What’s very sad about companies like SME is that even though they have a lot of resources, they lack ingenuity and creativity to investigate novel solutions. It’s the same old suspended belt drive made many times before. Here are some features that are missing:
1. The vast majority of LPs are pressed off center. Take a look at your record as it plays on your turntable. This wobble induces a pitch variability that dwarfs any other wow flutter measurement. Yet, aside from Nakamichi, with their self centering drive, no one was brave enough to address this problem.
2. It is 2022. Do we still need to drag a diamond stylus through plastic. How about using lasers like ELP did, except do it right.
3. Stop using a wimpy clamp to hold a warped record to the platter when it makes little difference. Many companies from SOTA to Basis to more recently Air Force have shown vacuum hold downs are far superior. Is there a novel way to do this that has better properties?
I could go on (e.g., linear tracking so we can dispense with the silly Berwald alignment gauges), but hopefully I’ve made my point. I’ve no interest in upgrading any of my current turntables for the SME 60 or 75, until they show me something new and innovative. I fear we have to wait until someone like Elon Musk shows up to shake the vinyl world a bit!