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VPI Hw-19 Jr. Thoughts?

I currently have a Rega P5 w/Exakt cartridge and I'm thinking about upgrading. I've seen a few VPI Hw-19 tables on Ebay that are inexpensive enough that I could potentially splurge on a nice tonearm and cartridge (say about $2-2.5k for both). Can the Hw-19 be considered an upgrade from what I have now or should I look at one of the newer offerings from VPI? I'm looking to spend up to $4k.

FWIW, the rest of my system is:

Magnepan 1.6QR
McIntoash MAC6700
Apple Mac Mini
Marantz SA8260 SACD player
roninva
elevick
2,638 posts
 
SOTA and don't skimp on the phono pre either (audio research?)
roninva OP
3 posts
 
As much as I would like to consider a SOTA, there are no dealers in my area and I want to test the table in my system first.
bdgregory
1,715 posts
 
I had a VPI HW19 jr and while it was a nice table, it was somewhat of an entry table. It bought one to upgrade from a Music Hall MMF-5 and wasn't overwhelmed. It's a sturdy table, but I think most folks want them because they can be upgraded to the better models. That's my 2 cents fwiw.
mofimadness's avatar
mofimadness
4,993 posts
 
FWIW, I wouldn't sell my VPI HW-19 for anything. It is somewhat of a custom build, but that's the nice thing about the HW-19 tables. You can upgrade/modify them with better platters, plinths, arm boards, motors, feet, suspension, arms, etc.

I was a VPI dealer for many years and have personally owned 40-50 different HW-19s. I LOVE this table.

Are there better tables out there? Sure, but the current prices for the HW-19 make it a wonderful buy.
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