Which cartridge do you use with the vpi classic?

This is a post from a another thread running asking for carty suggestions for the VPI JMW arm:

"The DV 20X2 is my backup carty. It's a nice carty, but my main carty is the Soundsmith VPI Zephyr. The Zephyr was jointly designed by Peter Ledermann and Harry Weisfeld. No surprise that it is extremely compatible with the Classic JMW wand. I think it sounds mutch better than the DV 20X2. I'm sure there are even better sounding carties out there, but the Zephyr is a low risk very good performer.

Stringreen is another VPI Classic owner who has said many times that the Benz LPS is a super performer: problem is that it's a $5K carty.

You might be able to pick up a preowned Zephyr on A'gon for $700. I did and it was a great buy. Brand new, the Zephyr costs $1K, unless you can find a dealer who discounts it.

Another nice fact about the Zephyr is that Peter Ledermann only charges $250 to retip it. Once retipped, it's as good as new.

Just another option. FWIW."

Stringreen, don't fret. I own the Classic with the Classic 3 wand. I admit the unipivot system can be a little finicky, but with the right carty the damn thing sings. What's really going on here I think is that there's an undercurrent sense of insecurity that unless you spend your retirement savings on gear, you're wasting your time and settling on mid-fi.

Stringreen, I know you own and love the Vandy 5As. No problem there. Somehow, I wound up getting the Paradigm S8s (w/ Be tweeter). Wasn't even an informed decision. Just happened. As an aside, the top end Magico speakers also use a Be dome tweeter -- but guess what? Magico doesn't make the Be dome in house because it's a toxic material that's hard to work with. Try this -- Paradigm makes their own Be tweeters, dome and all. Why? Because they know how to!

Mark Mickelson and at least 4 or 5 other respected reviewers would stack the S8s up against speakers costing many multiples of the S8s. How can this be?? It's reaaly simple Econ 101. Paradigm owns its own super high tech testing center. They also make pretty much everything in-house except for the cabinets which are made in China. That means QC is top notch. And R&D and other fixed costs are spread over a huge product line. If you didn't take Econ 101 in college, you just won't get it.

And what does this have to do with the VPI Classic. The Classic is a darling in the high-end community. And if you can work your way around the set up peculiarities, the damn thing sings. Is it possible that a TT gizmo costing $20-25K sounds better? Who gives a sh*t. My VPI works great and I enjoy whatever I play on it.

Yeah, maybe one day I may spring for the Benz LPS, but not today. In the meantime, the Zephyr tracks like a champ and sounds almost as good as the Clearaudio Maestro -- which says alot!

Bottom line: I'd mount any carty I can afford on the Classic as long as it can be set up properly and it's compatible with my ARC PH-7 phono pre. The only hesitation is I'd need to pop some valium if I busted the cantilever on a $5K carty.

So, that my Sunday night long winded post that basically agrees with you.

I think an excellent choice is the Soundsmith Zephyr. Retail is $1000, but you pick up a used Zephyr for $7-800.