VPI is OK but getting a bit stale IMO. Kuzma would be a good alternative.
Recently I sold my VPI Classic 3 Signature (JMW 3D Arm) and purchased a new/open box Rega P10. Two totally different tables. As good as the VPI sounded, the P10 is better to my ears. I really like the Rega RB3000 tonearm. I also purchased the Acoustic Signature shims. Rig for VTA adjustment to allow for any of my cartridges to work with it. The Apheta 3 which came installed on the P10 was surprisingly better than I had expected, but I have since installed my Transfiguration Proteus D. That combo is really something special. I guess my one knock on the VPI is that I do not really like the fiddley unipivot arm it had. To each their own. |
@ozzy62: I too have an Aries (the original version, bone stock) in addition to a highly modified HW-19. They’re both available (no, not mine 😉) at very modest cost. And I agree, the Aries is indeed sexy looking. My other table is a Townshend Audio Elite Rock, which I will NEVER sell. In contrast, it's looks are, um, "purposeful". 😉
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I too am parting with my VPI after 11 years. It’s been a good table but time to move up. I’ve decided on the Pure Fidelity Harmony. It’s built exceptionally well and has a variety of finishes. They offer several good tone arm options and their Stratos cartridge gets good reviews. Stereophile has a good review if you want to learn more. The reports from auditions described the sound as excellent. |
I have a fully tricked out Superscoutmaster/rim drive/upgraded platter/arm, etc., etc. It is a truly wonderful table...only once was it loosing speed....I sent the SDS for a checkup and it was perfect....I cleaned the bearing with Hoppes gun cleaner and it is dead quiet and stable. I can't think of a better table that is audibly better in any way. |
My other passion are cars. If you go on bringatrailer.com there are usually several Asto Marin V8 Vantages for sale. Many have only been owned for a year or so. I asked one owner why he was selling and he replied, "The Vantage us the best exotic I've ever owned, but I have a list of cars I want to work through while I can still drive". He is in his late 70s. So he's not necessarily trading up, he's trading for a different ownership.experience. The same with turntables. Owners are not necessarily trading for performance, they're trading for novelty. The old joke among car guys when someone points out a really fast car is, "Had one, wasn't fast enough, sold it." Same with high end hifi. |
I’ve owned three VPI tables over the years and they are quite competent. Perhaps the best bang for the buck was the original Scout with the unipivot arm. I know the uni isn’t for everyone but for $2k that was a nice table as long as you could isolate it properly. A used one today that is a decade old will cost you nearly that much so they have held their value nicely, unlike other tables. Like @mikempls I have also moved on to a Pure Fidelity Harmony. The Harmony is in another league altogether compared to the mid-level VPI tables like the Prime and can be outfitted with arms that are far superior to the gimble arm VPI is now sporting. The Origin Live lineup are fantastic and the new Savant arm recently released by PF is very promising—I hope to have one on display by late summer. If I can help anyone with a PF table please reach out via PM. |
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I bought a VPI HW MK II with a Sumiko MMT arm and a Koetsu Black in 1985. About 15 years ago, I was thinking of upgrading to a classic for $5K. However, I noticed that the classic had a decidedly different design philosophy - no more lead ring imbedded in the acrylic platter, an aluminum platter instead - so I called Harry. He told me that Fed regs banned the use of lead, so he needed to adjust, but that I did not have to. He recommended that I simply upgrade from the MK II to the MK IV, and save myself $4K. And so I did. I am still using this table, 39 years in. |
To another VPI. Ideated about Michell, Regas, Brinkmann. But these at the level I was interested in would be used purchases with no nearby dealers. Thus the change from the old VPI Scout with a unipivot (what I disliked about the TT) to a VPI Prime 21 with a much more reassuring gimbal arm. Together with an upgraded DS cartridge (E1 to 003) a significant improvement. |