Hi Pani,
R2R tape provides a less elastic, less slippage-prone coupling than silk thread. The drive belt described in this thread simply goes further in that same direction... much further. Therefore, whatever you heard from R2R tape you'd hear even more of with the modded holo belt... much more.
Your experiment provided data. Let's think about what you learned and its implications. Improving your motor-platter linkage raised the noise floor. Ask yourself, where did this additional noise come from? The overwhelming likelihood is that it comes from the motor and that the improved coupling provided by the R2R tape transferred more of it into the platter (which is a good drive belt's job).
All motors are noise sources and I'm afraid yours is suspect. I've read reports over the years of PV owners who improved their motors and heard a major improvement. The unfortunate but inescapable conclusion is that PV uses silk thread because a slippy (or elastic) coupling helps isolate the platter from a noisy motor.
Your experiment certainly seems to confirm this. IMO it's likely that upgrading your motor will be necessary before you can enjoy the sonic benefits of a tighter motor-platter coupling without experiencing additional noise.
* As noted in my OP, sources for the holo tape can be found on the Teres and Galibier websites. I don't know of any others.
***
Tim,
Have you also sat next to baroque oboists? My distinction was meant only as a comparison between modern and baroque instruments. If you've only sat next to one type or the other then any observations would be in a vacuum and would neither affirm nor contradict the comparison.
For clarity, I didn't intend to suggest that a modern oboe lacks harmonics. Sorry if I was unclear. To my ears, more of its energy focuses on the fundamental COMPARED to a baroque oboe, which has a different balance between fundamental and overtones - one that favors the latter. Neither is better or worse, they were designed for different situations and respond accordingly.
We'll have to agree to disagree on the ability of different genres to reveal system characteristics, at least at the margins. I agree that a system which can reproduce very difficult acoustic music really well will do the same for (say) hip-hop, provided one is willing to tolerate any flaws and artifacts in the recording being revealed for what they are. The converse is not true. I've heard hundreds of systems that hip and hop really well but sound ghastly when asked to reproduce challenging acoustic instruments.
When the source music has been sent through dozens of electronic steps which distort the signal *by design*, a little playback distortion may go unnoticed. OTOH, when the source music has been sent through the minimally necessary electronic steps and each of those was chosen to distort the signal *as little as possible*, playback distortions are more likely to be audible... at least to my hip- and hop-less ears.
I have some LPs featuring solo counter-tenor and alto recorder performing in the hardest stone space imaginable. These records bring 99% of all systems to their knees. People literally leave the room holding their ears because it can sound like fingernails-on-slate. It's not the records' fault however, it's the inability of multiple components throughout the playback chain to cope with densely packed, high amplitude harmonics. I've heard these LPs produced "almost" right just once or twice. No recording of mixed, manipulated and amplified music is anywhere near so demanding.
R2R tape provides a less elastic, less slippage-prone coupling than silk thread. The drive belt described in this thread simply goes further in that same direction... much further. Therefore, whatever you heard from R2R tape you'd hear even more of with the modded holo belt... much more.
Your experiment provided data. Let's think about what you learned and its implications. Improving your motor-platter linkage raised the noise floor. Ask yourself, where did this additional noise come from? The overwhelming likelihood is that it comes from the motor and that the improved coupling provided by the R2R tape transferred more of it into the platter (which is a good drive belt's job).
All motors are noise sources and I'm afraid yours is suspect. I've read reports over the years of PV owners who improved their motors and heard a major improvement. The unfortunate but inescapable conclusion is that PV uses silk thread because a slippy (or elastic) coupling helps isolate the platter from a noisy motor.
Your experiment certainly seems to confirm this. IMO it's likely that upgrading your motor will be necessary before you can enjoy the sonic benefits of a tighter motor-platter coupling without experiencing additional noise.
* As noted in my OP, sources for the holo tape can be found on the Teres and Galibier websites. I don't know of any others.
***
Tim,
Have you also sat next to baroque oboists? My distinction was meant only as a comparison between modern and baroque instruments. If you've only sat next to one type or the other then any observations would be in a vacuum and would neither affirm nor contradict the comparison.
For clarity, I didn't intend to suggest that a modern oboe lacks harmonics. Sorry if I was unclear. To my ears, more of its energy focuses on the fundamental COMPARED to a baroque oboe, which has a different balance between fundamental and overtones - one that favors the latter. Neither is better or worse, they were designed for different situations and respond accordingly.
We'll have to agree to disagree on the ability of different genres to reveal system characteristics, at least at the margins. I agree that a system which can reproduce very difficult acoustic music really well will do the same for (say) hip-hop, provided one is willing to tolerate any flaws and artifacts in the recording being revealed for what they are. The converse is not true. I've heard hundreds of systems that hip and hop really well but sound ghastly when asked to reproduce challenging acoustic instruments.
When the source music has been sent through dozens of electronic steps which distort the signal *by design*, a little playback distortion may go unnoticed. OTOH, when the source music has been sent through the minimally necessary electronic steps and each of those was chosen to distort the signal *as little as possible*, playback distortions are more likely to be audible... at least to my hip- and hop-less ears.
I have some LPs featuring solo counter-tenor and alto recorder performing in the hardest stone space imaginable. These records bring 99% of all systems to their knees. People literally leave the room holding their ears because it can sound like fingernails-on-slate. It's not the records' fault however, it's the inability of multiple components throughout the playback chain to cope with densely packed, high amplitude harmonics. I've heard these LPs produced "almost" right just once or twice. No recording of mixed, manipulated and amplified music is anywhere near so demanding.