SSM w/Rim Drive - Cloud 11 Vibration issues?

If the noise seems to be coming directly from a motor it could be a problem with the motor. I think there's capacitor in the wire path to the motors that can drift out of synch somehow. Mike at VPI told me something about that. When you reverse the wiring it could introduce coginess to that motor. In that case, I'm sure VPI would send you a new motor. If the motor seems to be the source I would conact Mike. He would understand it a lot better than I do.
I would try to make sure that it's not drive belt noise by moving the motor assembly away from the platter. If your noise stops, try lighter conact of the drive belt with the platter and this will decrease or stop with time. Also you might try removing the belts from the motors and watching them run freely to see if one is more jerky than the other. Mine is running smoothly with barely notable motor and contact noise.
I hope this helps. I don't consider myself an expert on this, or anything really, but this is what knowledge I've gained from my experience so far.

Absolutely, you can contact Mike, however, to put your mind at ease, I had some motor noise when I first installed the rim drive, but it's now gone. I really can't remember, but I think it went away about the same time as I used the softer footers.

I actually ordered the SSM with rim drive and a cloud from music direct last week. should I tell them to hold off on the cloud and just use the 2 pieces of 14x18 granite i'm currently using under my linn that are sandwiched between a piece of mdf and which are both sitting atop my billy bags pro 35 turntable stand or should I set it up differently when it arrives?

Powerdoctor,

I like the Cloud products in many respects and I doubt there's a better guy in the audio industry than Vinh. However, I'm afraid there may be to much movement of the plinth-platter assembly when using the rim drive on these pieces. I didn't even try it with my 2 pieced unit. A one piece may work better but, based on Zenieth's experience, I doubt it's optimal. You could try it if Music Direct is willing to take a return. Something more solid like your granite is probably better(more solid isolation like Silent Running Audio, Critical Mass, Symposium, or even maple are other options) It seems like you need slight play in the motor housing but not the plinth(soft footers and in the future softer drive belt).
Once you get this thing set up and running you will enjoy it thoroughly. Have fun.

I just took delivery of a medium size Cloud 11 for my SSM with Rim Drive. It replaced a standard size version which was fine for the flywheel edition of the SSM. I've experienced absolutely no speed variations (piano/cello) or vibrations as noted in the above posts. I (and Vinh Vu) agree that the two piece version is not suitable for the latest SSM due to the resistive nature of the rim/platter relationship.

My Cloud 11 sits on a 2" maple platform supported by 2" brass cones, resting in a maple rack. What I did do differently was to place the Gingko balls in 9 of the 10 pockets available on the base. I left only the one slot open - the middle row to the left of the far right edge. This is a massive unit and the five balls supplied as standard just won't support the top piece properly. Vinh is now going to start supplying 9 balls for this revised SSM configuration, and I would suggest trying it with any SSM version which has the Super Platter installed.

Finally, Gingko is now producing a ClaraVu dustcover for this combination which has proper openings in the rear and proper height (to accomodate 10.5i and it's Nordost wiring) for the latest and greatest SSM configuration.

Three last notes: 1) Harry, please give us at least six months to recover from your latest upgrades!; 2) my SSM has the HRX footers and standard footers for the motor assembly; 3) I agree with the poster who suggested having the rim barely touching the platter - you'll experience a delay in the rotation of the platter when set properly.