Teres Audio Verus Direct Couples Motor, Anyone?

Dougdeacon, help me out here. I have read many of your posts and you seem to be very knowledgeable about turntables and their setups.

I am not grasping your explanation about the speed control. I followed the instructions Teres sent with the motor. Putting a strobe disc on the turntable. Turning on the motor controller and then adjusting it until the strobe disc held rock steady for a full 60 seconds.

Since the speed readings for the adjustments are taken at the strobe disc, how does that not translate to platter speed? I tried to get the same effect using my Teres Sig. Motor and mylar belt without success. I tried different tensions and two different belts and couldn't stop the speed drifts, although they are very slight.

My only complaint with the motor was that I had to build a platform to increase it's height. But, then, maybe the platform and the brass feet it sits on helped the sound?

'I followed the instructions Teres sent with the motor. Putting a strobe disc on the turntable. Turning on the motor controller and then adjusting it until the strobe disc held rock steady for a full 60 seconds.'

Once you start playing your favourite LP, the platter speed slow down :) !!!!!

Since the O ring is constantly places against the platter, it will develop a flat spot after you stop playing. In the long run, there will be flat spots all over the O ring. I wonder how it might affect the sound.

With that kind of price, I can get a classic idler wheel TT with $$$ to spare :) !

"Once you start playing your favourite LP, the platter speed slow down :) !!!!! "

I guess I am really dense. Because, I don't get it. Why would the speed be different playing a LP rather than playing the strobe disc?

You all seem to know what you are talking about, so, what is it I am missing?

I think Agaffer is susggesting that the drag of the stylus will cause speed irregularities, but that's the whole point of idler and direct-drive; both technologies should (when properly implemented) be much more immune to stylus drag effects than belt drive. As far as "flat spots" on the O ring, I think that problem is way way over-stated. And I don't own a Teres table or a Verus motor; I do use a modernized Lenco direct-coupled to a heavy plinth. I do also respect Teres for taking the plunge.

I just upgraded my Teres #40 to Verus from Signature II. Will probably post more details later, but for now just comment on the O-ring thing. These things have an uneven casting seam that goes right around the outside and inside edges - exactly where you would not want something like this to be. So they are supposed to sand this off before shipping, and the owners manual describes how to diy if you ever need to replace yours.

As it turns out mine left Teres without having been sanded. One of the first things I did was to listen and feel for motor vibration, and noticed an obvious bump (dip, actually, it turned out to be) I could feel with my hand. Even at that it was apparent with music this motor is a nice upgrade from the Sig II. But it made a thump loud enough to hear between tracks and even during fade-outs.

Careful sanding removed most of this. Now if you feel carefully you can still feel the same bump is there, but much much less. Even so I would say overall vibration from Verus is much less than from the earlier motors. Certainly the motor sound coming directly from the motor is much less. I've cranked the volume up much louder than I ever listen to music and been unable to hear the bump, or any rumble at all.

Probably this is because the motor is so much less massive, and the table is suspensionless. I do believe vibration can be reduced quite a bit further with a better (more uniform) O-ring and more thorough precision sanding. Whether this improves the music remains to be seen.

For now I'm content to spin vinyl on it, continually amazed how much better everything sounds from "just" a motor.