VPI Scout Tweak - plinth damping

[JRSBat]

I had made most of the regular tweaks to my Scout that had been discussed here before. I don't think this one has been mentioned.

A couple weeks ago I received a nice gift from a generous EBay customer - a box of very expensive EAR damping material scraps. I figured I would try out the material on my Scout - just to see what happened.

I removed everything down to the plinth and feet. Then I removed the metal plate screwed to the bottom of the Scout. There is some adhesive between the plate and the wooden plinth, but the plate can be pried off without damaging the plinth if you are careful. After scraping off the adhesive I applied two layers of the damping material to the metal plate.

I reassembled everything and played a familiar album - major difference. Everything was deeper, richer and still kept the music detail I wanted. I changed the phono preamp setting to 47k for my MC cart and everything became even sharper.

You can't see the difference unless the table is in very bright light - like the camera flash. I used the EAR materials but you probably can get similar results with other high quality damping materials out on the market. I am very happy with the tweak - but your results may vary.

 

[Packgrog]

Old post now, but did you end up sticking with this tweak, or did it wind up over-damping? Anything else you found to be particularly effective?

 

[JRSBat]

I not only kept the tweak I bought more EAR materials (black color) and applied them to the top of the plinth and below the metal plate too. I think the damping effect added more depth and richness (to my ears anyway). Probably not as much richness as a Super Scout but not too far away. The only other adjustment related to the plinth was that I purchased the higher grade VPI feet. I'm still very much loving the sound of my Scout.

 

[Packgrog]

Interesting... Did you ever do anything different with the original feet? Are those Herbie's puckies? I haven't changed anything with my feet yet, just the stock Jr Delrin cones with metal tips directly on the maple cutting board, and felt washers between the cones and the plinth, but I'm considering some possible tweaks there (ie: puckies, and either thin grungebuster gaskets between plinth and cone, or direct cone/plinth contact, or possibly more massive feet if funds ever free up).

I've had a lot of good results using Herbie's Audio Labs grungebuster material. For my motor, I took off the rubber feet and and placed it on 4 small diameter thick grungebuster dots. I also put some thin grungebuster material between the top and bottom plates of the motor pod. Together, these changes cleared up a lot of mechanical motor hum that was bleeding into my system. I wonder how a thin grungebuster sheet between the plate and plinth would work. There's no damping plate on my Jr, but I could probably get one from VPI if I pestered them enough (and paid for it, of course). That would certainly be an interesting experiment...

 

[JRSBat]

The attached pic shows how the turntable looks today. The EAR material on the top of the plinth is not the most attractive covering but it works well. You don't notice it much until you get closer to the table. I went with the upgraded VPI feet a while back. They probably sell different ones today. I wasn't sure how well the ball bearings at the bottom of the feet worked on the maple stand so I put stainless steel discs under the feet. I added some of excess EAR material under the steel disks. The old stainless steel Herbie's Hush Puppies I used under the cone feet are still sitting around on my rack - waiting for another use.

Some VPI owners swear by the Mapleshade Heavyfeet turntable feet.

I use Herbie's products almost everywhere. Like you, I have the motor sitting on Herbie's Baby Booties. The turntable's maple stand is sitting on Herbie's firm Tenderfeet and all electrical components sitting on Herbie's Tenderfeet. I haven't tried adding anything to the motor pod yet. I don't hear motor noise even with double belts (single speed HRX pulley upgrade) - someone with better ears might. I have a Herbie's mat but I don't hear much of a difference with it on or off. It seems to cut down on the static build-up when playing albums.

My only caveat re non-VPI tweaks is stick with ones that do not change the look of the table unless you are committed to keeping the table. I like the way the EAR materials work/sound. However, if I ever wanted to sell the table I probably would have problems. The looks have been too compromised. Personally, I don't mind the looks and I really like the way it sounds. The only way I would consider a newer, better VPI table is if I won the lottery and went up to an Avenger.

 

[Packgrog]

That actually looks pretty cool! You're right that it'll probably kill the resale value, but it's still pretty slick!

And yeah, I doubt very much that you would really need to go much further up the line, given that you already have the massive platter, VTA tower, and 3D arm! Very nice! Maybe some day I'll be able to creep up to a regular Scout, though I'm still wary of the unipivot...