Parts and basic turntable terminologyWhile you don’t need to know all the nitty gritty technical details of each record player, there are some basic parts that you should be aware of. Record player rotation is powered by a direct drive or a belt drive motor. Belt drives have a motor on the far end of the record player that spins a small external wheel. In other words, if you want the best possible listening experience, choose a record player that uses RCA cables. Direct drive motors achieve the different speeds by changing the power in the gears while many old-school belt drive turntables must have the level of the belt manually adjusted to change rotation speed.