2020 update : JC Verdier La Platine

@thekong 

Yes - that's my reference TT, has been for 40 years.

You must use silk thread - the pulley was designed for it - I use surgical silk - thickish end of the range.

I originally bought the Verdier as a 2nd deck for 78's and multiple arm playing around.

I have since completed a Garrard 301 for myself. Sold the Verdier to a friend.

I have put together a few 301's/401's for friends - both quartz stone ( SMD style dual layer ), Bamboo, and Bamboo/Birchply hybrid.

A quartzstone plinthed 401 with bronze platter I built for a friend operated very very close to a Kuzma M with the same arm/cartridge - 4point11/van den hul and Kuzma mc's.

Both the quartz stone and bamboo ( 40mm ) are very stable and can be machine very accurately.

Just remember on the plinth on the Verdier is the same weight as the platter. That's why they put steel plates under the MDF plinth. If you do a custom plinth make sure the mass is equal to or greater than the platter weight.

Hi @dover , I agree, as the Verdier has such a high CG, a massive plinth is likely to be beneficial, that’s also why I considered brass/aluminium/granite. I am assuming the high density bamboo ply is relatively light, so a slab of heavier material is probably needed to be bonded to the bottom of the bamboo ply plinth!

@thekong 

I used compressed bamboo ply - so it works out about roughly 10kg for 80mm plinth. The engineered stone would be more straightforward.

Suddenly had a brain explosion - it would be interesting to do a larger plinth and push the feet out to provide additional stability. Personally I don't subscribe to having a long belt - so you would still want the motor as close as possible.

@dover , I am also thinking of an extended plinth, much like the Basis Transcendence ! Yes, motor placement would be an issue, maybe a cutout at the side of the plinth for the motor pod, much like some VPI TTs. 

@thekong With this recent round of plinth discussion, you bring up several interesting points. I am in the design field, and I despised MDF…..it’s birch plywood at a minimum and / or Finish plywood. But in audio, I live with it. Plinth replacement or improvement was never seriously considered as it would involve messing with magnets, thrust bolt / bearing, and spring footers. But replacing MDF with plywood or granite would be highly appealing. You mentioned  CS port with granite plinth, OMA with  slate La Platine plinth, and the AJ Conti Transcendence. These have all been my inspiration at one point or another. I had looked for a OMA slate replacement plinth to no avail; I was thinking of getting a CS Port TAT 2 as a second deck; and after spotting a used Transcendence, and its price, I will be admiring it from afar. 
 

@dover You must have mentioned the Final Audio Research VVT-1 from an earlier post. I recalled researching it. Looking at the beauty now, and particularly the motor, I can understand your opinion of the Verdier motor. 
 

Here’s a thought: without the original motor and plinth, is it still a La Platine?