VPI Turntable repair

Is it factory defective or was it broken?  I’m sure the gimbal arm they make would work. I would try to work a deal with them as what you stated does not sound like the VPI that I dealt with for many years. You can contact Mat Weisfeld on Facebook as he posts there many times a week. He is a good guy and I’m sure he will help you. 

I should be able to fix the tonearm and I know what the common problem is. Just give me a call and send a few pictures.

Thanks for all your comments.  It was loose and apparently when I tried adjusting the screws based on online suggestions, I must have damaged  the bearings.  Totally my fault. 

I sent the arm to VPI, and they said they could not fix it as the sapphire bearings were damaged beyond repair.  They did NOT suggest an alternative gimball arm that would fit; they did, however, mention that my option may be a used arm, which (should they have one) cost me $500.

Did this get resolved? I now have the same issue. Honestly a $500 replacement arm is reasonable to me. I feel like this arm must be a little more than entry level if the similar design is being used in a $4k arm. 

I sent an email to the company, no response. I tried emailing mat@vpi thinking it may be his email address, no response and no bounce back saying it was invalid. Ok... so I called. I was told today they may or should have an answer in a couple months. I had to ask for the guys contact info, he didn’t offer to contact me when a resolution was found... I figured he would say “let me get your info and I’ll call you once we figure out how we will proceed”. That made me assume this isn’t a very high priority. 

The issue with mine is the metal “male” end of the bearing is broke off, my dog knocked the tower speaker over on it. The arm isn’t bent, the table/platter is true. My Dyna DV20X2 is smashed now... Apparently they got rid of one of the machines used in the process of setting the male metal end of the bearing that sits in the jewel cup. 

I bought all my audio gear in 2012/13 knowing one day I could use it to its full potential when I bought a house. One of the main things I did was make sure I bought gear built by companies that service their products no matter how old. Dec 18 I moved out of the crappy uninsulated cardboard duplex into a well insulated first home... I finally set all my gear up last Friday and my god It was so sweet. The feeling I had listening to albums was unexplainable. 

I’m left without a source. I didn’t feel that hopeless after I narrowed down the damage to the arm, after my conversation today I feel pretty hopeless. Especially considering one option was to make an adapter to mount one of the multi thousand dollar arms, at a discount. Not sure what that discount would be. I really enjoyed the table how it was. 

@mparthas,

Check out @vasaudio 's offer. He resides on Cliffwood Ave and works closely with VPI.