Great news - now you are hearing the Verdier as it is intended.
Not an expert but I did read that exposure to very high heat can demagnetise magnets.
You should keep the originals - investigate if you can get them re-magnetised.
2020 update : JC Verdier La Platine
A recent encounter with a JC Verdier dealer as well as a recent Audiogon discussion thread led to the start of this thread. He was in my house updating my La Platine which had been in storage for ten years with thread and oil. While he has high regards for the deck, his newer clients nevertheless prefer a Techdas iii than an 'old' La Platine. Given the proliferation of expensive decks in the past dozen years, La Platine has become very much under-appreciated.
It's clear to me that the influence of the La Platine is everywhere to be found. Specifically, the magnetic suspension system that was employed 30+ years ago. Even SOTA offers their newer decks with mag. lev. features. And if you read this review: https://www.callas-audio.nl/Callas%20Platine%20Mod%20Kit%20Review.pdf, the Continuum Caliburn uses the same concept, which was not acknowledged in Fremer's review, albeit with more sophisticated , and expensive, execution.
It is also clear to me that there is much misunderstanding of the workings of the La Platine. I for one have contributed to this. The motor of the La Platine, for example, has been much maligned. The thread drive is another aspect of the turntable that have been described as inferior. With regard to the motor and thread drive, I have been set straight by Chris @ct0517 and Lyubomir @lbelchev. Experimenting with the different types of silk threads, the tightness to the platter and a renewed understanding of the soundness of the Philips motor have been rewarded with better dynamics and transparency.
The funny thing is that during the past two years of re-engagement with audio, I have questioned ownership of every components in my arsenal except the La Platine. It has always been a keeper. I wonder if La Platine owners would contribute to celebrating this 'old' deck with tales, advice, and insights?
Cheers!
It's clear to me that the influence of the La Platine is everywhere to be found. Specifically, the magnetic suspension system that was employed 30+ years ago. Even SOTA offers their newer decks with mag. lev. features. And if you read this review: https://www.callas-audio.nl/Callas%20Platine%20Mod%20Kit%20Review.pdf, the Continuum Caliburn uses the same concept, which was not acknowledged in Fremer's review, albeit with more sophisticated , and expensive, execution.
It is also clear to me that there is much misunderstanding of the workings of the La Platine. I for one have contributed to this. The motor of the La Platine, for example, has been much maligned. The thread drive is another aspect of the turntable that have been described as inferior. With regard to the motor and thread drive, I have been set straight by Chris @ct0517 and Lyubomir @lbelchev. Experimenting with the different types of silk threads, the tightness to the platter and a renewed understanding of the soundness of the Philips motor have been rewarded with better dynamics and transparency.
The funny thing is that during the past two years of re-engagement with audio, I have questioned ownership of every components in my arsenal except the La Platine. It has always been a keeper. I wonder if La Platine owners would contribute to celebrating this 'old' deck with tales, advice, and insights?
Cheers!
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- 235 posts total
@dover thankyou - yes i do feel / hear that difference i think. i have been fettling to wit: i've got the motor off these soft absorption pads i had it on. now flat on credenza top. also i put the la platine on cms footers (i.e. defeated the feet). i am using thread. the motor is very close. shaknspin wow is down to 0.02 RMS. with the spring feet defeated it adds a certain solidity. previous i thought this a bit much. right now with my tonearm setup properly, cart aligned etc it just seems very good. wide stereo image. great stability. great dynamics. i can hear that the standard feet do better preventing noise coming up into the table (i have a stethoscope for this). but there is little doubt in my mind it all gets a little "soft". i mean you can hear it frankly. it's not bad. but it just tends to mechanically favour treble and lower volume stuff i think. what is mind bending is the sheer amount of music in the songs and the total lack of distortion. i played old favourites and despite not having my best arm/cart/sut combo (or more accurately most expensive arm/cart/sut combo) it has never been better.
around the corner i expect two different belts to arrive. actually 3. one is EPDM from ebay, the other is EPDM from gold ring and then another is the large TRansrotor belt favoured by @mtemur from WBF. he prefers a belt so i figured it would be good to try it out and it might even help me achieve 45 rpm more easily (my experience is belts do alot better with 45 rpm than string). 33.3 sped stability is now brilliant. i don't have any issues now that i have mastered motor placement etc. i was going to try different ball materials but i am now riding above the ball so i don't think i care anymore. might even try total ball withdrawal. i do think the denon 103 cart with fr64s arm feels like it was made for this turntable. the fr64s/103 combo being hyperactive and overreactive and the la platine tending towards the subtle. one thing to note with my excellent w&f values is that my thread is now at the absolute base of the platter. i do tend to think this helps.
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hi @ledoux1238 yeah it was a big deal for me. i replaced both. it just got so easy when i find them online and the post was so quick. i imagined glue and all sorts of things. not the case.
the magnets that came in the "collars" had an outer dia of 185 and inner dia of 95 mm (20 mm thick). the magnets couple to the steel "collars". to remove the old ones was easier. less powerful. somehow i could lever with a cloth and screwdriver and up they would come. i needed the cloth less i fracture the ferrite.
installing the new ones which are Y30 ferrite and 180 mm OD and 100 mm ID (20 mm thick) was tricky because very difficult to remove once in the collar. very strong. nothing much to grab once they are flat on collar. i put a magnet in wrong (opposite polarity). to remove it was very tricky. i ended up using wideset long handle pliers and a soft cloth. you just need to get an edge up. adjusting position also very tricky but very necessary to optimise wobble. also more powerful magnets made it very tricky to assemble the la platine. that is putting on top platter assembly, now more powerful magnets will push the bottom assembly out of alignment unless i am very careful.
i have got a factory in china now making me another 2 sets of magnets but these will be Y35 ferrite which is stronger and longer lasting. i anticipate it will be about 25% stronger and also will have dimensions of 190 mm OD and 89 mm ID so as long as i can get them in, i will really have better magnet coverage in the collar and stronger magnets hence more repulsion in aggregate.
it is dubious whether more repulsion will do anything good for me. i mean alot of people run the platter just resting on the ball so does it matter if there is a 1 mm gap versus a 10 mm gap versus 20 mm? i guess the way i see it is i don't anticipate an impact on stability from less bearing being in top platter assembly but i think we could have less noise and less friction.
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I just did a quick online search, and Y30 or Y35 ferrite magnet discs of varying dimensions are readily available! Regarding the strength of the magnets , a Dutch audio dealer, Callas Audio, came out with a limited addition mod kit for the La Platine. It could varying the amount of magnetic force. The result of which is better bass response. Some user would use the ball as a corrective against the magnetic force.
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- 235 posts total