The Achilles heel of the VPI Classic series is the motor noise transmitted directly to the plinth and picked up by the tonearm and cartridge, which is especially noticeable if running at 45 rpm with the HRX pulley, in which case the motor is spinning faster than when using the stepped pulley. At 33 rpm, it is only heard when putting my ear up to the speaker on a quiet or blank track. Admittedly, it’s somewhat faint, but I believe it contributes to the lack of ease which is ameliorated with a better isolated design. But the rigid mounting of motor, platter and tonearm, in combination with the heavy platter, does give very good speed stability, especially when hooked up to a motor controller or a PS Audio power regenerator. One thing that slightly lessened the motor noise on my Classic 4 was removing the rubber grommets between motor plate and plinth, then tightly screwing the plate to the platter, which better grounds the noise to the plinth. Before, the motor was freer to vibrate in place which was louder.
VPI Classic 3 Upgrades or Move On to Something New
I'm the 2nd owner of a VPI Classic 3, bought here on Audiogon in 2014. Cartridge is Soundsmith VPI Zephyr. Considering giving it some new life with a JMW 10-3D Unipivot Tonearm, Signature Feet, and ADS Speed Controller. Total upgrade cost - $3,950.
Or...should I go in a new direction and give another turntable a try? I have no complaints about my current setup, but don't have a frame of reference for what I might be missing out on.
Budget for a new turntable/cartridge combo is anywhere from $5,000-$10,000. Thoughts?
Or...should I go in a new direction and give another turntable a try? I have no complaints about my current setup, but don't have a frame of reference for what I might be missing out on.
Budget for a new turntable/cartridge combo is anywhere from $5,000-$10,000. Thoughts?