VPI Rim Drive vibrations

it was a revelation when i sold the Superplatter and installed the Classic platter...much better in every way. The Superplatter sounds tubby, closed in, and restrictive compared to the Classic.

Yes, I totally agree Stringreen!

Wasn't there an issue with the Superplatters being out of round? Which could raise havoc when one is combined with a VPI rim drive. Perhaps that was much of the OP's problem. Personally, I think both the plinth and the external rim drive system (any rim drive system, not just VPI's) should be firmly joined together and very rigid, no movement at all between one and the other should be permitted. Further, the rim drive apparatus should be very massive. (Let's not forget Newton's Third Law of Motion; the rim drive torque promotes a tendency for itself to rotate opposite to the rotation of the platter.) But that's just me.

I agree Lewn....and Harry agreed with me as I was going through this issue with him, that the Superplatter isn't and I was told just can't be made with the tolerances needed to work with the rim drive....that's one of the big (maybe the biggest) reason the Classic platter was/is manufactured. By solidly anchoring the platter and its ancillaries to my very solidly supported table via the BearPaws, and allowing the errors of the non-round platter to be accommodated with the sprung support of the motor assembly, I was able to eliminate the rocking of my then 10.5i. That rocking was making me nuts to look at it in operation..surprisinglyl not heard to that great extent in the listening. The motor assembly would dance in time with the non-roundeness, but that didn't bother me as much. However, I wouldn't rest until I found my fix.

The Super Platter had a problem with the Delrin seperating from the stainless steel middle sandwich on a few examples, not all. In addition, manufacturing the Supper Platter cost 3 times that of the Classic platter which would drive its retail price to over $2K!

Delrin and stainless steel are machinable to a very high standard and can be machined to the same tolerance as the aluminum Classic. If using a rim drive with a Super Platter, it should be run on the middle ss portion. My Super Platter was perfectly round and had the same perceived manufacturing tolerance as my Classic platter. The two platters sound different, and not necessarily better than the one another.