Fremer/SSM w/Rim Drive

Gmuffley-

Some here that I respect (DougDeacon for one) have tried the (Teres) rim drive, and found it lacking relative to their tape drive. What I'd like to see VPI produce is a motor pulley designed for tape drive, and a bearing system to wrap the tape around most of the circumference of the platter. This would be relatively inexpensive (well, by VPI/audiophile amounts) and would be a nice upgrade for those of us who a) have already invested heavily in VPI decks and b) don't have the alternative of the rim drive (Aries). Yes, this could be done *somewhat* diy, but the cost to have a machinist build you *at least* one iteration (due to design changes and teething issues, I'd assume you'd need more than one) is pretty prohibitive.

I guess he wants to tell us that a connection from motor vibration directly to the bearing is much better for sound than eliminating them via belt.

If you have an SDS or other speed controller available to you, you should try using a string drive. Get some non-stretch Rayon or silk thread, adjust the speed, and you will not need to look at the rim drive option again.

Bob

The tape drive idea sounds very interesting. Regarding Doug Deacon's posts, which I have read with interest, it seems that he had an earlier version of the Verus...not sure, but perhaps a prototype. The newer versions allow for more variation of speed. Apparantly, the Verus also has a superior ability to maintain a certain speed once dialed in, relative to other approaches (my source: other posts on this forum...take with a grain of salt). Also, DougDeacon apparently evaluated the Verus within the context of a megabuck analog front end ($25K? or so)...I would not dismiss this product as an upgrade for a Scout, for instance, based upon his qualified criticism.

I would also be concerned with people who constantly recommend, push and promote the gear they use. I have tremendous experience with lots of gear and have not promoted, pushed or recommended anything. I think the unusual post where someone experienced a piece of gear in which they do not own and praised it highly, would be more valuable to me. Obviously, do not factor in a reviewer's review. There seems to be too many underlying motives and frankly an enormous amount of gear is being praised when it should not. There are some reviewers trying to do things right. But I find most if not all reviews in major magazines worthless when trying to decide if this is a sonic avenue to explore. Cost is not being factored in and they are a major tool in inflating prices. They are only good for resale of an item you may have bought to try. These major mag reviews are good for those of us who want to try a unit and be able to re-sell if its not what we want. Items with lots of good major mag reviews are safe ventures. To me, the members who constantly praise the gear they own and recommend it to others every chance they get, are just as counter productive as most of the reviews from major mags, certainly, when one is trying to sonically improve there system. For example, a gentleman starts a thread asking about the sonic merits of two tonearms he is considering purchasing. And you have several members recommend the arms they are using, which subsequently are not one of the two arms mentioned, nor have they heard the two arms mentioned. Furthermore, its common for these members to have limited experience with tonearms and have no business recommending anything.

Now I have spent several years gathering as much experience as possible, so I could further improve my stereo and make certain that, the choices I have made are the right ones. The forums were a great help in that and I feel now its time I should share some of my discoveries. I would not do so before, because I felt I did not have enough experience to be recommending. Also, what ever experience I do decide to share, is subjective of my total experience, which should be defined to the reader, so the reader is informed of where I am coming from and can make his own decision as to the validity of my opinions. I would hope this type of shared experience would have significant value considering there are no underlying motives as with magazines. Now I am blabbering and should stop. Ive wanted to become more active in the forums for some time, but it is also very time consuming. All of the wonderful people who have contributed to this forum in the past and present really are giving something.

I have also found little clicks in the forums and to disagree or call out a member, when it should be done, can start a playground fight. This is a bit scary to me.