The VPI Rim Drive

Don't forget about Tracks in Wax on Central just south of Camelback in Phoenix.
Remember, it's a dry heat. :)

- Doc

I ordered the rim drive kit from Music Direct during January and finally took delivery of the kit on Monday of this week. I installed the new drive mechanism in my VPI TNT-6 turntable on Monday evening, and I have done some fairly extensive listening since then. Here is a run down on the changes in performance I am hearing in the SET audio system where I am running my TNT-6 turntable (equipped with the Super Platter):

1. PRaT - The new drive mechanism delivers a sense of energy and flow to the music that is clearly superior to the belt-drive mechanism. By comparison, the belt drive sounds somewhat slow and sluggish. (For those of you wondering whether I used the SDS to calibrate the platter speed before making this observation, I did.)

2. Bass Performance - With the new drive mechanism, the performance of the turntable is significantly improved in the bass frequencies. The bass is faster and tighter. By comparison, the bass frequencies with the belt drive mechanism tend to sound ponderous with a certain resonance or overhang that tends to muddy up the works - particularly in a full-range audio system.

In addition to the performance improvements noted above, I believe that dynamics have also improved.

Overall, I think the new drive mechanism is a very worthwhile upgrade that does a nice job of addressing some of the inherent weaknesses I have come to understand about the VPI TNT turntable in the eight years I have owned it. (My first VPI turntable was the TNT Mk3.5, which over the years was gradually upgraded and replaced, piece by piece, as it evolved into what is now the latest production model version).

The $64 question with VPI rim drive is whether the rubber belts between motors and flywheel compromise speed stability. If you're in the mood to experiment, you might try carpet thread in these positions. On my TNT there were improvements in the direction that you note-- focus, speed, dynamics-- after replacing both long & short rubber belts with inelastic thread. Rim drive should be even better, but perhaps not with elastic belts remaining in the drive system.

Regarding the rim drive. I think it did wonders for my system. The solidity of the table is astonishing..kind of like the belt drive is a bit under water. The kit is easy to accomplish. If you decide on it,the arm will rock, jiggle, and scootch when you first use the rim drive. After 2 days, the rim drive seats, and everything quiets down. I was mortified at first, but then delighted.

The biggest improvement you can make to your system is to quit buying the latest gadgets that VPI makes (and they offer 100 new upgrades each month that makes the last 100 upgrades from last month obsolete)and buy yourself an outstanding reel to reel deck for under $1000.00. I own a VPI TNT MKIII (sitting on the VPI TNT stand of course)that I upgraded the motor with the 300 RPM motor, ET-2 arm driven by two pumps through a surge tank, Denon DL-103R cartridge run through a Counterpoint SA-2 and then into an upgraded SA-5.1(both line and phono stage by Mike Elliot). And yes, I have a VPI 16.5 cleaning machine too. I could bring my Revox A-77 deck to your house and make you feel stupid for spending crazy money on your LP playback system that will not sound as real and as live as the sound that snaps off of tape. Sorry, but it's the truth. And you can tell me that your LP playback system is way better than mine which I wouldn't believe until I heard it myself (and mine sounds DAMN good), but it won't change the fact that tape sounds better and we have all been led down the wrong road by chasing our LP playback tails like a possessed dog hunting for that last thing that will take us to nirvana. I feel sick that I am a johnny-come-lately to the world of tape and that I have wasted my entire adult life chasing improvements in LP playback when I could have been investing in great tapes and decks all these years. So, instead of spending $1000 for a rim job, I dare you to spend $500 on an A-77 in really good condition and buy yourself some used tapes on Ebay and prepare to be amazed. Don't get me wrong, my LP playback system sounds great and it blows the uninitiated away, but it doesn't sound as real as tape. I can just imagine what 15ips two track tapes made from masters would sound like. Now that is tail worth chasing. As good as LP playback can be, I have never once been fooled into thinking that live music is being played in my room. With 7 1/2ips 4 track tapes, I have been fooled into thinking that I have been transported to the room where the music was made and that I am there hearing it live. And here is one more thing to feed that part of your brain that always craves that latest gizmo that you hope will make a startling improvement in your LP playback, and that is all LPs are limited in their performance and fidelity to the master tape because they have to be comprised due to the physics. Mastering engineers have to choose which songs to give the greatest bandwidth to and place them as the first 2-3 cuts on each side. The closer you get to the label, the less room mastering engineers have to work with and they have to cut back on the bass and treble they encode in the grooves. You start off with 12" of real estate turning at 33 1/3 RPM and you end up with a much smaller diameter disc still turning at 33 1/3 RPM and you simply can't cut at the same levels as you could at the beginning of the disc. So, ever wonder why the best sounding cuts on your LPs are always the first couple on each side? Now you know. Tape doesn't have that problem. The last cut can sound just as amazing as the first cut. The engineers can really give you everything the master tape has to offer. RCA knew that back in 1958 when they started releasing 2 track 7 1/2ips tapes and they thought it would be the death-blow to LPs. They didn't count on women and lazy men not wanting to take the time to thread tape. If you are crazy enough to put up with LPs, you are crazy enough to put up with tape. The payoff is higher.