The first thing to deal with is the torque issue. The thing about high torque idler motors versus low torque belt motors is largely a furphy.
The output torque at the shaft of the Garrard motor is a little under 10 mNm. The output torque at the shaft of the 3W Hurst motor used by VPI is 26 mNm.
The reflected torque at the platter is the shaft torque times the gearing ratio. For the Garrard the gearing ratio is about 48 to 1 so the final torque at the platter is about 440 mNm. For the Hurst motor the gearing ratio is 18 to 1 so the final torque at the platter is 470 mNm.
The "low torque" Hurst thus has more torque than the "high torque" Garrard.
To add insult to injury, the Garrard motor slows by 10% when delivering that torque where the Hurst motor does not slow at all.
Mark Kelly