Ducatrider,
I'll have to ask Paul if he remembers the concentration. He used up the last he had, so we'll be sourcing some too.
Steve,
Good tip re: the bearing. Ours is about due for a check.
We did try the Verus last summer. We were still using the silver holographic belt then, but even so the Verus was not an upgrade on our rig. It could not compete with our modified Ref II motor, modified controller and the faster/stronger battery we use vs. the Teres standard. It would be even less competitive against this new belt, which gives more raw 'oomph', the one area where the Verus did have a small advantage.
Our listening sensitivities and priorities may differ from yours, so keep our experience in context.
The Verus's speed controller is adjusted in fixed steps, and no setting yielded exactly 33 1/3. The deviation is too small for most people to notice or care about (and it varies depending on platter diameter), but we both have very good pitch, so we could tell it was running fast or slow. Chris has since halved the size of those steps, so it would be better now.
Also the rubber O-ring was a source of resonance rebound or elastic response to stylus drag events. Again, this was at a level many people don't care about. If we were rock or even regular classical listeners we might not notice. But much of our favorite music is pre-Romantic era on authentic instruments. These recordings are unforgiving (ie, revealing) of even the tiniest system problems. The instruments go from unique and rich timbres to fingernails-on-blackboard in a heartbeat if ANYTHING is wrong. They're a real acid test which we listen to almost daily, but which most people never listen to at all.
The Verus is well liked by most who try it, but its not for everyone. YMMV, as usual.
I'll have to ask Paul if he remembers the concentration. He used up the last he had, so we'll be sourcing some too.
Steve,
Good tip re: the bearing. Ours is about due for a check.
We did try the Verus last summer. We were still using the silver holographic belt then, but even so the Verus was not an upgrade on our rig. It could not compete with our modified Ref II motor, modified controller and the faster/stronger battery we use vs. the Teres standard. It would be even less competitive against this new belt, which gives more raw 'oomph', the one area where the Verus did have a small advantage.
Our listening sensitivities and priorities may differ from yours, so keep our experience in context.
The Verus's speed controller is adjusted in fixed steps, and no setting yielded exactly 33 1/3. The deviation is too small for most people to notice or care about (and it varies depending on platter diameter), but we both have very good pitch, so we could tell it was running fast or slow. Chris has since halved the size of those steps, so it would be better now.
Also the rubber O-ring was a source of resonance rebound or elastic response to stylus drag events. Again, this was at a level many people don't care about. If we were rock or even regular classical listeners we might not notice. But much of our favorite music is pre-Romantic era on authentic instruments. These recordings are unforgiving (ie, revealing) of even the tiniest system problems. The instruments go from unique and rich timbres to fingernails-on-blackboard in a heartbeat if ANYTHING is wrong. They're a real acid test which we listen to almost daily, but which most people never listen to at all.
The Verus is well liked by most who try it, but its not for everyone. YMMV, as usual.