Sota Eclipse packages for VPI tables.

Having a new Sota Cosmos with the full set up I can attest to it being a top notch drive system, cleverly engineered. As drives go I can not imagine it getting much better than this. My table runs +- 0.002 rpm and is dead silent. With a stethoscope on the top of the plinth you can not hear a thing.... assuming I am not deaf yet.

I can think of one other upgrade that might improve a VPI turntable. Clearaudio sells replacement bearings for it's turntables. These have opposing magnets for a thrust mechanism. These are very quiet bearings, much superior to what VPI uses.. I think one can be made to fit but it will require some machining of the plinth and platter. 

Unless the VPI platter has the same mass and distribution of mass that is characteristic of Clearaudio platters with the mag lev feature, I would be very cautious about making such a big change to the bearings of the VPI. Anyway, there is probably nothing wrong with VPI bearings. And mag lev is a potential can of worms. What is the evidence that Clearaudio bearings per se are "much quieter" than VPI bearings?

@hattrick15 Any time.  I'm always glad to be able to share my experience if it's relevant.

@mijostyn 

On top of the plinth or on top of the outer housing?  

Machining would probably make the Clearaudio bearing fit?  Looking at their bearings, you would have to completely obliterate any chance of going back to the original bearing in order to try the Clearaudio, based on what? Pure conjecture?

Do you realize that a platter and bearing are designed as a system?

There are no critical issues between bearings and platters other than the bearing has to be able to support the weight of the platter. 

VPI makes mundane bearings. Any magnetic thrust bearing is going to create less than 1/2 the noise. The spindle bearing takes relatively minimal stress. The mass is focused on the thrust bearing. What is going to make less noise and be more reliable a ball and thrust plate bearing or a magnetic field thrust bearing. The answer is obvious.  @lewm, Clearaudio makes significantly quieter bearings than VPI, the company that told you anti skating was not necessary and shafted people with a poor quality unipivot arm. Give me a break! Clearaudio even uses ceramic spindles!

@vinylzone , You have to remove the bearing from the plinth and see what you have. Go to Clearaudio's web sit below. Look at the bearings. You have to get one the thickness of your platter or a little less. You would punch a hole in the platter the exact diameter if the bearing housing. Then you need a hole in your plinth the size of the lower housing. If you look at the bearings you will see immediately what has to be done. I do not know if this is practical to do on your turntable. You have to figure that out on your own. The bearing is most definitely better. 

For those who think designing a turntable is complicated and difficult, it is not. Turntables are extremely simple devices. Then why doesn't everyone make dynamite turntables? Because they are more interested in money than producing the finest turntable. There are a few exceptions. David Fletcher wanted to make the best turntable for a reasonable price. He learned from Edgar Villchur and came up with the Sota Sapphire, the rave turntable of it's day that many could afford. His good friend AJ Conte decided to take the same design to the max and founded Basis. People thought nobody would pay that much for a turntable but they did. Of course there is always a chance that a company really has no idea what they are doing and there are a few companies that fit this description.