VPI Rim Drive


Amongst the bills that came today was a number 10 envelope containing a new belt for the rim drive of my Superscout. The belt is a brown color replacing the black one and feels more "tacky" and soft. I pulled out the first album my hand fell on and played the first track with the old belt. I then removed it and installed the new belt, pushed the table to the motor assembly and listened again. The new belt is better by far. The layering of instruments was much more pronounced, although the width of the stage retained its proportion as before. The highs are certainly cleaner, clearer, and the whole spectrum is faster. Instead of hearing blocks of instruments, I hear seperate instruments cooperating in the event. Loud and thickly arranged sections are effortless unraveled - you can clearly identify all the separate instruments in the cooperation of the piece. Chords can be heard as separate tones contributing to the quality of the chord. Tambourine and other percussion instruments are fast and clean..the jingles are more delicate, brassy, and separate. The lows are more effortless...not louder, just at ease going down, down, and down. I encourage all of you with the dual motor VPI rim drives to get one of these new belts. It is a pain to put on, but you only have to do it once.
128x128stringreen
Makes sense to me. A more compliant contact between the rim and main platter gives a controlled smooth pressure and more stable speed transmission. I experienced this with rollerblocks under my TT plinth. Another good upgrade from VPI .
Stringreen,

I knew it was about time for this to be available and considered starting a thread to inquire about it soon. I'm certainly glad to hear that you feel it's an improvement. Did youn call VPI and request it or are they sending one to all who've purchased and registered a rim drive automatically?
I E-mailed them about 4 months ago, and inquired every couple of weeks about availability. Evidently VPI had been working on which material to use, because it took that long to get - each time the response was "coming real soon". I know lots of people admonish VPI for their constant upgrade paths, however, I applaud their quest for perfection and for providing these improvements to their customers as an update.
My E-mail is in. Hopefully it won't take 4 months for them to get me one. Thanks for the heads up.
I only just got my new rim drive so was lucky enough for it to come with the new belts and feet so no need for pads underneath.
A very impresive upgrade
Hope to compare this against the Verus in a few weeks time on my friends turntable