There is no definitive answer. Lithium grease, motor oil, trick oils (vdH, etc.), will all "work" to varying degrees. I have tried them all, and guess what? They all sound different. Your particular set-up will dictate which one works best. The thicker ones (grease), will be quieter, but will drag the platter down more, and sound slightly less dynamic; but are probably best if you have noticeable play in your bearing well (not uncommon with VPI's)). Thinner oils will usually allow for freer motion of your platter, and sound more dynamic, and a little brighter. Oil was, for my set-up, essential for use of a flywheel. Grease was simply too "draggy" for use of a flywheel, and would cause speed fluctuation.
There is no one solution. Experiment, and see which one sounds/works best for you. Good luck. |
Ok, I made the assumption (correctly, I believe), that Slaw does not have an inverted bearing. Mike would never have recommended oil for an inverted bearing, for the reasons mentioned by others. However, grease OR oil can be used in non-inverted bearing wells (bronze bushings), as recommended by VPI at different times. My experince of the effects of the different lubricants I mentioned in my previous post. |
Yeah, it can be frustrating, as there is a feeling of security in having one answer to a problem. VPI has never been that kind of company. In their defense, I always get the sense that they are always trying new things, and arriving at a new preference/recommendation, as in the case of lubes. I think there is a positive side to that approach. The most recent recommendation doesn't necessarily mean that the previous one was a bad one. Anyway, I encourage you to try both the grease and the oil, they WILL sound different. |
I have owned one HW19 MK I, one MK II, two MK IV platters over the years; and now a TNT MK V platter on my TNT. I have also checked a few similar platters owned by others. Every single one had some degree of noticeable play/rocking in the bearing well. Markd51's info is correct except for the implication that lithium grease, or some other type of high-viscosity oil is not appropiate for the older non-inverted type bearings. The bearings were not machined to tight enough tolerances to make the use of high-viscosity oils/grease impractical. It is appropriate to use them; or more accurately, it can be. This per VPI's recommendation.
Again, it is most definitely worthwhile to experiment with lithium grease in these bearings. It will make the table quieter, and les bright, but potentially less dynamic. A worthwhile, and easily reversible tweak. |
Thom_mackris, "the voice of reason". Thanks for another great post. |
Bpoletti, the correct amount of oil will stay in the well, and not work it's way out of the well. No need for your "oil trap". A tip:
A few years ago, after cleaning and relubing my TNT bearing, I was dismayed at what initially seemed like boring, unexciting sound; or as some would say, no PRAT. Turned out that I had put too much oil in the well. The excess oil had accumulated around the top of the bearing well's circular top plate, and was making contact with the bottom of the platter spindle's circular bottom plate. As the platter turned, the excess oil was putting drag on it. The sonic effect was not subtle. Beware of too much oil (or grease). |
****I also find assertions that oil vs. grease makes audible difference rather absurd. Once you get the platter spinning at the correct speed, why would it matter what you used to lubricate it?**** - Actusreus
A friendly reminder that time and time again listeners have heard the effects of system adjustments or tweaks that "couldn't possibly make a difference". It's a minor miracle that a rock scraping a groove in plastic can extract something resembling music. The fact that music is so incredibly complex as far as what it takes to record/reproduce all it's subtleties makes it that much more miraculous. It should not be surprising that anything that might affect the way the platter spins, adding more or less damping or drag to it, might effect the sound. Try it, you might be surprised. |
Slaw, is this the "Royal Purple" grease? How would you compare it's viscosity to that of white lithium grease? Thanks. |
Slaw, thanks for the clarification. Earlier you said that you agreed that the sound was leaner with oil vs lithium grease. I also noticed less-stable pitch with the grease; the main reason that I stopped using the grease. You mention that the DuPont grease yields an improvement over the lithium grease. Is the improvement related to tonality (leaner/weightier) or to speed stability? Thanks. |
Slaw, thanks for the update. Not entirely clear what your final assessment is. I agree that different lubes all have slightly different tonal signatures in any given tt; best in this case is clearly system dependent. What is not so system dependent, and my main issue with the thicker the oil/grease, was that the thicker the lube the less lively and speed stable the tt's sound was. Did you arrive at any conclusions regarding this? |
Thanks, Dover I will look into the Motul; it's getting to be time for my annual bearing cleaning and relubing. |
