VPI Avenger turntable with Grado Labs Epoch cartridge. My mini-review is here, post #296..

Makes sense but I may need to read it a couple more times. Thanks!

 

David Shreve came up with a brilliant solution to VTA. I just don't have the patience for this sort of thing. Can you say ADD.

 

Just looking for paper would do me in.

 

I'm also using a Symposium Shelf under my VPI. Of course the Avenger should be a nice step up from my Aries, but I'm more than satisfied with my turntable and arm as-is. I'm probably one of the few users that have moved back to the metal JMW arms after being an early adopter of the 3D printed arm...the cartridges I prefer perform better with a heavier, fluid-damped arm.

Steve, are you using a VPI speed controller with the Avenger?

 

It isn’t clumsy and dumb at all when you look at the whole package as one element. It’s all mechanical. That’s a large part as to why some of us prefer it over digital. Trading out mats is just another extension of all the mechanical elements, and indeed would be a sure fire way of making sure it sounds exactly the same way it did last time when you played said record. I personally would be satisfied finding the right VTA for 180G and then just leave it, but I don’t know what to listen for so for me it’s probably best I leave well enough alone, but your solution is actually terrific to dial things in quickly and accurately to get to that next level. And if you can hear the difference, it’s worth it.

 

Keep in mind that there is a definite difference between the top and bottom ring, but you also have the varied element of the belt distance between the platter and motor itself. I got an app and measured the speed as it seemed a bit off. Sure enough, I had to put the pulley on the bottom rung to get to 33.3 consistently. Point being, it’s real nice to have a tiny bit of extra adjustment.

One last, very important tip. I had it all dialed in and a few weeks later it slowed to 32 and change. I had no problem discerning the difference, for better or worse. Nothing I did helped. I called VPI and they knew right away what to do. They had me apply a drop of oil to the bottom of the spindle and while I was skeptical, bingo! It did it again two weeks later, I did the same thing and it’s been perfect for months now.

 

Thank you STEVE!. Really appreciate you taking the time to do this.

 

Ive had the Aries 3, and the Avenger. You aren’t missing anything. I preferred the metal arms too. One nice thing about the Avenger is the ability to easily add armboards for different arms. You also have more flexibility in the motor choice.

 

I’ve seen the “Dave Show” at Steve’s, and the difference with a small change is not subtle. And I have don’t have golden ears or trained ones.

 

I am now using this method with great results. Thank you.

 

It's funny the talk about the 3D vs the metal arms. The idea behind the 3D arm was rigidity.

When the Scout first came out (at $1800), it came with the JMW-9, a one-piece tonearm. It was not damped and it had a light effective mass, making it incompatible with many cartridges. But when mated correctly, the sound was great. Art Dudley called it a table that "knocked it out of the park!" Michael Fremer was also suitably impressed. It punched way above its weight. Harry Weisfeld told me that he thought it got 85% of the TNT HRX, which was $10-12,000, if I recall.

A few years ago, I visited Harry at his home and brought my table. He was playing with gimbaled arms while also playing with the 3D arms. We tried both three gimbaled arm and my original one-piece JMW-9. After listening to both, each with a couple of different cartridges, Harry said to me, "I forgot how good the original JMW-9 arm sounds." "It's the one-piece design", he told me.

 

I believe my Soundsmith Hyperion meets this standard. I have no compunction to go with another cart.

 

I'm using the reference feet, which is an improvement over the standard feet. I also like the VPI SDS for speed control.

Click For Full-Size Image.

Click For Full-Size Image.

 

That is a new table since I visited, correct?

 

Having lived with a PLC on my TNT for far too long and now having had a SDS for the past year, IMO it's a requirement on a VPI table.