2020 update : JC Verdier La Platine

the following won't make an argument for plug n play but last night:

1. i pulled everything apart and carefully made the magnets symmetrical in their housing.  used blue tac to try and make sure they would stay in place when i reassembled (just blue tac in gaps).  i thought this might simply improve w/f stats (mainly wow)

2. i removed the ball.  my recent understanding was the ball was not in contact with platter so i assumed this would make no difference

3. upon reassembly it seemed to me perhaps i was wrong and with my dohmann spindle weight on the turntable, perhaps it was touching on the bearing previously

4.  i then backed off the spindle so i could get it floating as it should

5.  LO!  suddenly i think my la platine was without any bearing contact for first time.  spinning it up (by hand) seemed effortless. 

6.  OMG!  it sounded very different.  but of course was this vta?

7.  OK so after owning it for months i think finally i was totally floating.  was suddenly alot less like my garrard was my feeling.  suddenly more ethereal, less "grounded".  

in answer to above:

- i live in sydney australia.  trip to sapporo was just a holiday.  beautiful place.  art gallery is a must see.  i've never seen anything like it. 

 has anyone else tried to post photos.  i have luck with some but not others.   

unforgivable sin of consecutive posts but:

1. i heard original magnets were from focal (speaker people) as used in some big famous speaker driver they had at the time.

2. in speaking to china magnet people they offered different kinds of magnet.  some less strong than others.  so it makes alot of sense to me that levitation gap will vary for different magnet sources

3. my audio dealer who is very wise told me that apparently the best performance for magnet bearings is when the gap is small rather than large and proud. pertains to magnetic fields and stability etc.  so at the edge of collapse is when it should be least w/f.

4.  for the la platine owner gap envy is a thing.  my previous magnets were hopeless and there is nothing much more depressing than seeing the two magnet bits lying on each other when magic levitation is supposed to be happening.

I kind of doubt the difference in the height of the gap between the magnets is due to Holland vs China magnets. If you do a search on the internet, or even the reviews shown in Verdier website, you can see some of the older La Platine with the Granito plinth having a small gap between the magnets, as if the magnets have lost some strength. That really makes me wonder if the magnets really lost strength overtime!

@thekong Strength of magnets do diminish. And based on the metallurgy of the magnet, its rate of decline differ quite a bit. I read that neodymium loses its force steadily by 1% every decade. I’ve owned my La Platine  for over twenty five years. I think for all practical purposes, the magnets will outlast my lifetime. And I agree, the difference in magnets for the La Platine is most likely not a Sino-Dutch issue. @mr_gray Your initial experience with the magnets almost touching is quite extreme. You had mentioned it on earlier posts, but I am now realizing how odd!

Making a further argument for the La Platine not being a plug-n-play device, the speed control on the motor died……for the second time in less than 6 months. The callas audio PDF file on Verdier modification pointed to a  motor part, LM317T, that is responsible for keeping speed. ( see page 10, https://www.callas-audio.nl/Platine%20tips%20&%20tweaks.pdf ) I had it replaced late last year. And two weeks ago it started to fail again. I will do one more placement, and if the problem persists, then I will be calling Thom Galibier. @mr_gray This goes to your point about maybe improving the motor on the new version.

oh boy!  i had thought to buy one of those controllers as they recommend in that callas paper.  sorry to hear.  a real pain for you.  do you replace it yourself or get someone to do it?

re: holland/china magnets, what i meant to say simply was that in looking into magnets, there are a variety of magnet "compounds" available.  each has slightly different properties.  and besides that different sizes might be standard from manufacturers (plan extent as well as depth).  so variation from magnet source to magnet source seems quite likely.

for $3k AUD (say $2k USD) one can have the "Vitesse" a feickert product.  my audio retailer says people are very happy with it.  i read a review by someone on a forum saying it was a huge improvement on a la platine.

i am currently trying to get a price on the Sirius from Brinkmann.  this seems very good and quite expensive i am sure.  in both cases special power supplies can be used which increase the cost.

i reckon a good alternative could be the Origin Live motor kit.  but then someone has to mount in the la platine housing.  very permanent change which may not suit all.  much more affordable.

dereneville offer motors.  there is a review online (what's best) that indicated unhappiness.  other people  say they are great.  might use same papst motor as the Vitesse mentioned above.

then there is the teres as well?  this looks p good to me but again possibly significantly more expensive than vitesse.

it seems in many cases people have gone down this path and haven't found better performance than the original.  so it is sort of if it ain't broke leave it type situation perhaps.  my motor is a bit noisy though and of course poor @ledoux1238 you sound positively in wars so your hands are all but tied - you must buy a new motor and tell us all about it :-)