2020 update : JC Verdier La Platine

@dover thankyou - yes i do feel / hear that difference i think.  i have been fettling to wit:

i've got the motor off these soft absorption pads i had it on.  now flat on credenza top.  also i put the la platine on cms footers (i.e. defeated the feet).  i am using thread.  the motor is very close.  shaknspin wow is down to 0.02 RMS.  with the spring feet defeated it adds a certain solidity.  previous i thought this a bit much.  right now with my tonearm setup properly, cart aligned etc it just seems very good.  wide stereo image.  great stability.  great dynamics.  i can hear that the standard feet do better preventing noise coming up into the table (i have a stethoscope for this).  but there is little doubt in my mind it all gets a little "soft".  i mean you can hear it frankly.  it's not bad.  but it just tends to mechanically favour treble and lower volume stuff i think.  what is mind bending is the sheer amount of music in the songs and the total lack of distortion.  i played old favourites and despite not having my best arm/cart/sut combo (or more accurately most expensive arm/cart/sut combo) it has never been better.  

around the corner i expect two different belts to arrive.  actually 3.  one is EPDM from ebay, the other is EPDM from gold ring and then another is the large TRansrotor belt favoured by @mtemur from WBF.  he prefers a belt so i figured it would be good to try it out and it might even help me achieve 45 rpm more easily (my experience is belts do alot better with 45 rpm than string).  33.3 sped stability is now brilliant.  i don't have any issues now that i have mastered motor placement etc.

i was going to try different ball materials but i am now riding above the ball so i don't think i care anymore.  might even try total ball withdrawal.  i do think the denon 103 cart with fr64s arm feels like it was made for this turntable.  the fr64s/103 combo being hyperactive and overreactive and the la platine tending towards the subtle.

one thing to note with my excellent w&f values is that my thread is now at the absolute base of the platter.  i do tend to think this helps.

@mr_gray 

The magnet replacement is really a rarity. Did you replace both the top and bottom magnets? How did you attached the magnets to the aluminum platter? How did you remove the magnets from the platter to begin with? Can you post some pictures? 
 

hi @ledoux1238 yeah it was a big deal for me.  i replaced both.  it just got so easy when i find them online and the post was so quick.  i imagined glue and all sorts of things.  not the case.

the magnets that came in the "collars" had an outer dia of 185 and inner dia of 95 mm (20 mm thick).  the magnets couple to the steel "collars".  to remove the old ones was easier.   less powerful.  somehow i could lever with a cloth and screwdriver and up they would come.  i needed the cloth less i fracture the ferrite.  

installing the new ones which are Y30 ferrite and 180 mm OD and 100 mm ID (20 mm thick) was tricky because very difficult to remove once in the collar.  very strong.  nothing much to grab once they are flat on collar.  i put a magnet in wrong (opposite polarity).  to remove it was very tricky.  i ended up using wideset long handle pliers and a soft cloth.  you just need to get an edge up.  adjusting position also very tricky but very necessary to optimise wobble.  also more powerful magnets made it very tricky to assemble the la platine.  that is putting on top platter assembly, now more powerful magnets will push the bottom assembly out of alignment unless i am very careful.

i have got a factory in china now making me another 2 sets of magnets but these will be Y35 ferrite which is stronger and longer lasting.  i anticipate it will be about 25% stronger and also will have dimensions of 190 mm OD and 89 mm ID so as long as i can get them in, i will really have better magnet coverage in the collar and stronger magnets hence more repulsion in aggregate.

it is dubious whether more repulsion will do anything good for me.  i mean alot of people run the platter just resting on the ball so does it matter if there is a 1 mm gap versus a 10 mm gap versus 20 mm?  i guess the way i see it is i don't anticipate an impact on stability from less bearing being in top platter assembly but i think we could have less noise and less friction.

@mr_gray 

I just did a quick online search, and Y30 or Y35 ferrite magnet discs of varying dimensions are readily available!
On the old Verdier web-site JC Verdier spec’d  out the type of carbon steel used, TELAR 57 of ARMCO, which have the suitable magnetic properties for use in his TT. What is the connection of the Y30 ferrite to ARMCO steel type? I just do not know my metallurgy that well. 
And correct me if I have misread your post. The aluminum platter and the magnet are attached by magnetic attraction, no adhesives are involved? I had been taught that magnets do not interact with aluminum, hence the question. 

Regarding the strength of the magnets , a Dutch audio dealer, Callas Audio, came out with a limited addition mod kit for the La Platine. It could varying the amount of magnetic force. The result of which is better bass response. Some user would use the ball as a corrective against the magnetic force. 

@dover  Eclipse motor + Road runner sold as a kit from SOTA does not come with a housing. Additional costs with a custom housing and a separate linear power supply would have to be factored in. As @lewm had advised,  I will shot a quick note to Donna at SOTA and Bill Carlin regarding magnetic interference when the time comes. 

the platter is attached to a steel collar below and it is that to which the magnet affixes.

the callas mod was all about being able to fine tune location of bearing (vertically).  with the granito i have that adjustment via a bolt beneath the table.  just need long spanners to get to it (size 17).

belts arrived today.  i can't get the platine to spin slow enough now (HA!).  but of course this is simply highlighting that i haven't the correct lubricant.  i am using a very light synthetic lubricant.  it is too light.  as per JC Verdier's design i will now use ROCOL X5 Ultraglide.  This will create a little resistance which will mean i will come into a better place for achieving speeds i need but also the drag obviates stylus drag as per Verdier's design.  i wouldn't be surprised if it makes it a little quieter too as i think it will be slightly dampening.

transrotor belt is skinniest.  gold ring is a mm or 2 thicker.  ebay EPDM belt is grossly thick.  they all seem to achieve the same results at this stage.  Wow no better than 0.04 rms.  speed variation down a little but still about 0.15 rpm absolute.  hope to improve both these numbers with the right lube.  i have 5 kg coming so if anyone needs some, please reach out (or if anyone needs magnets).