Am I a hopeless audio snob?

@OP I hear where you are coming from and from some of the posts above you are not alone. One of the tings I consider when buying a piece of gear is potential resale value. I think a good portion of the gear from the large Japanese audio manufacturers just doesn’t have the cache a lot of buyers are looking for and if I am honest, I have to include myself in that group .

I currently have a VPI Aries 3 with mini HRX feet, super platter, single flywheel motor, SDS, periphery ring. Running a Lyra Deloa. Running to ARC PH8 phono, REF6 pre, REF75SE and Vandersteen Quattro CT. 

The VPI is a wonderful table and the unipivot arm works great for me. However, the upgrade bug hit, so I am going with AMG. 

VPI needs isolation. 

mijostyn

5,655 posts

01-21-2022 6:52am

VPI is garbage. Any company who would make a turntable with a unipivot arm is in trouble. Any turntable company who would do so without antiskating makes garbage. After they realized their mistake they added it but it was too late, the damage was done. Their more expensive tables are Clearaudio copies and poor designs wasting money on filigree instead of performance.

You want to go with Sota, Basis, SME or Avid. Dohmann if you have the bucks. 

Yikes. SO much BS in this post.

Technics may (or may not) have made a colossal error in designing the latest G series to resemble so closely their most popular ever but mundane looking SL 1200 series, but if you turn up your nose because of that, are you aware of the SP10R? And do you realize the stature of their best older efforts? Anyway, Technics will carry on without you, so no worries about being a snob. After all, you seem to have company.

Looks matter.  I have the opposite opinion of Technics.  I have an SL 1200 MK2 (some of the 80's "garbage") and doubt I'll ever get rid of it, mostly because I love the "retro" look.  It's had some minor upgrades, but I think most people would be surprised to hear what it's capable of. 

I haven't heard the new models, but everything I've read about them suggests they are on another level entirely and well worth pursuing, at least in terms of performance.  We all have different likes, and if the aesthetic didn't work for me, it would be a non-starter as well, so that's perfectly understandable.

My main table is a Sota Sapphire, which I think will be a keeper.  I recently had an Acoustic Signature Wow XL and liked that a lot.  It's a rather smallish and compact but high mass table with great speed control.  The Wow XL is an older design, but I think they have tables in your price range.

Before that I had a VPI Classic 2 with a Classic 3 tonearm.  A more imposing table, also a high mass design.  I wasn't crazy about the unipivot.  VPI offers an inexpensive and easy to install dual-pivot option.  One of the things I liked most about the VPI is that it is designed to allow for a periphery ring clamp.  With so many new and used records having warps, that was a great feature.

You might get better suggestions by describing what you like and find appealing.

VPI is garbage. Any company who would make a turntable with a unipivot arm is in trouble. Any turntable company who would do so without antiskating makes garbage. After they realized their mistake they added it but it was too late, the damage was done. Their more expensive tables are Clearaudio copies and poor designs wasting money on filigree instead of performance.

You want to go with Sota, Basis, SME or Avid. Dohmann if you have the bucks.  

+++ VPI for performance, customer service, aesthetics (cutting edge looks but not ‘over the top’) and made in the U.S.A. I had a HW19MkIII for 20 trouble free years until upgrading to a Classic 3 SE 8 years ago and so far so good, no issues and not expecting any.

Simple reality, form factor matters. It just does. So not a snob, you just don’t get a “wow” from that setup. No worries. Buy what you like both aesthetically and sonically.

I'm with you there. They look like a good DJ table but they just don't light my fuse. I don't know if they can play with the big boys or not but my TT has to be good sounding and aesthetically pleasing.

TW ACUSTIC great tables.

VPI, Clearaudio, SOTA, Origin…..

I really like Clearaudio, Ovation that is in my system now. 

I totally agree with your feelings about visual impressions.

There are certain brands of speakers I deliberately avoid listening

to for fear I may like the sound. Super

Blingy looking brands of gear are also a turn off for me. 

If something strikes you as cheap looking, keep looking!

Technics 80s low tech? Might want to reconsider what late 70s and early 80s tech was to turntable development and Technics role in that. Not to mention what they do now.

There are tables I prefer in the sub $10k zone tho...

I too would look at the VPI very closely. I've had 2 or 3 of them and was quite satisfied with the sound & service

Kuzma

I don’t think you are. I have owned a VPI Aries and now a contemporary Linn LP12 for thirty years. The VPI opened my eyes and shocked me at what was possible leaving the turntables of the 20th century behind. I asked my audio guy about some of these old brands (Technics in particular), what gives. He thought nostalgia. He has gotten some in trade (old and new) and has spent hours trying to get high quality sound out of them, and was unable to do so. I trust this guy completely, we have been friends for twenty years.

Look to, VPI, Clear Audio, Pro-jest, contemporary Linn. Have a serious look at the VPI Prime.

@pilrem completely understand what you are saying. What's your budget?