turntable.  No keylock either.

[twitch54]

There is nothing wrong with direct drive, there is nothing wrong with an S-shaped tonearm, direct drive does not damage vinyl, and the Technics SL1200 turntables are great bargains.

x2

[wushuliu]

does technic make a table with key lock?

 or a coaxial out?

What is your intended use for the turntable? Features like Key Lock are found on DJ turntables and digital tables I believe, not 'audiophile' tables for home listening. Totally different markets. For that reason, and someone correct me if I am wrong, you won't find a belt-drive that has Key Lock. Only direct drive. And as everyone's said so far, direct drives are just as good (or bad) as belt or any other kind of 'drive'. So maybe you could clarify if you want a table just for home listening or are you planning on dj'ing/mixing or just ripping vinyl to digital or...

[*Scotty*]

Key Correction is done in the digital domain and is a feature only found on DJ TTs  A stand-alone turntable used by someone in their home for High Fidelity reproduction of the music on the record outputs an analogue signal that is sent to an analogue phono-stage and then to an analogue preamp. A DJ table with KeyLock routes the analogue signal from the phono cartridge to a built-in  AD converter where it can be digitally manipulated which is what makes pitch correction possible when the song tempo is altered. I am unaware of any High-End table that has a high quality AD converter built into it to allow Key Correction. I think you are stuck with DJ specific TT  in oder to have this feature available.
Scotty