A DIY turntable?

[NightPhotographer]

@Paul

That's great. I hope you give it some serious thought. I know few sellers who have already started "refurbishing" idler drive classics which by that they mostly mean re-lubricating. Maybe, a survey will help you to estimate the potential customers. I'll do the advertising for free

[4krow]

 I have great respect for anyone who can revive a lost concept. Looks like I may take a look over at vinyl engine and see what they have to say/show for these units.

  One question though. How is it that the design of a TT will hide or augment a frequency such as the bass slam that you are referring to? All that comes to my mind is the added rumble that the old design had. I am sure that is not what you are referring to! But how is it that bass slam is affected (positively)?

[NightPhotographer]

@ 4krow

I am sure Doc or Paul can give you a more informative answer than I can but I'll do my best
The rumble can be avoided by a smart design. The thing is the high torque motor should be isolated from the platter and top plate.
The rim drive have a stronger coupling between motor and platter leading to less speed variation (it can combat the stylus drag more efficiently). This is why more expensive belt drive turntables use 3 motors and belts to make this coupling strong. Speed variation affects dynamics and lower frequencies the most so, I think, this is why rim drive have stronger and better defined bass.

[Chris65]

FWIW, I know that the current brand name owner of a well known idler wheel turntable has expressed interest in resurrecting the design. Whether anything comes of it.....

[4krow]

  Thank you for your reply's. I am interested in those subjects that I have little or even prejudiced knowledge of.
  Last night, I read a bit about the Super Scout Master by VPI. Incredible design, save for a problem of even energy transfer from the rim idler (fly)wheel to the platter. Seems that rubber to rubber has it's own issues, in that each rubber surface must be perfectly flat and even. The most interesting part of this was the solution to the vibration being transferred. Replacing the isolation feet on the TT, and using spikes, allowed the TT to be a more solid (immovable) object compared to the externally mounted motor/flywheel arrangement. This forced the the vibrations back to the origin enough to be of minimal effect to the TT.
  I will be reading about some other related designs in the near future. There is much more here than I had imagined.

[NightPhotographer]

@ Chris65

Which one?