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