The VPI Rim Drive

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.

Mepearson - So what's your point? Besides threadcrapping, why spend so much screen space explaining the obvious? Nobody is going to argue that RTR doesn't usually sound better than lp, but here is a question: I have spent over 30 years purchasing records, by your estimation, how many of those titles are available on RTR? And besides ebay, where can I purchase these titles? I'd like to listen to more than 5 tapes if possible.

Rsrex

Is "threadcrapping" a generally used term of art? This has to be my favorite new word of the decade.

Thanks,

Marty

Thanks Rsrex, I was just about to post that same issue. ...but also, the producer decides which tune is 1st, and last...not the audio engineer. I have made a few records, and have been to meetings to discuss that very same issue. It is not true that the best sounding tune is first...I have numerous lp's that fly in the face of that. whether Meperson's stereo is better sounding than mine makes no difference to me. I have many hundreds of LP's, and CD's that bring me pleasure. Some of them sound so real, I am fooled in thinking that I have been transported to the venue...some are poor sounding, but have great music on them, so I kind of imagine the music that's missing. Regarding VPI's constant search for perfection...I give them lots of credit and thanks. All of their upgrades that I have included in my VPI have improved it. I am glad they are on the constant search for perfection. In my hubris, I spoke to Harry about also getting rid of the 2 small belts that transfer power from the motors to the new flywheel. It seemed logical that if the big belt is eliminated, the elimination of all the belts would be even better. Harry said that its been tried and rejected. They continually get closer and I reap the benefits. Just today, I put on a Gordon Lightfoot album called "Summertime Dreams". This is the first time I played the album with my new rim drive. I have heard the album hundreds of times before, however, with the new drive, I can clearly understand Gordon's words. When his voice changes, I can completely understand that he is singing with himself..the same words, the same notes, the same inflections, both voices coming from between the speakers, but I can clearly hear 2 Gordon Lightfoots. I suspected this with the belt drive, but it is very clear with the rim drive.