Thanks for all the reports everyone - Mike, Barry, John, Terry - and all those who have been trying it out and reporting in on various forums, I appreciate your posting all!! This is better than theorizing in the utter absence of evidence, no?
In fact a version of this very experiment was carried out and reported on by Salvatore in his initial analysis of the weak vs strong spring on his Reference Lenco: the ONLY element changed in his system was the tightness of the spring on his Reference Lenco, which, as he reported, doubled the sound quality in his system. So the ONLY conclusion that could be drawn was that the amount of force applied to marrying the wheel to the motor-platter interface was of EXTREME importance to delivering the motor's torque.
This is the whole point of an experiment: devise an experiment to prove - or disprove - a theory, and accept the results. This is why I went on and on about science and the scientific method in early days: because the then-ubiquitous belt-drivers (much less ubiquitous now :-)) would not accept evidence of the superiority of the idler-wheel drive system or the serious high-end quality of the Lenco. They dismissed any evidence as anecdotal (to those espousing ANY theory all evidence it is wrong is "anecdotal" and all evidence supporting that theory is "proof"), so I devised a way - the original thread - to give them 1000 anecdotal results, "anecdotal" THAT! Ditto the TJN Mod.
As I wrote earlier, the TJN Mod was too important to keep to myself - and too simple, effective and elegant (no complex electro-mechanical solution to this problem will ever match what this little string and weight does with utter reliability and stability for as long as Gravity operates in the Newtonian universe) and most of all IMPORTANT to keep to myself and my own work. Every Lenco owner owes it to himself, or herself, to implement this mod, as it "completes" the heart of the Lenco: its drive system (without it the Lenco is just another record player).
This also proves what I have been saying since the very beginning back when I started the original thread: it is TORQUE which makes the Lenco - and other idler-wheel drives - superior. With the TJN Mod installed torque can be felt to increase, and with an increase in torque - precisely what Salvatore reported in an experiment where the ONLY element changed was spring tightness - comes roughly a doubling of the sound quality.
So, stripping the results of the experiment down to its barest essentials: more torque - and torque stability and so speed stability - equals more information-retrieval, more detail, better separation of instruments, better soundstaging, better low frequencies (lower, tighter, more detailed) better high frequencies (more extended and at the same time more natural with less distortion) better dynamics micro and macro (greater focus, greater speed).
A cautionary note to the usual suspects who tend to equate simply running endlessly in the same direction of a pre-existing already discovered idea with true progress (200-pound platters on the way, I have a lot to say about THIS subject soon with, as always, proof, engineers seem to have forgotten grade-school physics - keep your eyes peeled all): don't start hooking up 200 HP motors to your idlers, as with the spring mod weight - which reaches maximum torque at a surprisingly low weight/mass - so the torque necessary to push the LP through stylus force drag in the better idler-wheel drives (their motors ARE relatively enormous) was accurately calculated by the '50s (and earlier) engineers, they had not forgotten their grade-school physics ;-).
So, getting back to the results of the latest experiment: More torque = clearly better sound, and what better system to deliver this torque than the idler-wheel drive system with their massive motors and decoupled wheels (which makes use of massive motors advisable), which, as Salvatore reported, given Direct Coupling, achieves low noise floors to equal top belt-drives: massive torque without sonic penalties!! Now THOSE were engineers!! If someone came up with the decoupled idler-wheel/massive motor idea NOW - against a background of direct-drives, direct rim-drives and belt-drives - the whole analogue world would be set on its ear, gasp and cry Sheer Genius!!!!
Get Ye out all Ye Lenco users and show the world what an optimized idler-wheel drive system can really do!! Vive la Lenco, Vive la Idler-Wheel!!!! Next time I'll come back (it'll be a while) with yet more fun in the world of science, physics and spinning LPs, maybe that platter mass thingy :-).
