2020 update : JC Verdier La Platine

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.’

This has/is been an excellent thread!

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.

@mr_gray Thank you for the concise summary of your experience with the La Platine. 

I have a few questions:

1. Are you listening to the turntable with the suspension defeated? When you say that it sounds more ‘analytical’ without suspension, my interpretation is that the sound becomes more precise and sure footed. There are those who feel that the suspension is an integral part of how the La Platine works. But for the past two years I have listened to it without suspension. I don’t feel that doing so compromises its musicality, but we all hear differently.

2. What kind of thread are you using? When you apply the thread ‘ quite loose’, how loose? I use pure silk and viscose threads. And there has to be some tension involved. With these kinds of threads, you cannot apply too much or they’ll just come loose. But when I pluck on the threads, they are definitely reverberating. If there are ‘loose’, I cannot keep the correct speed. 

3. How are you connecting the LPS to the motor unit? You also mentioned DC conversion, not quite sure how you can do both? The motor’s speed control did eventually give way last year. And I replaced the LM 317t ( a regulating chip ? ). When it was being serviced, I used another motor + belt combination for a few months. I am now much more appreciative of the original motor’s ability. Yes, it requires constant tweaking, but the stock motor is good. 

Your comparison to the 401 and AN TT3 is very informative. And the timing of your post is uncanny. I was just looking into a possible second TT. And the two turntables I was researching yesterday was a 401 and a Voyd which the TT3 is based on, I think, good to know your thoughts. 

The problem with the Verdier motors that the spindle was never designed for side loads that the belt exerts. Some turntable manufacturers get a bearing inserted to help with the side loading, some don't.

My Verdier motor was very noisy, and even building a clamping device inside the motor housing so I could minimise motor noise did not resolve this issue.

Of course motors like the Garrard and others have proper spindle and bronze bushes that are much more stable. I have an old Pioneer/Exclusive broadcast idler that has a motor twice the size of the Garrard and is quieter. It even has separate brazed brass oil lines from the top plate to the top and bottom bearing so that they can be oiled in situ. I keep this in case the motor on my reference TT ever dies.

If I still had my Verdier An all in one solution worth looking at would be the Sota Eclipse system - off the shelf and modestly priced. Its quite a bit better than many turntable standard supplies in some unnamed  ( quite expensive ) TT's.