2. analog
  3. 133024-3034

aluminum platter vs Acrylic not what I thought

I recently got to hear a VPI scout with an aluminum platter and various platter mats.  I am having a hard time trying to understand where the fascination with aluminum is coming from.  The acrylic sounds far better.  Its not even close to my ears.  Is it that some people just never heard the scout with the acrylic platter?  I would strongly encourage anyone who is looking for a used scout with an acrylic platter to really take a good look at it.  It sounds much more like real music and for what these used scouts are going for, they are an incredible value.  Maybe its just system/cartridge synergy.  I actually thing the scout with the acrylic platter sounds just as good if not better and quieter than the classic with the aluminum platter.  The scout sounds more like an older Aries than the Classic does.  The advantage of the classic is the longer arm but I mean for many people, I am not sure you can do much better table than the scout with the acrylic platter for anywhere near to what they go for used and I would say they you could look at tables costing much more and still not get the music satisfaction in many ways that the scout accomplishes.  They just seem to portray the musical experience in a way that sounds right.  Aries and scoutmasters with acrylic have to sound killer.  The only platter that is as good that VPI made are there lead and hybrid metal aluminum/acrylic platter tables.  I think VPI is going in the wrong direction with aluminum.  To me the disadvantages far outweigh the benefits.  Others may disagree but if you find scout w/acrylic for a good deal, I would be all over it.  Sometimes you just don't know what ya have so I will probably hang on to mine for a while.
tzh21y

Showing 4 responses by lewm

lewm
13,634 posts
 
Dear Melm,  If you say so, it must be "nonsense".  I am not a lawyer, was just offering that out as a possibility.  
lewm
13,634 posts
 
Dear tzh, Did we (the peanut gallery) ever find out whether your various comparisons were made with all other elements of the signal path held constant, or not?  

Dear Thom, My apologies for my error in guessing at the materials used to make your Gavia platter. PVC not Delrin.  PVC is probably better than Delrin for matching the energy transfer to that of vinyl, because it IS vinyl.  Did you ever consider selling platters per se, for use with other brands of turntable? PVC platters could become quite popular as an aftermarket add-on to a VPI or SOTA, for example.  I could foresee legal issues, however. But on the other hand, many aftermarket suppliers sell platter mats intended to replace OEM mats.

Has Walker Audio ceased to use lead for their Proscenium turntables?  That is or was the biggest baddest lead platter in the business.
lewm
13,634 posts
 
Yes, but the OP inserts a platter mat between the LP and the platter.  Platter mats make a big difference, like adding salt and pepper to your food, regardless of the nature of the platter.  Moreover, nearly all turntables have platters made of some sort of metal, yet the "sound" of the mat can easily be heard.  And while I tend to agree with the idea that you want good coupling of energy into the mat, there is a school of thought that favors isolating the LP in space (e.g., the Resomat and the old Transcriptors platter), which has its fans as well. What a hobby!  Or, what? A hobby?

For what it's worth, I have not liked acrylic mats or platters in the past, but probably that's just me.  The only platter per se that meets your criterion pretty well, Ralph, is one of the several options offered by Thom Mackris on his Galibier turntables.  It may be made of Delrin, but I cannot recall.

Nandric, Try getting loaded on slivovitz instead of acrylic. Acrylic is bad for the liver.
lewm
13,634 posts
 
Same tonearm? Same cartridge? Same downstream amplification? Same speakers? Same LPs? Same etc?

Also, you say you used "various platter mats".  In my experience, the platter mat makes a more dramatic difference in sonics than does the material of which the platter is made.  This does not surprise me, since the LP is in contact with the mat, not the platter.
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