Been there, done that, It will sound a lot better again if you use 3 feet only.
2020 update : JC Verdier La Platine
A recent encounter with a JC Verdier dealer as well as a recent Audiogon discussion thread led to the start of this thread. He was in my house updating my La Platine which had been in storage for ten years with thread and oil. While he has high regards for the deck, his newer clients nevertheless prefer a Techdas iii than an 'old' La Platine. Given the proliferation of expensive decks in the past dozen years, La Platine has become very much under-appreciated.
It's clear to me that the influence of the La Platine is everywhere to be found. Specifically, the magnetic suspension system that was employed 30+ years ago. Even SOTA offers their newer decks with mag. lev. features. And if you read this review: https://www.callas-audio.nl/Callas%20Platine%20Mod%20Kit%20Review.pdf, the Continuum Caliburn uses the same concept, which was not acknowledged in Fremer's review, albeit with more sophisticated , and expensive, execution.
It is also clear to me that there is much misunderstanding of the workings of the La Platine. I for one have contributed to this. The motor of the La Platine, for example, has been much maligned. The thread drive is another aspect of the turntable that have been described as inferior. With regard to the motor and thread drive, I have been set straight by Chris @ct0517 and Lyubomir @lbelchev. Experimenting with the different types of silk threads, the tightness to the platter and a renewed understanding of the soundness of the Philips motor have been rewarded with better dynamics and transparency.
The funny thing is that during the past two years of re-engagement with audio, I have questioned ownership of every components in my arsenal except the La Platine. It has always been a keeper. I wonder if La Platine owners would contribute to celebrating this 'old' deck with tales, advice, and insights?
Cheers!
It's clear to me that the influence of the La Platine is everywhere to be found. Specifically, the magnetic suspension system that was employed 30+ years ago. Even SOTA offers their newer decks with mag. lev. features. And if you read this review: https://www.callas-audio.nl/Callas%20Platine%20Mod%20Kit%20Review.pdf, the Continuum Caliburn uses the same concept, which was not acknowledged in Fremer's review, albeit with more sophisticated , and expensive, execution.
It is also clear to me that there is much misunderstanding of the workings of the La Platine. I for one have contributed to this. The motor of the La Platine, for example, has been much maligned. The thread drive is another aspect of the turntable that have been described as inferior. With regard to the motor and thread drive, I have been set straight by Chris @ct0517 and Lyubomir @lbelchev. Experimenting with the different types of silk threads, the tightness to the platter and a renewed understanding of the soundness of the Philips motor have been rewarded with better dynamics and transparency.
The funny thing is that during the past two years of re-engagement with audio, I have questioned ownership of every components in my arsenal except the La Platine. It has always been a keeper. I wonder if La Platine owners would contribute to celebrating this 'old' deck with tales, advice, and insights?
Cheers!
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- 537 posts total
Dear Verdier owners, The following is a text from fellow Audiogoner @mlrose in France: ‘In addition, following the takeover of the Verdier brand by Pro-Ject (Audio Tuning Audio Group), I had an interesting exchange with Eric Verdier, the son of Jean Constant Verdier. I asked him about the future of La Platine and the heavy maintenance to be carried out. Here is what he answered me (in French that I translated into English): "Ils sont en train de fabriquer une première série de platines Verdier... la suite dira si cela se passe bien ou non.
Sur la question de la maintenance lourde, je suppose que s’ils sont capables de fabriquer des platines, ils en seront capables aussi. Ceci dit, il n’y a jamais de maintenance lourde sur une platine Verdier. Les pièces mécaniques sont inusables à l’échelle d’une vie humaine et vous n’avez pas à vous inquiéter pour cela". "They (Audio Tuning Audio Group) are currently manufacturing a first series of Verdier turntables... the follow-up will tell if it goes well or not. On the question of heavy maintenance, I suppose that if they are capable of manufacturing turntables, they will be capable of this too. That said, there is never any heavy maintenance on a Verdier turntable. The mechanical parts are indestructible on the scale of a human life and you do not have to worry about that".
I bought an original brass pulley from Audio Tuning Audio Group.’
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i recently acquired a Granito La Platine coming from a highly optimised Garrard 401. i have a few thoughts: - La Platine has alot to offer. absolutely grainless. absolute resolution. alot more music frankly - defeating suspension makes for an extraordinary analytical turntable but kills some of the music - tiniest thread possible quite loose and all speed stability issues are dealt with - it is a tweakers table. constantly checking speed, level etc - i am feeding the motor with a Paul Hynes SR4 Turbo LPS - wow! huge improvement in speed stability from this - also i finally have an elevated purpose for this LPS i bought many years ago - Wow and Flutter 0.06/0.02 respectively - very light oil used. maybe not light enough. - i have the Acoustical Systems SDP decoupling platter thing. don't know any different but seems to be good - i put the motor on vibration absorbers - helped alot but so did DC conversion - am thinking of ripping motor out of garrard 401 and using that with LDA regulator as i think Dover has a point re: AC motors. - having said that the original motor right now sounds fantastic - i can compare the La Platine to a Garrard 401, a Technics 1210GR and an Audio Note TT3. the la platine doesn't have the drive of the tt3 or 401. but it is stable like the 401 and very low noise like the tt3. great dynamics. intensely musical/human somehow. the 401 was my happy place with all of its thunder. but i think the la platine has some thunder but also it has alot of delicacy and sweetness. it gently lays the art out and i think it is very interesting/arresting to hear.
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- 537 posts total