Slaw,
Please don't misunderstand... I was commending you, not criticizing! "Posting maniac" was supposed to be a compliment and a nod to your excitement, – sorry I didn't deliver that too well in my response…
In answer to your questions:
Yes, the Origin Live belt is flat, like the one that comes with the Merlin upgrade. I remember the stock motor belt was round, right?
The Phoenix Tachometer is fun and accurate. it does not adjust the speed, just monitors it. Seeing platter speed to three decimal points is exciting to me, because I can get it to stay on 33.333 RPM for a few seconds and then moves up to 33.338 or down to 33.327 which shows great speed stability. Then, I put the stylus in the groove and I can see “Stylus Drag” in action, dropping the speed down a few clicks. What’s cool about that is that Stylus Drag changes depending on what music you’re playing! Big orchestral movements slow the platter down the most and soft, one-instrument etudes much less. Once, just for fun, I experimented with finely adjusting speed back to 33.333 or a close as I could get for each track on an album side (which is the epitome of crazy) and I’m happy to say that thankfully, I could not hear the difference. Now I just adjust speed if need be at the very beginning of a side and just listen to the music.
I din’t pay nearly that much for my beautiful acrylic dust cover! Mine was custom-made to my specs for around $200. Now if only I could remember who made it…
Regarding the platter, yes you’re right, it doesn’t directly affect the speed… I just have a thing for manufacturing tolerances. Visible wobble is bad. Not being able to tell from a few feet away that the platter is spinning, is good.
Keep enjoying enjoying our little analog secret!
Alón