I had a VPI SPS 10.5" with ADS as an upgrade from Thorens TD203 (total POS). I recently traded it in (was pulling teeth to get Upscale to accept the trade in of a TT I purchased from them. Not cool, IMHO) to get a Rega Naia.
Two complaints: there is a 8 second delay to spin up from 33 to 45 with the ADS, even if selecting 45 from the get go. -- External motor started to develop some grinding noise, most likely a bearing issue. Had to carefully place motor just far enough that belt would still engage (not slip) but put minimal lateral force on spindle to avoid grinding noise.
Re the VTA adjustment, which I thought would be something important, I could barely hear it with a Soundsmith Zephyr MIMC* cart. I had to play digital and vinyl at the same time, switch sources quickly and then I could hear a tiny bit of a difference in the magnitude of the difference. I could not hear any difference even by massively changing VTA just on the record itself. So unless I have same record both digitally as well as on vinyl, it was impossible to hear anything. So adjusting for thickness of record and a like was not possible. That's why my new TT has no VTA adjustment.
Re unipivot, the freedom of movement is certainly advantageous, but also permits movement in axes that are not desirable. From that perspective, a well-designed gimbal is better.
Bottom line, the VPI was a good intermediate step, but not for too long.