VPI acrylic vs. aluminum

IMO you are exaggerating the effects of the bearing types. Notwithstanding some theoretical advantage of the inverted bearing, the non-inverted bearing has the clear advantage of a continuous lubrication bath top to bottom. Also the bearing pivot, which is the part that tends to wear, is closer to the stylus in the inverted type. By and large, though, I think the two types are indistinguishable in normal usage. VPI must agree as it has returned to the non-inverted bearing as the main bearing in its most sophisticated platter, the magnetic one.

What you may have heard is the simple advantage of a better bearing, just as I did when I replaced my original bearing with the Mark V bearing, both non-inverted.

There is no static charge that I am aware of on my acrylic/lead platter and it’s about as quiet as it can be. I don’t understand how a platter can be the origin of noise. Years ago, when I went from aluminum/lead to acrylic/lead (with everything else exactly the same) I heard a clear advantage. So did the TAS critic.

melm, I do have an advantage of actually owning/hearing both types. According to you previous post, you've never been willing to give up your old combo for anything that came later.

FWIW: (When I did my above comparision, I didn't use the beefier bearing that came with the 3.5 platter. They are both interchangeable with regards to being able to use both platters). So the platter WAS the difference I heard!

The non-inverted bearing is subject to more things being in absolute alignment, and also that alignment needs to be accurate on much more "bearing shaft surface area". Additionally, there is the superlative machining of the Classic platter and the fact that it is self leveling.

The static charge on any acrylic latter is evident when removing an lp from an acrylic platter. It is not a factor in this regard on a metal platter.

You seem to make a lot of final conclusions without the benefit of actually hearing/experiencing them for yourself.

To be clear, maybe when I said "the presentation is much quieter", I should have said the presentation has a quieter background.

Slaw....correct....and in listening to the Classic, the acrylic seems slow and laboring.  In light of that statement, some say the Classic is bright..but I find the Classic portraying much more music, dynamics, color, and whatever we audiophiles value.

This is getting a bit personal. I’ll try to explain without returning the favor.

At one point in my hobby I traded a VPI aluminum/lead platter for a virtually identical acrylic/lead platter. The improved performance of the table was clear for me to hear, also a reviewer. This was a perfect and controlled experiment for nothing else was changed. Once having done that I never saw a reason to go back to aluminum.

My platter does not carry a static charge. I brush each disk with an AQ carbon fiber brush. Perhaps that discharges static; it is supposed to. Or perhaps it is the ground wire from the TT. Just never has been an issue.

It has been claimed that the acrylic/lead platter was the best performing one VPI ever made. I am not a machinist, but my platter seems superlatively machined to me. I notice that many who use aluminum platters seek some kind of platter mat, just as was the practice with the original aluminum platters. People with acrylic platters do not. The acrylic only clear platter made for a long while by VPI was inferior to what I have as acrylic is relatively light weight. That platter was too light IMO, and many replaced it, first with the super platter, and later with the 20 lb. aluminum platter. My acrylic/lead platter weighs the same 20 pounds. Lead is an almost perfect dampening substance. You can make a bell out of aluminum. But then try making one out of acrylic. Finally, try making one out of lead!

The job of the platter should be to dampen the disk. But some people like the distortions given by platters that don’t do that. Some feel it gives the sound more life, or even PRaT. I don’t believe that the platter should add anything.

At one point I traded my bearing for the TNT Mark V bearing. I believe it was the last, or one of the last, non-inverted bearings VPI made. It was said at the time that the Mark V was released that it was the best they ever made, and by a very wide margin, and was perhaps the principal reason for the Mark V version. I was certainly able to hear the improvement. An improved bearing provides a quieter background and a more stable speed.  I’ve stuck with the non-inverted bearing for that allowed me to stick with the acrylic/lead platter.

"The non-inverted bearing is subject to more things being in absolute alignment, and also that alignment needs to be accurate on much more ’bearing shaft surface area’". Perhaps. What that means is that for equal quality, the non-inverted bearing is more expensive to produce. That is another way of stating that the inverted bearing is LESS expensive to produce. In the world of business that is often the controlling factor. That is also certainly a factor in the return to aluminum.

In any event, many of the best ($$$) turntables in the world use non-inverted bearings. And the best belt driven TT that VPI makes uses a non-inverted bearing as its principal bearing. Properly made, the two types of bearings are indistinguishable in their performance IMO.