I have a couple. A TEAC TN-4D and Technica SL1200GR. Both direct drive.
Functionally I wanted the simplicity of use and maintenance of direct drive. But other factors played in. The TEAC looks like it’s from the 70s when in walnut. It has a beutiful feel to using it. It’s the turntable equivalent of the smell of coffee and eggs frying on Sunday morning.
The Technics, well I’d had a SL-D2 as a kid and slung it. When I worked in hifi retail in the UK in the 90s I was sort of taught to look down on direct drive and definitely to give wide birth to the townies that wanted their 1200s do “do some wicked mixin’ innit”. The only problem was, I was exposed to a maxed out LP12 for years and it never really got on with me visually or sonically. To the point I thought vinyl was behind me. But like speakers, turntables are highly personal and when I demoed an SL1200GR a few years back, I knew that was the sound I’d been missing. Plus it looked a bit like my childhood. The strobe, the pitch control, the rubber mat. I’ll update this with a quote when I find it…