P.S. -- Stringreen -- take a look at my thread on Andy Kim, a retipper. You may find the comments of interest, especially those from Dougdeacon about the Lyra Kleos. I know you have and like the Benz LP S, but at some point, you may want to road test the Kleos. |
Thank goodness your back String .... Hope you had a great vacation. Did you see Nanutac on his sailboat yacht?? No joke.
So ... is it worth obsessing about, i.e., dreying (yiddish for bugging) Jack's or Mike's kupft (yiddish for head) about doing an exchange? I have a Classic 3 stainless steel tone arm and base. I'm not unhappy with the Valhalla silver wire, and I don't use damping fluid. I'm interested because the black strinkwrap tube looks "bad" (in a Michael Jackson way)
Btw, everyone is entitled to take a little vacation time. But that doesn't mean you can disappear, espcially when these types of issues come up. In the future, please leave a forwarding e mail or phone number. :)
Welcome back. You have no idea what the East Coast has been like. We're in the Vortex. |
Hi all....been on vacation...Took a sailing ship to Costa Rica and through the Panama Canal....anyway....yup its shrink wrap. Does eliminate some ringing, which may in some cases can do away with or reduce damping at the pivot. Damping seems to slow down the sound...even make it "tubby" if too much is used. It can be useful though ...2 drops of fluid or thereabout. The Discovery wire to MY ears is better than the Valhalla (and less expensive)...but I suppose it can be useful in an otherwise rather dull sounding system. ...the highs seem more extended, but the Discovery has a better midrange. The 3D printed arm is (to these ears) better than the Classic/10.5 series arms. |
Buconero, would you not consider the change in bearing to the inverted bearing a real improvement? Or is this a cost savings? How about the redesigned plinth of the classic, that is certainly different than the HW-19.
I'm not disputing what you say, I'm just curious. I have an HW19 and have been somewhat surprised by the lack of support. But that is another topic. In another thread, we find a VPI spokesperson saying contradictory things about the platter on the classic.
I wonder. |
So where is Stringreen to sort this out for us??? |
Harry is a marketing genius, and he keeps reinventing his bank account now that three d printing will enable him to turn out $2400 silliness, on end. Beware, there has not been any real improvement in Harry's products in decades, just wealth creation for him. |
I see that in the interests of achieving ever more confusion, VPI has come up with still more tonearm variants since I last visited their website (Mike once told me they have 7 different counterweights for the arm I have, an "original" 10.5i). From what I can tell, though, the OP was in fact referring to the 3D printer armtube or armwand or whatever it's called, not the one Brf cites.
But I could be wrong.
They do remain consistent (see their FAQ) in steadfastly arguing against the use of anti-skating devices, even while now equipping their arms with such devices. I happen to agree with the argument and don't use the device :-) |
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The VPI 3D arm is made by a 3D printer and is made from resin plastic with the exception of the counter weight and side weights. I believe the OP was asking about the new Signature Classic arm which is standard on the Classic 3 table and has a black arm "tube", which is much different than the black 3D arm "wand". |
Sounds like the one VPI made via 3-D printing. I believe the armtube
alone sells for $2400. |
I believe thats the new VPI 3d tonearm very little information about the arm. I think the arm can be put on any VPI table. Started a thread last week trying to get info and got no responses. Good Luck |
Thanks Brf. Not sure I want to really fiddle with the arm. I just got my Lyra Kleos back and I spent a little time setting it up. It's working real nice. As the adage goes, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." |
I am not aware of any changes to the vta base. It sounds like you have a later production Classic 3 armwand which has all the updates with the exception of the shrink wrap over the arm tube. It's not so much what the Signature has over the former Classic 3, but more to do with the take always to develop the new lower end "Classic" arm.
If you want to experiment with armtube damping, you can always wrap the armtube with a friction fitting vinyl wrap similar to electrical tape (w/o the adhesive). |
Brf, my Classic 3 wand is 100% stainless steel. The wire is silver Nordost, which is fine by me. I wonder if the black shrink wrap makes much of a difference? Brf, any changes in the Classic 3 tone arm base? |
The Classic Signature is the same as the older Classic 3 with the following changes: 1) Stainless Steel arm tube with a black shrink wrap for damping 2) New Discovery wire.
Depending on when you bought your older Classic 3 armwand, it may already incorporate a lot of the "Signature" changes.
The older Classic 1 and 2 armwand has been "simplified". The arm tube is a one piece through the bearing and is of a different design than the Signature. |
