After market Motor + Belt drive for Verdier


I have been looking to upgrade my TT motor and belt drive for some time now. I use a Nouvelle Verdier and its only sore point is its motor and silk thread drive. It is not bad, it gets the job done. The sound is neat and in general non-offensive. However, when I used a 0.25 inch magnetic tape (reel to reel) to drive the platter the overall sound became more dynamic, voices sounded younger, instruments sounded happier. It was as if the pitch of all the instruments became more realistic. But then I also heard more of the irregularities of the motor rotation, the timing of instruments messed up a little. The background was no more as clean as the thread drive.

This told me two things:
1. Silk thread is good but it affects music in a way that makes the performance a bit sleepy.

2. The stock motor is not good enough to accommodate a tighter coupling with the platter.

So, I am now looking for after market motor and belt drive solution. I looked at Teres motor but for that to work they require a sensor to be placed under the platter but my TT doesnt have enough gap between the platter and plinth to place the sensor. I am looking for some viable suggestions here.

A friend of mine suggested me to consider a flywheel between the motor and the platter which will absorb the motor irregularities. I dont know if it is worth a try because I see many good TTs do not have a flywheel, that means a good motor is all I need I guess but I am open to the flywheel idea also.
pani
I wonder if anyone has mated the Verus rim drive motor or the VPI one to a Verdier. That nice thick platter of the Verdier would seem to permit use of either one. I am not an unqualified fan of those devices, on principle, but actual users seem happy, by and large. (There are a few problems that come along with them, but nothing is perfect.)
Hi Pani – interesting post. When I first got my La Platine a number of recommendations from "audiophiles" were to change the motor/controller. One of the beauties of this design is that you can use any motor /controller you want with it – or can you ?

It was interesting that some of the “go for it” recommendations, were from people not intimate with the table. Had never owned it. I have learned a lot since then.

I am not sure how similar the Novelle is to the La Platine in actual operation. So can I get some more info from you ?

1. Silk thread is good but it affects music in a way that makes the performance a bit sleepy.


What is your technique for putting on new thread and ensuring it has been applied properly and optimized ?

2. The stock motor is not good enough to accommodate a tighter coupling with the platter.

Most TT users use tables where the motor/controller dominates the platter system (platter/spindle/physical bearing). The design of my La Platine and probably ? Novelle is like an equal marriage. Its not about the motor/controller dominating the platter system.

A few more questions- sorry :^(

a)Have you optimized your existing motor in any way ?

b)When the motor/controller is on and the platter is spinning at 33 1/3 - WITHOUT - the tonearm/cartridge on a record and you shut the motor off – how many seconds does it spin for before coming to a complete stop?

c)Now repeat but instead of turning off the motor just cut the thread – count how many seconds before the platter comes to stop.

Finally just curious does the temperature / humidity level in the room vary during the year?

Cheers
I know a couple of guys who have used Papst motors from Empires to run VPI turntables, etc. Doing that would require a pulley and some scheme to make the outboard addition look attractive. Also, the footprint of the turntable on the rack would be much larger. The benefit would be huge, however.
Teres motors have been used by a few Verdier owners. I spoke with Teres myself, and they confirmed, and highly recommended this option.
The only caveat, is that you will need to attach a strobe light to the plinth and a template to the bottom of the platter.
They also recommend Verus rim-drive motor even more, than any of their own belt drives.