You may have missed this in the above post, 8-9 I'd say. I don't really think anything deserves a 10 unless it's earth shatterring so that's a pretty good endorsement. Speed stability has normalized and the whole drive is more smooth and quiet with the new belt. I think I could spend tens of thousands more and only improve mildly, if at all, over the SSM with rim drive and 10.5i. Mine also sits on a Critical Mass Systems isolation platform which is another strong contributer to the solid performance I'm getting in my opinion. Set this stuff up right and it's hard to do better.
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.
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- 29 posts total
- 29 posts total