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VPI Analogue Drive System

I'm considering getting the VPI Analogue Drive System for my Scoutmaster Signature turntable with JMW-9 tonearm.  What is your opinion especially as to sound improvement?
jerry95
jerry95 OP
12 posts
 
So it's kind of as I thought.  If the unit is left on all the time there should be little variation in speed from that point of view.  Stylus drag and bearing friction should also be constant.  Apparently the speed can be controlled with minimal turns of a dial. 
I was thinking along the lines of ramping the speed up or down in tiny increments to see how it might affect individual recordings which may too "bright" or too "dull".  I listen to classical music exclusively and many digital recordings sound "digital", just like CD's. 
Has anyone experimented along these lines, to make these recordings sound "better"?  Or am I way off kilter?

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cleeds
6,060 posts
 
jerry95
... I was thinking along the lines of ramping the speed up or down in tiny increments to see how it might affect individual recordings which may too "bright" or too "dull". I listen to classical music exclusively and many digital recordings sound "digital", just like CD's.
Has anyone experimented along these lines, to make these recordings sound "better"?
I don't think adjusting turntable playback speed is a remedy to treat bright or dull sound.
lewm
13,437 posts
 
cleeds,  Do you dispute what I actually wrote, in essence, that you can set platter speed with the SDS or the Walker?  I did neglect to mention that the motor should be of the AC synchronous type, but that wasn't really the question.  Most turntable motors fit this category, to one degree or another. Also, I don't know how you can say that current has no effect on platter speed, but frequency does.  "Current" has the property of frequency, which as you say does determine the speed of an AC synchronous motor.  I have read conflicting statements about the degree to which AC line frequency is tightly or not tightly controlled by power companies. Most sources say it's "pretty good" with small variations over short time that average out to 60 Hz over longer time periods.  Is that good enough for most audiophiles? I don't think so.

Jerry, Stylus drag is definitely NOT constant, by the way.  It's constantly varying across the surface of an LP.
jerry95 OP
12 posts
 
I moved my motor drive belt up to the top slot on the motor drive pulley which effectively lowered my 3150 test tone from 3160 to 3149 on my PlatterSpeed app.  There was a significant improvement in sound quality with all my MC cartridges (I have 4 of them).  This obviously didn't cost me anything and I should probably have done it awhile ago, but I've just started paying attention to this tweak.  So far I'm not running out to buy anything yet.
melm
1,085 posts
 
Running your TT at the right speed (or nearly so) is not a tweak.  It's just a very basic thing everyone should do, like leveling the platter.
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