Have You Tried the Super Platter

Stickman, I upgraded the platter on my VPI TNT-6 during January, and I do believe the heavier "Super Platter" offers a worthwhile improvement in the sound of the VPI turntables. You will get more bass weight and authority out of the turntable with the heavier platter.

That being said, I also recently upgraded the standard belt-drive system on my TNT-6 to the new rim drive mechanism. The improvement in the sound of the turntable resulting from the new drive mechanism is dramatic. In my opinion, the improvements in performance brought about by the new rim drive mechanism are greater and even more worthy of incremental investment than the Super Platter. I believe that the rim drive mechanism is currently available only for the VPI turntables that use the HRX dual-motor flywheel system, but I understand that VPI will be introducing the new drive mechanism for the Aries some time this summer.

So, in short, I believe that the Super Platter, and the rim drive (along with the SDS motor controller that will allow you to calibrate the platter speed properly) are both worth the incremental money. I consider the new drive mechanism essential, while I would put the Super Platter into the category of a worthy upgrade.

Hope that helps.

By the way, I don't know whether it's true or not, but I heard a number of years ago that the reason Harry went to the all-acrylic platter at the time he introduced the HRX and the inverted bearing was that the original version of the bearing and thrust plate could not handle the weight of the older-style heavier platters. If true, then I gather that the new Super Platter, which, as Mepearson observed in another thread, appears to be a return to the older-style heavier platters, is evidence that Harry has found an inverted bearing and thrust plate design that can handle the weight of the platter without running into problems with wear/reliability.