VPI TNT Turntables

Actually, I have a problem with Hurst motors, but thanks for your unbiased opinion.

BTW, the motor in your TNT table is not a VPI motor;  it is sold by Hurst and manufactured in China.

The VPI Scout and many VPI turntables that have the motor in the plinth, send vibrations throughout the turntable.

The heavy TNT motor using the "VPI designed" motor case, mounted outside the plinth, does not send vibrations throughout the turntable.

The motor should never be in the plinth IMO, that is a cheap design!

You guys are both right, the hurst motor is the tables weak point and yes it should not be in the plinth. I was amazed years back to see tons of people selling their tnts to get into the then new classic. I don't see how they thought the classic was a better table??  I guess some folks will always chase the latest new thing.....
I do find you have to be careful with vpi, a lot of their changes were made to lower manufacturing costs and marketed as "better"

"I do find you have to be careful with vpi, a lot of their changes were made to lower manufacturing costs and marketed as "better"

Very true, especially the last 15 years!

The problem is not just having the motor in the plinth. Vibrations are transmitted through the belt itself, and they cause all sorts of distortion. I went to great lengths to isolate the motor from the plinth on my VPI table, and I used two different motors, one much "quieter" than the other. I still had a drastic improvement when I went to the (much smoother) Teres motor and ditched the Hurst motor/belt drive configuration altogether.  

Don_c55 - I'd be interested to see you design and market a successful line of high-end audio products. Not so easy. VPI has used cheaper materials because they have to. My Aries 1 turntable is a good example - they used real wood in the construction of the plinth, and made a fantastic turntable. But it was too expensive to produce that way, so in the later iterations they used different (yes, cheaper) materials. Harry Weisfeld said somewhere that the Aries 1 would be an $8000 TT if they sold it today. Nothing wrong with an $8000 turntable but that's a pretty small market niche.