2020 update : JC Verdier La Platine

Albert, my two cents about La Platine speed stability:

1. Check the axle adjustment. If you use a steel ball check the resistance point between the ball and the spindle. The steel ball should be in contact with the spindle, almost but without pressure. If you do not use a steel ball, the axle should not be in contact with the spindle.  In this case just catch the resistance point and than slightly return back the axle via the adjustment screw. Therefore some play will be necessary (60 to 80th of an inch is sufficient) .The still ball is not absolutely necessary. You can chose to remove it if you want and it is not necessary in such case to modify the adjustment of the axle. If you want to change the mat and/or record clamp it is necessary to adjust the axle.

2. "One of the Verdier’s little foibles: the bottom of the main bearing is designed to leak oil! With an inverted bearing, gravity causes lubricating oil to flow to the bottom of the shaft, leaving the top part dry. Over tune, this oil will eventually make its way to the bottom of the axle where it collects in the axle base cup... If all this conjures up visions of getting out dip-sticks to check oil levels before going for a spin, don’t worry. The oil reservoir is generous, and the rate of seepage low. Also, as the oil is thick, it tends to cling to the sides of the bearing. All the same, this turntable needs rather more maintenance than your average deck..." James M Hughes, "HI-FI NEWS - February 1999"
So, every few weeks 0.5-1.0 cc of oil should be added to the reservoir next to the spindle to keep the axle lubricated. Use the supplied oil or Mobil 15W-30.

Enjoy

^^^^^^^

This so called "Ball"

When I first heard of this "ball" years ago, I immediately thought, it is no different than the stories I hear of some people actually using a belt with this thread design. I mean ...why even bother...seriously.

Go look for a belt drive design turntable.

So I asked JC Verdier about this so called "ball".

JC Verdier
So I will tell you another time what is told.
The possible installation of the ball was proposed to answer some customers who want to try to use the ball.
At the beginning it was only optional .
But later , to normalized the manufacturing , I included systematically the kit steel ball + ceramic past.
For my part I am not in favour of using the ball in accordance with the original design .
Probably you have this original design so you don’t have the steel ball.
Don’t worry about the stories of pirates , for sure some of them tried to attract customers by copies , because they are not able to conceive a product by themselves .
I don’t have any of them in hands and I have no comment on their working.
For sure that should be easy if only a steel ball could let a turntable work properly!
JC Verdier

So the lesson here is Business is Business even with Verdier.

The unfortunate thing is people acquiring a newer version of this turntable with a "ball" think it is normal.....do not understand the reason it is there.

fwiw -
I have never had to add oil to the reservoir on my La Platine Granito. It does not leak.

@ct0517  Yes, I agree about the ball.

Platine Verdier users have debated a lot about the advantages and disadvantages of using a steel ball. Removing it is from our point of view the best solution to preserve the turntable from noise and vibrations.
Instructions manual

My bearing does not leak too. But it is open inverted bearing -  the oil flow very slowly to the bottom of the axle.  It's just physics.

Recharging the bearing with oil should be a monthly routine. The consumption of oil is dependent on temperature an how much the turntable is used.
Instructions manual

@lbelchev 
oh I have tried to add oil.
Unfortunately, unlike my 993, it doesn't take much. 8^(
I'm sure it is taking a little.

I don't see a debate with the ball. It's a Vibration Resonance (VR) activity to generate a small signal. Adding in additional points of conduit is never good. The manufacturer has done everything possible to isolate, especially in the use of dissimilar materials, to control resonances. The differing materials between the platter and spindle one example most never see.

While I have been experimenting with the stock motor / thread drive , I decided to try something else. For the last 2 1/2 weeks, I switched out the stock motor with a Jasmine ( high torque?) motor and Origin Live belt. The behavior of the platter to this belt drive obviously is quite different. Platter starts and stops much faster, it’s interaction with the motor much more immediate. My initial listening impression was a more stable bass image within the soundstage. Not a dramatic difference but different enough. I deicided to keep the belt drive for two weeks. 
Three days ago I switched back again to the thread drive / stock motor. What I assumed was an improvement on the bass front with the belt drive, turned out not so dramatic. In addition, with the return of  the thread drive, the air around instruments and the sense of the venue were all that much more palpable, that much more ‘real’. While I still don’t quite understand the workings of the thread drive and braking, I can attest that it sounds better than after market belt drive.
I still believe a thread drive with a servo motor that monitors speed stability, e.g. SOTA and Roadrunner, may  be worth investigating down the road. 

A final thought on light strobe. I feel that it is a  measuring tool, like the use of a ruler for  distances, or a Fozameter for sound separation. It’s objective!  Now Lederman of SoundSmith prefers cartridges with a left / right channel differential. That’s subjective. I have no argument with someone’s listening preferences, especially when the the analog sound produced is comparable to reel- to reel.  But we ought to assume that speed stability is one of the criteria for achieving such a sound quality. If that is not the case, that speed stability doesn’t matter,  I would still like to the what the measurable
deviations were.