upgrading VPI turntable

I replaced the entire suspension and plinth on my MKIII with a 1/2" X 3" brass "T" supported by 2" Brass columns. I drilled the bearing hole and machined a slot for my SME-V tonearm and the whole thing sits on sorbo pucks. I am using my SAMA to drive it. Total cost was around $250 for the new plinthless base.

Improvements - 3 dimensionality - no resonance and a height to the image. Also I use a Grado and by turning around the SAMA so the AC cord exits to the left and rear - no more hum! Maybe I post pix if I can get it together. Next upgrade $800 on the Classic platter and bearing assy. But one kid in college next year. I have to sell something. Maybe a kidney.

I wanted to get away from the huge surface area of the plinth. My theory being that a large surface area would only serve to couple better to low frequency sound waves. Also brass has a very nice "ductile" quality making it a bit dead acoustically. But it is soft enough to be for machining the equivalent of basswood to carving. You can drill/mill and thread it fairly evenly.

The feet in the associated picture are coupled to the brass plates using 3 1/8" ball bearings in 1/16" holes around the periphery of the round rod. A single large screw in the center then assures a really high pressure contact point.

I ended up resting the whole affair on sorbothane pucks because I could hear less motor using a stethoscope on the "plinth". I've tried using spikes on the TT and spikes on the motor. But so far the best I've found is to rest the motor on it's original sorbofeet but on a couple of solid lead bars (came with an arcici lead balloon I used to own).

Any suggestions on belt material would be great too. I've tried dental floss. I think there's an improvement (I was in the middle of a lot of switching out stuff) but I couldn't keep the tension reliably and the TT would slow down.

Here's a front view:
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7208/7122615275_ee23226370_b.jpg

Not sure which link to use also try here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/32411297@N06/7122615275/

And from underneath:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/32411297@N06/7122615443/

The cable tie is holding the phono cable anchored to a TT support leg. Seeing if this sounds better than letting it hang free from the tonearm.

And the motor with a little switch box added:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/32411297@N06/7122615459/

The whole thing weighs considerably more than the old chassis (MKIII). And the sound now is much taller and more three dimensional. Using a Grado Sonata II, thinking of using one of these Soundsmith SMMC2-ST cartridges from Mapleshade - has anybody tried one of them?