The VPI Rim Drive

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.

"threadcrapping"-I like that term. Well, I personally don't think most people know that RTR sounds better than LPs and that was my point. As for how many of your records from a 30 year collection are available on RTR, if you mean currently other than Ebay, the answer is 0. If you mean how many were available when the LPs first came out, probably many of them were. If you are willing to spend the money, you could have a RTR collection that numbered in the high hundreds if not thousands-never mind 5. Like I said, I wish I was hip to this many years ago so I would have amassed a big collection of RTR tapes instead of jumping down the LP rabbit hole where I hit all types of blind ends and got mugged while I was in there. And the LP rabbit hole has gotten deeper over the years and there are many more people waiting inside to mug you now and take all of your cash for some earth-shattering improvements that don't amount to a pimple on an elephant's ass compared to the difference between a really good table and a really good RTR.

I didn't mean to pick on VPI in particular, just the LP rabbit hole in general. And as far as Stringreen's statement that anything Harry has ever done has been an improvement over what came before it is flat wrong. I was told to get rid of the additional pulleys on my TNT table by VPI because all they did was add noise. So out they went and I capped over the holes with plugs from VPI. And isn't his "new" super platter a variation on the TNT MKV platter? Sure looks like it to me. Back to a metal composite sandwich vice the chunk of plastic that came on the TNT MKVI that was supposed to be better than the old metal composite sandwhich platters. And now rim drives are better than the belt drives that superceded rim drives. I wonder what old idea he will revive next to replace his past improvements over the old ideas? See my point? And I say this as someone who owns a VPI TNTIII and a VPI 16.5. I have also owned a JMW 9 and JMW 10. I sold them both to go back to an ET2 which IMO is a much better arm. As for your Gordon Lightfoot ephipany, when you say you hear "2 Gordon Lightfoots," do you mean his voice is doubletracked or that he has recorded two separate tracks that are spaced enough apart in time that it doesn't sound double tracked? Either way, I am surprised that it took the rim job to bring this out. I am going to buy a copy of that LP so I can hear it myself and hear what you are talking about.