Acrylic platter

Nandric.
My two cents worth on this subject.
I run a heavily modified SP10 MK3 and have replaced the platter completely with an acrylic one with lead sheet insert and duralium magnet motor housing, to bring the weight back up to 10 kg. I personally found this to be an improvement over the stock platter.
I think that criticism of acrylic as a platter and plinth material is valid in most cases but it needs to be taken in context. For example, I do not like the "sound" of acrylic on its own as a platter or plinth. What is important is the implementation and in particular what the acrylic is bonded to and how this bond is achieved. Done right, IMO, it is possible to get the best of both materials without the negatives of either.

I think acrylic in combination with other materials might work fine. It is only those solid blocks of pure acrylic platters to which I object. I hold the Kuzma Reference in high esteem. I did not know that it uses a composite acrylic platter. In photos, the surface seems to be something solid and black in color, i.e., not acrylic.

Richard, Did you take the circular magnet structure off of your stock Mk3 platter and remount it on your home-made one? You are indeed fearless and adventuresome, if so.

Lewm.

No I am not that brave/reckless. I have the original platter complete. I took measurements from this and machined up a new magnetic housing.

Re acrylic, I think that the trick is to get to the higher transmission speed material thru a minimum amount of acrylic. You could say that I am using a duralium platter with a bonded acrylic mat. The acrylic part of the platter is only 6mm thick.

thanks

Lewm.

I may have misunderstood your question....
Yes, I changed the motor magnet and speed sensor cup over from the original platter into a newly machined dural housing.

Dear Lew, Exactly what I thought about Richard: 'fearless and adventuresome'. Who else would dare to mess with, uh, 'the best' DD TT ever? In my previous post I mentioned to have 'some idea' how metal platters are 'balanced'. Well by my first Thorens I noticed those 'holes at random' on the underside of the platter. Those were the balancing 'holes'. By my next TT, the Linn LP-12 there were no such 'holes' so the only way to balance this platter is on the (CNC?) lathe. I also owned 3 different Linn platters and all of them have had different weight which means that they were 'processed' on the lathe till they were balanced. To my mind and in retrospection the only part of this TT which is made well and probably the explanation of its succes. As you I also have 'my own machinist' who owns an CNC lathe. Observing this kind of work is like looking at some artist. Those 'machines' move on way or the other but always around. To be able to make whatever on those machines is like an wonder. This imply mastership in order to produce an masterpiece. And those well balanced platters are each an masterpiece. BTW both platters on my previous Audomeca J1 and Kuzma are 8 kgr. each and both with inverted bearing. So I suspect that if the use of lead was allowed Kuzma would copy also this material from Lurne(grin). If I was not 100% sure that he is from Slovenia I would think that he is Chinese...Besides I never told to anyone in Serbia that I bought whatever from Slovenia...