VPI to What

VPI super prime scout to Rega Naia package. Immediately noticed tighter bass, plus overall more refinement.

Products & brands that sell a lot (successful) also end up on the used market a lot. It says far more about the nature of this hobby and its fickle hobbyists (that’s us), rather than being a damning statement about the product’s performance.

If the product was truly mediocre or defective, then you’d usually see the big market spike shortly after the initial hype, followed by very little activity at all. But then some very good products have also suffered that same pattern - again, it’s the nature of this hobby.

The VPI unipivot, at least since they refined the VTA tower, is fine. If anything, I have more problem with the 3D arm material they’ve switched to. It’s very excitable in bass frequencies. The later JMW series and Classic 3 metal arms are relatively underrated in their lineup, IMO. I guess people fixate on the HF ringing with metal - the bass issue is much more trickly, IMO.

I've been at this hobby for 66 years and was ready to try something different.  My prior rig was a VPI TNT Jr upgraded with a TNT MKV platter.  Upgraded to a  flywheel and started using a silk thread belt from flywheel to platter.  I used the VPI SDS and then the SOTA Total eclipse package. The upgrades were over the course of 20 years.  One constant was my Eminent Technology ET 2.0/2.5 tonearm I've owned since 1986, carried over from a SOTA Star Sapphire that's been gathering dust all this time.  I was just ready to try something different and took a chance on an idler drive, specifically a PTP-12.  I moved the ET over to it with no major issues.  I was hoping for more immediacy / prat and expected possibly a higher noise floor.  That did happen, and I also was pleased to hear an improvement in stringed instruments, especially picked acoustic ones like guitars, harps, and mandolins. The way I can describe it is that it sounds like the strings are "tighter", more realistic.  It's not an exaggerated effect and comes through very noticeably on harps.  I have a Myajimi Shilabe and a retipped Ortofon Cadenza bronze. The Shilabe was OK, but there was an increase in hum as the needle moved closer to the center of the LP. It even hummed when the cartridge was lifted up at the end of the LP.  It's a known issue with Lenco based turntables given the location of the motor right under the platter. I installed the Ortofon and there's no hum with it.  The noise floor is fine, lower than I was expecting given the switch from the VPI silk thread / flywheel belt drive to an idler drive.  Got me interested again in LP's I've played too many times to count.  Which is nice.

@desalvo55 

What steered you to buying the MoFi Master phono?

There are some great phono pre’s in that price range, especially pre owned units. I’m surprised to hear that you consider it an upgrade from an Allnic.

I owned a VPI Scoutmaster fitted with a Dynavector XXV MK II. I used a PS Audio phono for awhile but wasn't satisfied. I upgraded to an Rogue Audio Aeris phono which was better but, I still like my digital setup better. 

Sold the VPI and Aeris for a Rega P10 - Alpheta 3 cart mated to an Allnic H5500 phono. That was a massive upgrade. On a whim I plugged my Allnic phono into the aux port of my 1977 Yamaha CR820 and my Technics SL1800. That was amazingly good, so much so, I kept in there in a third system inside my HT room.

Now I'm pulling the trigger on the MoFi Master phono and upgrading the Rega's Alpheta 3 to the Aphelion 2 cartridge. I'm hopeful to have my vinyl collection sing as well if not better than my digital rigs.

I been using a VPI HW19 Mark 3 with a SME 309 arm for over 30 years and I still enjoy it! If I ever decided to change tables ( probably never ) I would be a lookin’ at a Technics DD. My friend owns one and he raves about it!

I debated on VPI but decided on Acoustic Signature NEO Hurricane with their TA-5000 9 inch arm. Very please after 18 months. Great table. I especially like the twin motor so there is balanced force against the main spindle the platter rest on. 30 kg so a solid foundation as well. 

for those that disparage the unipivot.......there is an inexpensive item called the 2nd pivot which stablizes the arm better.....the sound is still great.

I loved my VPI Aries for well over a decade. The unipivot arm works well. I think if I had to do it over again I would have gone up a couple levels in VPI. Not that I don’t love my current system.

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.

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.

I loved my VPI Scout, but hated the JMW tonearm. I hate unpivot tonearms.

I swapped out the VPI tonearm for an Origin Live tonearm, and liked it better, but ended up buying a used LP12, with Ittok IV tonearm, and Hercules power supply with bearing upgrade. Been happy for several years now.

The only other table I'm lusting for is a Garrard 401 or Thorens TD-124 Mk.2. I had a TD-125 back in the mid-70's (with an SME 3009 mounted on it), and had nothing but trouble with it.

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.

I have owned my HW40 for almost two years and would not part ways with it. Since I am 75 it is probably my last TT.

Not me, I love mine!

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 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.

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 sold my classic 3 and am using my very old micro seiki bl-91. The uni pivot arm used to bug me but it did sound great. To my ears, the micro sounds better and it is a gorgeous table made out of rosewood. Those old micros are great. 

It is possible that VPI table that are for sale are being replaced by better VPI models.  

@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". 😉

VPI tables, over time, have been a proven commodity for many, many audiophiles who love them with a passion.  However, there are many, many other outstanding options out there other than VPI tables to choose from as well.  Just pick the table you like best and enjoy the music.      

Some might be converting from BD to DD, the wave of the present.

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.

Every time I think about replacing my Aries, I listen to the beautiful music it makes and change my mind. Also important to me is that it is one of the best looking tables VPI (or most others for that matter) ever produced.

A Kuzma Stogi Ref on a VPI HW-19 makes for a real nice turntable. Even better if you replace the stock platter with the one included on the TNT-5, a 1.5" thick slab of stainless steel and Delrin weighing about 15lbs. You can also replace the base-mounted motor with the VPI SAMA---stand alone motor.

VPI is OK but getting a bit stale IMO. Kuzma would be a good alternative.