2. analog
  3. 133024-3034

aluminum platter vs Acrylic not what I thought

I recently got to hear a VPI scout with an aluminum platter and various platter mats.  I am having a hard time trying to understand where the fascination with aluminum is coming from.  The acrylic sounds far better.  Its not even close to my ears.  Is it that some people just never heard the scout with the acrylic platter?  I would strongly encourage anyone who is looking for a used scout with an acrylic platter to really take a good look at it.  It sounds much more like real music and for what these used scouts are going for, they are an incredible value.  Maybe its just system/cartridge synergy.  I actually thing the scout with the acrylic platter sounds just as good if not better and quieter than the classic with the aluminum platter.  The scout sounds more like an older Aries than the Classic does.  The advantage of the classic is the longer arm but I mean for many people, I am not sure you can do much better table than the scout with the acrylic platter for anywhere near to what they go for used and I would say they you could look at tables costing much more and still not get the music satisfaction in many ways that the scout accomplishes.  They just seem to portray the musical experience in a way that sounds right.  Aries and scoutmasters with acrylic have to sound killer.  The only platter that is as good that VPI made are there lead and hybrid metal aluminum/acrylic platter tables.  I think VPI is going in the wrong direction with aluminum.  To me the disadvantages far outweigh the benefits.  Others may disagree but if you find scout w/acrylic for a good deal, I would be all over it.  Sometimes you just don't know what ya have so I will probably hang on to mine for a while.
tzh21y
tzh21y OP
1,654 posts
 
I am looking at it right now.  It is different.  looks like it is machined different.  also the bottom of the base is thicker.  I do not have time to listen right now and set up.  I will listen later and comment.
melm
1,057 posts
 
" I could foresee legal issues, however."

Nonsense.
lewm
12,613 posts
 
Dear Melm,  If you say so, it must be "nonsense".  I am not a lawyer, was just offering that out as a possibility.  
melm
1,057 posts
 
lewm,

Sorry I appeared so dismissive.  Not my best moment.

But people sell modifications for other peoples products all the time.  Look as what Modwright does to an Oppo for ex.  Or, as applied to VPI, look what Phoenix Engineering did, clearly out-engineering VPI at its own game.
thom_at_galibier_design's avatar
thom_at_galibier_design
724 posts
 
Dear Thom, My apologies for my error in guessing at the materials used to make your Gavia platter. PVC not Delrin. PVC is probably better than Delrin for matching the energy transfer to that of vinyl, because it IS vinyl. Did you ever consider selling platters per se, for use with other brands of turntable? PVC platters could become quite popular as an aftermarket add-on to a VPI or SOTA, for example. I could foresee legal issues, however. But on the other hand, many aftermarket suppliers sell platter mats intended to replace OEM mats.

Hi Lew,

I have trouble keeping this straight sometimes ;-) The PVC layer (in the Gavia platter) and brass layer (Stelvio platter) are hidden under the carbon fiber top plate. The efficacy of a carbon top layer was surprising to me (first employing graphite, then carbon fiber).  Frankly, I never expected the brass layer to work, but obviously the staged material transition I referenced above works with these materials.

As I began to compose this reply, I started thinking about what it would take to do aftermarket platters - whether solid PVC or the more exotic ones.  I was seriously pondering some sort of shared-risk group venture with a few willing VPI owners.

Three key challenges would be (1) developing a reliable QC process. (2) Individually matching platters to bearings and (3) possible changes to the mass equation.

My current QC process involves everything that's released from the shop being auditioned with real music (after measurements are taken). Perhaps this isn't an issue - as long as the platter/bearing set meets the runout (eccentricity) specification.

With respect to bearing/platter matching, my current production flow begins with bearings that are initially oversized by a few thousandths (at the bearing platter interface). After the platters are complete, the bearings are individually trimmed to match each platter.

For an aftermarket scenario, I'd have to reverse this process by matching platters to existing bearings. I believe this is possible to do while leaving the platter on the end mill. Removing the platter before completion could add significant production time, but more importantly, it could compromise the runout - the eccentricity of the platter perimeter with respect to the platter/bearing center.

With respect to the mass equation, turntables (for how few parts they have) are complex, interactive beasts. For all I know, VPI has tuned their drive system to specific platter masses and a change to PVC or a composite platter could upset everything.

I think I just talked myself out of it.

... Thom @ Galibier Design
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