2020 update : JC Verdier La Platine

@charob i would feel terrible if all of this forum talk has put you off.  as @ledoux1238 says, it is very plug and play.  all the fiddling is just for people who want to fiddle.

i bought the 5L of Rocol and will send you some for free if you buy a table.  i have enough to last me several lifetimes i think.

i was listening to bob dylan's "when he returns" from slow train coming.  it is just him and a piano.  for pure piano i think the linen thread sounds best.  the double silk however is quieter.  it simply communicates less motor noise and lets the music play more purely.  however with the double silk i cannot hit 45 rpm sadly.  since i almost never listen to 45s this isn't much of an issue, and if it were i simply slip on the linen or rubber belt and i'd be right in 2 minutes.  i can understand if people think that's an unattractive level of faffing.

i am unsure though if matching or beating the la platine is so easy.  i am surprised by consistently hearing from people i am interacting with recalling hearing a la platine and being impressed.  i think that's because it really does sound quite non-mechanical.  for me right now the music arrives in the lounge room,  no connection to the speakers or turntable. summoned and projected into the space in front of me.

i recently went back to audionote iogold cart and s9 step up transformer on the kuzma safir tonearm.  this setup is much more costly than the previously used delos/silvercore sut i had been using.  so a reasonable Q is does it sound alot better?

the answer is yes/no.  the iogold/s9 simply gives you a feeling of total resolution, zero distortion and extreme nuance of tone/dynamic.  no shorthand, no notes, just a very complete exposition.  having said that, my enjoyment is not necessarily proportionally larger. 

i do plan to disassemble the platine, see if i can align magnets better, then setup the fr64s tonearm on it so i have two tonearms (which i have never tried before).  i could put a mono cart on and see how that goes.  might put the denon 103 on since that was a verdier favourite and it goes with the fr64s so well.  i think the delos might be too same same.  all totally unnecessary but it's a hobby right :-)

https://youtu.be/B8ANLxmPjTs
 

Please go to 53:33 of the video. Fremer interviewed the owner of Pro-Ject Audio, Heinz Lichtenegger, and introduced the ‘new’ La Platine at this years Munich show. 

I don't have a lot of faith in Project.

If you look at the workings of their expensive EAT turntables, despite the lovely plinths and massive platters - the actual bearings are puny, and the "speed control" circuitry would fit in a cigarette packet. 

Their high end products are all smoke and mirrors - lots of "features" but don't look under the bonnet.

@dover In the video, lichtenegger claims that the new TT is a straight copy of the original. He talked about the bearing being made from zamak, a soft alloy used in the original. Notwithstanding your concern about Pro-Ject’s own TTs, If the metallurgy and  production processes for the platter, magnets, bearing ..etc of the original La Platine are given, sticking to the original recipe should produce something if not exactly the same as the original, than very close. He is not talking about ‘improving’ or otherwise tinkering with the original. It’s a‘copy’. And the  MSRP of 15000 is probably close to the original price. 
 

The fact that the La Platine has been produced without much modification in forty plus years is pretty remarkable. And now for production to continue by  someone else must indicate some faith in its viability. I’d give Pro-Ject the benefit of doubt.