VPI Classic - Now you have one......

I took a look at the reveiw Sstalwar points us to and can't agree with the white noise, lack of drive, slowness or lack of liviness.
In my set up the sound is life-like when classical live recordings are played and to me that is a testament to a good table. Separation of instruments are one of the table's strong charecteristics among many such as deep bass.
I am not criticizing the reviewers choice in music, but for a reveiw I think it was irresponsible for not seeking out better recordings.

Wow, it sounds like Mr. Bloom is not a fan of VPI in the least. I got a sense he set off to dislike the table even before he started the review, from the tone of his narrative and numerous remarks that had nothing to do with the actual performance of the turntable. I also found his comment about "few and far between" positive reviews of the Classic rather disingenuous as the opposite seems to be the case. All I can say is wow.

I sent mine back. It was nice to look at but I found the sound too cold for my ears and I kept hearing a popping sound every time I turned the motor off. Also my high output Grados all hummed on it.

I used the money to get a nice vintage Thorens TD124 and Im very happy so far.

I've heard the Classic directly compared to a VPI Aries 1 and Aries 3 table with the same cart in the same system and the Classic ranked significantly behind the others.

The Classic was very lively, but rather hot and noisy on the top end and the bass was all there, but a little too heavy with not as much detail or pitch. Both the Aries 1 and 3 had much lower noise floors and more air and detail while still sounding lively and musical at the same time. Associated equipment used was EAR phono pre and amp, and Avantgarde Duo speakers. Not sure if I remember what the cables and interconnects were. All types of music were used in the comparison: rock, jazz, classical, pop.

We felt this was largely due to the Classic's motor assembly in relation to the plinth and the aluminum platter.

Philb7777...interesting comparison. Did you use same tonearm and cart as well on the 3 tables or no? How about isolation under the tables (same or different)? Just curious if there were any different variables or if you used precisely the dame variables when comparing the tables. Thanks for doing the comparison and posting the results.