Stylus-Drag..Fact or Fiction?

mikelavigne
feedback from CS Port LFT1 users i’ve spoken to is that the Kevlar string works exceedingly well. directly compared to a number of tt’s, belt, idler and direct drive.

i’ve not heard it personally. and have never owned a ’string drive’ high mass platter turntable myself. so i don’t have any personal opinion on the kevlar choice. OTOH this part of the turntable is the least costly and easiest to experiment with.

i would expect that CS Port has their good reasons to use kevlar.

IMO
When a manufacturer of a product builds something - anything - there is a scale. Put simply to make a point here. It has been my experience as a consultant working in multiple industries.

A-----------B-------------C

A - represents the best performance but usually not lasting as long. Short Life.
B - represents middle of the road - good performance - lasts a good time.
C - represents - durability longest lasting - performance not as good as A and B.

Now depending on the field, A or B or C could be the best solution. Where do you think the Audiophilia field fits ?    Well it depends of course. 
   
Where does Kevlar string fit for this particular TT. I don't know the TT. I don't know the answer. 
 
I do know that Kevlar has 1) durability, and 2) is good for marketing. It seems to have impressed mijostyn based on his response. A regular person will say "Hey they make Bullet Proof Vests out of Kevlar". An audiophile might say - "Hey doesn't B&W use Kevlar in their drivers ?"

3) It is slippery more so than other examples tried. Now think slippery, and a big heavy platter, and the force required of the string around the platter, that will be needed to turn it - and this will depend entirely on the motor design. So each string drive design is unique on its own. More variables !

*******************************************************

Look, I own authentic Verdier string that came with my turntable. I did give it a good go. I don't use it anymore for a number of reasons. Its doesn't make my TT perform/sound as good as it can. and 2) maybe more important - does not allow me to set up my TT in a fashion that allows for this best performance. Now most people are just happy with the basic 101 setup, and leave it at that. Some even change the pulley and use a belt (sacrilege...)  JC Verdier RIP - rolls in his grave each time this happens.   
    

I’ve not heard it personally. and have never owned a ’string drive’ high mass platter turntable myself. so i don’t have any personal opinion on the kevlar choice. OTOH this part of the turntable is the least costly and easiest to experiment with.

Changing out the string, and the (length)..... if the design allows, is sonically like changing out power tubes - EL34, KT66, KT88, etc... just as one quick example. You will get a leaner, thicker, bloatier, quicker, slower, etc.... performance / presentation with different strings/threads.

On the 2nd part of your paragraph - this is a good thing if you own a cat / feline.... 

i agree with your views up to a point. it is possible that one choice is actually better or best all around, and not just a different set of compromises. but more likely it's as you put it.

were i to go down the string drive, heavy platter road, no doubt i would have to become conversant in these 'voicing' string drive material choices.

Mike, so you are a political animal after all. 
ct0517, A,B and C are gross assumptions that are probably more often then not incorrect. The ceramic brakes on my car look better, last way longer and stop way better than steel brakes. The magnetic bearing in clearaudio tables performs and lasts longer than standard bearings. The Nikasil liners in my engine work better and last way longer than other cylinder liners. Why would a Koetsu not last as long as a Sumiko or an Air Tight not as long as a Kiseki. Why would a SAT arm not last as long as a Jelco. I could go on forever. 
Now I have never used a string table but my meager brain can not fathom why any other string would sound better than the kevlar one CS uses on a platter that weights more than my car. They admit to the fact that it is a very slow starting table that would occur with any string. Carbon Kevlar will not stretch which I can see as a huge advantage in this instance. 

i use the information at hand.

when i observe the depth of ct's experiences in his system link it's clear he has spent lots of time on the thread issue. i know from my time studying the AS-2000 when i had it on order that the whole drive thread question is not anything black and white. so i think my answer is the only reasonable way to respond considering i have zero first hand experience.. i'm leaving the possibility that the CS Port view of using the Kevlar might be the one true way, but that more likely it's not certain.

i'm in 'learn' mode here on this issue. it's not being nice, just knowing what i don't know.

Appreciate the comments Mike.
Mijostyn - Let me try to explain this better.
It’s not the string itself that has a "sound". Its how the "material used" is handled by the very small motor pulley, and how the string handles the platter - that produces the presentation.

One can use different string materials, with different compliance’s. One can also change the force with which the string is wrapped between the motor pulley and platter. Both ways produced different results. And whichever works best depends on the turntable design objective. The tighter the wrap, the more the motor performance influences the platter performance. The looser wrap puts less motor influence in play. My target is to give the motor the least amount of motor influence due to its Platter design - more on this in a minute. .

So my string is applied loose - so loose that I can flick the string between the motor and platter and a listener can not hear any stability issue. The motors influence is so little on the platter design, that if I change the pitch / speed, the change takes maybe 5 seconds or more to register to the ear.

The platter design is unlike most in that it is not free spinning - the opposite forces generated from the magnets produce a braking action, which from conversing directly with Mr. Verdier (when he was alive), helps to deal with the records erratic behavior due to the large and small groove modulations. It needs only occasional shots from the motor to keep at speed and overcome stylus drag. Note; A turntable with a free spinning platter would need significantly more motor control. This would change the requirement for the type of string that will be used also . make sense ?

Now if I set the string tension tighter - the same flick of the string will cause audible results because the motor influence has much greater control. This IMO was not how the motor was designed to be used with this turntable (tight), especially by those who bypass the string and use belt. This is also why I feel those that have modified their La Platine Verdiers with different motors - have gone that route. They were too tight, and the genius in the design of his Platter System - was not taken advantage of.