Is a drive belt also an acoustic filter for motor noise ?

[VantheMan]

Don´t know if there are any Linn users on the forum but if there are and you haven´t changed your belt recently I would suggest you try a "blue belt" from Mike Pickwell at Pickwell Audio. pickwellaudio@gmail.com) ( In my case the label size says : 167.5 x 5 x 1 ) No idea what it´s made of or why but I´d say it has upgraded my fairly basic deck quite substantially for just 25 quid. The Linn original belt costs 50 pounds ! My theory is that it not only helps the platter to revolve at 33 1/3rpm (approx) but somehow fulfills another function as a sort of filter for motor noise because the noise floor off the disc drops quite dramatically. Everything improves, mids, bass, everything. Like having new LPs etc. etc blah, blah. Just try it if you can

P.S. Mike has all sizes of belts for many decks but I can speak only for my case.

P.P.S. It really does have a "right way round" - I had never believed that of any belt I had fitted in 40 years of Linn ownership but now I know it´s true. Try one and then the other. It will hit you in the face. Honest !

[bob orbell]

Interesting, I have tried new Linn belts, on my LP12 when they were much cheaper and found no change at all, I then changed from Valhalla to Lingo and well, not a lot of difference, I then tried a OL DC MOTOR kit, the best way of describing this kit is not allowed to be posted on here, OK, it was ****, so I reverted back to the AC motor with Lingo PSU and have stayed that way for years. Linn now have a DC motor and PSU at £ 4000.00 plus, so it may be worth a try at this new belt, we will see. Bob

[VantheMan]

Just do it, please !

[Phil Y]

My understanding was that the belt is allways a noise filter on any belt drive deck. It was attractive to manufacturers for this very reason, it is how early budget decks like the Pioneer PL12 were able to be quieter than similar priced idler drive decks and so take sales from BSR, cheaper Garrards etc. It is of course possible to make a quiet idler but it is expensive, requiring a very high quality motor, sturdy build etc.

Phil.

[VantheMan]

Cheers Phil, in that case my deck prefers the blue belt to the Linn one because it swallows up a lot of nasties that were getting through to the platter and the tip/groove interface or whatever.

[Phil Y]

I should imagine that all belts degrade with age, they are just rubber (of some sort) after all.
It would be interesting to hear how your new belt compared to a new Linn one, but at £50 I can see why you wanted to look at other options.

Phil.

[bob orbell]

To be very honest, I doubt us old timers would hear any difference but, I may try one of those blue belts, I also think there is more to be gained from Linn upgrades such as the new bearing options, better arms and cartridges can also have a big impact on SQ, top end MC, while expensive are far better than most MM, I am now using a Ortofon Cadenzer Bronze at £1750.00 but the sound is fantastic. Bob

[John Caswell]

The belt is very similar to the springs in car suspension, where "sprung weight" (car body) is very large in comparison to "unsprung weight" (wheels) so the springs (belt) absorb variations in movement and do not transmit it to a large degree the unsprung weight (platter).
Obviously the heavier the platter, with its attendant inertia, the better it is at ironing out motor variations transmitted by the belt which also will remove some of the motor hash itself due to it flexing/stretching.

John

[bob orbell]

I could not have put it better John. Bob