Fremer/SSM w/Rim Drive

Give it 2 years or so and a new generation of belt drive tables will be introduced to address the perceived shortcomings of direct contact between the motor and platter.

I have not read the review yet but MF in the past has not been a big fan of the VPI truntables due to the acrylic platters.

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