Follow up. A different vpi unit was purchased that ultimately, unfortunately, did not work out. Moving forward, following advice from bdp24 and others, the super armboard was purchased. I was able to use herbies items to spacer the board correctly on the base. The bearing and platter from the previous armboard will be used. The next issue is the tonearm. The board is drilled for an sme tonearm. I have an audioquest pt-6. Should I seek, from vpi, the mount for the pt-6 or should I seek the sme 309 tonearm? From what I’ve read on the net, the 309 appears to fit this setup. The tonearm appears to sell anywhere from 1700 to 2100 usd. Is this tonearm worth that cost? Or should the board be purchased from vpi to mount the pt-6? Other tonearm ideas are invited and welcome.
Upgrade chat...
Looking to possibly upgrade from a VPI HW-19 jr with MK 3 platter. This unit was purchased secondhand in 1998. The MK 3 platter was added a few years back. This unit has provided zero issues over the years. My only complaint with the unit it the notorious Grado hum from the 120v motor. Requirements for next unit are a hinged dust cover, dimensions roughly the same as the VPI, and must be secondhand or demo. 5-6k max money wise. Been looking at the Mobile Fidelity unit. Not sure it would be a step up in performance. Also looking at the Thorens with the semi auto function. Keep the VPI and upgrade it to a mk 4? Any ideas would be welcome.