I should like to hear from as many AR members who legitimately consider themselves audiophiles (or audio "enthusiasts," or whatever other term you may wish to use) who own equipment that's considered high-end, audiophile stuff, as to what your take is on the claimed benefits of belt-drive over Direct Drive (DD). Sorry, but this automatically excludes any of you using vintage Pioneer receivers and large Advent speakers, but jumps right into the realm of esoterica.

I will always remember putting together the very first DD turntable I'd ever seen (a Technics SL-1500) and being mightily impressed by the new technology, and the heft of the overall turntable/motor combination. DD tables soon dominated the market, and no one can deny their inherent reliability, and the total lack of the need to periodically replace a soon-to-be-unavailable belt.

Still, as DD tables increased in popularity, audiophiles ranted increasingly against them. The biggest two arguments I've heard as to the claimed superiority of belt drive is that DD tables vibrate, and that the DD system robs the turntable/cartrdige combination of bass. I can't say anything one way or the other about possible vibration, but insofar as bass is concerned, I have to admit that my limited experience with my recently-acquired Dual CS-5000 would seem to give that argument a good deal of validity. The bass is so much better defined, and goes so much deeper than anything I've previously owned, that it would seem (though I can't swear to it) that the belt-drive system is the reason.

Certainly the fact that absolutely none of the turntables available from any number of exclusively high-end manufacturers (ClearAudio, Rega, MM, Project, etc.) has either an S-shaped arm, nor is direct drive is a strong endorsement of the straight-arm, belt-drive combination. I'm well aware of the many arguments in favor of a low-mass, straight arm as compared to an S-shaped arm (and I support each and every one of them), but I'd really appreciate a knowledgeable response from anyone as to why the belt-drive system is so popular with audiophiles, and the DD system so reviled.

So, as the thread's title asks, "Why is belt-drive better? And, is it really?"

Looking forward to your resonses! Thanks!