New Teres Direct Drive Motor Available as Option

Dgarretson,

That is along the lines of the point I was attempting to make. A given motor speed and torque in the rim drive system may have a range of platter weight that works best with that given motor. Then again, it could be testament to how well these heavier platters with mylar belts actually work. ;)

I think the extra gears of a reduction system are going to introduce more noise. IME, gears don't mesh silently and there will still be slop between the teeth. That is why the Lenco rubber-tired idler wheel can work well when everything is in good shape.

"Finally, issues of force and compliance surrounding stylus drag can't be too much different than issues regarding VTF. This is handled easily in a TT arm by counterweights & gravity."

I would agree with you on how easily this is handled except that so many tables/arms don't. Perhaps that attributes to the rising price structure of many 'table/arm lines?

"A given motor speed and torque in the rim drive system may have a range of platter weight that works best with that given motor. Then again, it could be testament to how well these heavier platters with mylar belts actually work."

I'd like to hear an opinion from Teres on whether the Verus with a light Teres platter surpasses their heaviest platter with mylar tape drive.

Me, too. :) But I'd also like to hear that from others as well.

I hope this is ok to post here. I just found this posting by Mark Kelly over on AA related to this topic.

"The idler drive mechanism has only a few percent of the speed variability inherent in belt drive (due to the lossy transmission eg belt creep).

Most idlers make up for this by using motors which can't hold constant speed against variations in platter drag (like the stylus traversing the record). Anyone who says their stock Garrard holds constant speed simply isn't measuring it properly.

As against this, the short term speed stability of an idler is excellent due to the almost lossless transmission from a motor with a high amount of flywheel effect. Most people assume this is due to the motor having lots of torque but that's not the case.

The other problem is noise - an idler definitely transmits more noise than a belt and they can create extra noise all of their own if the bearings aren't perfect.

Altogether its a toss-up.

Mark Kelly"

Dgarretson - As Doug points out:

"According to emails from Chris, the performance jump vs. belt drive is inversely proportional to the weight of the platter. Lighter platters have less rotational inertia, so they benefit most."

Presuming this holds true, in terms of yielding improvement, the lighter platter would to a higher degree - so this may be the more bang for the buck solution. However, in terms of overall sonics there is enough difference between say a 255 and a 320, apart from the drive system, that the latter easily bests the former by a pretty wide margin - at least to my ears. The inertia of the larger platter coupled with superior isolation provided by Stillpoint dampers make significant contributions to speed stability and lower noise. When I upgraded from a 255 to a 320 I definitely expected improvements, but the 320 significantly exceeded my expectations. I would be quite surprised if a 255 with Verus could exceed a 320 with the Reference motor.

Over time, I've found my skepticism about Teres improvements consistently disappointed, and Chris' assessments to be quite accurate. Of course I'll wait to hear the Verus and judge for myself, but I have no reason to doubt that it will be an improvement commensurate with the upgrade price. We'll see - I hope the Verus starts shipping soon.

Tim