VPI 3D tonearm

The fact of the matter is VPI, despite the hype and numerous upgrades, has never made anything more than an ordinary tonearm. Nice turntables, average tonearms.

Let's not expect anything different this time.

Dear Lew,
In welding......the norm is not to use 'foreign' materials but to create a homogeneous 'whole' by melting together identical materials. The strength of these welds can be designed to be identical to (or even stronger than) the two pieces being welded.
However....there is a chance that there are changes at the molecular level of the 'welded joint' which, whilst not affecting strength, performance or visuals......could possibly affect the acoustic properties or integrity of the whole?
With 'gluing'......I admit that there would be an acoustic change at the interface of the adhesive medium.
Points taken :-)

Much depends on the nature of the joint. An abrupt change in section will have acoustic consequences, either good or bad, whatever the method - 3D printing, welding, gluing or otherwise.

In the case of some 3D printing, lasers are used to fuse the materials which is not much different from welding.

Some glues are stronger than the materials on each side of the joint, some are flexible. Some are solvents which allow the material to dissolve and reform...

Anyway, Two things are certain: (1) The early adapters will be ecstatic over this tonearm, and (2) we'll be arguing over why that is.

What I find so interesting is that HP (VPI) is judged so harshly. I don't think anyone has had such success in such a niche market. Success/failure of this arm will be better evaluated in time. With all this interest on these and other audiophile pages, I'm sure everyone will be given a voice.