VPI Player - any reviews?

Just noticed this thing in the MusicDirect catalog. I can't seem to find anything about it (perhaps because of its rather uninspired name?). So - who has listened? Any reviews out there. (sorry if it's a repeat, but search turned up nothing...)

Cheers!

 

Check this article out, it's apparently a rebranding of their Nomad.

VPI Player | VPI Industries Blog »

 

Thanks, audioguy3107 - that is more than I knew, but looking for some less biased reviews (if that is possible in audio world) of how it sounds, performs, and whther it is upgradable like the Scout Jr. or not, like the Nomad (understanding that the re-brand would suggest not).

 

Upgrades for the Player would be limited to phono cart and if bypassing the built-in phono stage adding an external phono preamp. Other than that the Player is pretty much nailed down so to speak.

 

Google is your friend. Get acquainted.

 

My understanding is that quite a lot is upgradeable, including platter, feet, and tonearm. I believe you could even upgrade to a VPI unipivot with VTA tower if you wanted to go nuts. And since the internal phono can be bypassed, you're not limited in that department either. Whether it's worth sinking that much money into upgrades for it is a different question, but it's certainly tempting as a starting point or potentially excellent all-'rounder on a limited budget.

 

I think this player is more of an end point than a starting point. If you sort of like records, want a decent turntable, but don't want a huge stereo system/speakers and don't want to deal with having to get an amp, a phonostage, cabling, etc., then this is what you get. If you want to start in the vinyl hobby with a decent stereo with a turntable, this is not the table I would get. Yes, you could upgrade it, but I don't think you should.

It's sort of like the Rega RP1/P1. It's a great entry level table, especially if you have no plans of upgrading down the line. I think the issue becomes when people start upgrading P1s when they could have just saved up for a little longer and went for an RP3/P3 and wouldn't need to upgrade as much.

 

I agree with your line of thinking on this product, but I think the problem is that if you're the buyer being described, you don't spend $1200 on a turntable. Which is what I assume VPI realized when they cancelled the first iteration of this product, and why I'm confused its back.

 

Oh, definitely. I think VPI overplayed their hand with this one. Had it been a $500 item, I think it could have had some success. But yeah, the $1,200 price does not match the budget of the consumer that this item is made for.

 

I finally got a change to try one out today, and I think you're all selling it short.

I did some recordings so that I could directly compare with my current home rig, but while I think my home rig recordings sound better, most of that comes from the simple cartridge difference (if a 2m Red could ever beat a properly loaded AT33PTG/II, we'd have some serious problems). I've never been a big fan of Ortofons to begin with, but this deck with a measly $99 cartridge is pretty freakin' impressive. I'm now burning with even more curiosity about how it would sound with a higher-end 2m, or a (more tempting for me) AT150Sa.

It's a major improvement over the Nomad, no question. The Player is much closer to a Traveler. It's also a tank (it is a VPI after all). I'd thought that the color options were solid wood, but it's vinyl wrapped MDF. Prettier than the standard black, and the MDF provides better production consistency than solid hardwood would allow. I even checked the wow & flutter with the RPM app with my iPhone, and it was quite respectable.

The only oddities that I experienced were the limited gain on the built-in headphone amp with my Denon AH-D2000 (I had it cranked pretty far up for regular listening volume), it wouldn't track my R.E.M. - Document pressing for some bizarre reason (stylus too dirty? vinyl too slippery, or grooves to shallow?), and there was a persistent hum from the plethora of the other electrical equipment in the photo studio where I demoed it. That's pretty much it. The Player really was a joy to use.

I did hear that the price may be going up soon, which doesn't thrill me. It does seem to be a pretty damn good value at the current price, though. Keep in mind that this is basically a Scout Jr. with a built-in phono preamp (possibly on the level of a $500 MM phono pre) AND a respectable headphone amp all in one easily transportable unit. It's actually quite tempting to me, to be honest, as I'm kind of frustrated with how fiddly my current home setup has been. I'd just have to find a MM cart that I like as much as my precious PTG.

I highly advise trying to find somewhere to demo the thing before you dismiss it. It'll surprise you.

 

What tables are you comparing to the Player?

 

My main home rig is a Michell TecnoDec with Audiomods Classic arm with the aforementioned AT33PTG/II into a Nova Phonomena preamp. I've also tried tweaking out a SL-1200 with the same tonearm/cart/phono pre with Isonoe feet, Achromat, and Origin Live armboard, which is the most reliable and most speed-stable but worst sounding of the lot (still has the stock bearing and power components, though). My home power is also certainly cleaner, so I'm sure I didn't hear the Player at optimum performance.

 

I was in a hi-fi/record shop last weekend and wanted to demo a vinyl copy of Dusty In Memphis to make sure it was flat, check noise level as it had a few marks and make sure it didn't skip. The place was packed,two other systems were playing music and I thought I was goin to have to wait awhile til things calmed down and I could hear with some isolation from all the hub bub . In the headphone section there was a used Nomad with cans and I never knew anyone made an all in one TT. So, I put Dusty on and got a good listen. I didn't even pay attention to the brand/model of phones but the sound was great...really surprised me. I realized what a useful tool the Nomad could be for me as it's hard to listen to vinyl at night when my wife is home unless I hide away in an upstairs room. I could still be in her prescence and listen to vinyl while she watches TV that I usually don't like. The store gave me a real tempting price,around $500,on the Nomad but I wanted to research it first. Not sure the reviews are convincing me and I did notice The Player which seems like an upgrade with defeatable phono power and nice wood plinth but thrice the price. Anyway, I'd love to have a TT with The Player features but at half the price so yeah, I agree with what's been written here already...it's priced a bit out of it's target group and for old farts like me who want it mainly for the headphone feature.

 

It's just VPI renaming the Nomad to something else. They also claim it's got a whole bunch of improvements but none of their specifications are any different. Basically, they changed the name and increased the price. Oh, it comes in a different finish. Big whoop.

I owned the Nomad version 2, the kind with the defeatable phono preamp. It was a good turntable to get my feet wet. I bought mine from an eBay seller who only had it for a few months. It was in perfect condition and came with an Ortofon Blue as opposed to the Red which comes bundled with store-bought Nomad. It sounded OK and certainly made its point in terms of the vinyl sound signature.

One major issue I ran into is with the grounding. Despite the fact that VPI pre-grounds these with a wire that goes from the underside of the tonearm to a screw on the integrated phono preamp/headphone amp, it still buzzed like crazy. I actually had to use a 2nd ground wire connecting the underside of the tonearm to the RCA plugs in the back. That took me a number of days to figure out. After I had that taken care of, I enjoyed it for a few months but I quickly outgrew it, especially since I didn't care for its portability. I solely wanted one as it was an entry-level VPI, a company I had read about which had a good reputation.

So I ended up selling it locally and buying a Prime with a Dynavector P75 MK3 preamp and a 20X2L cart. The difference is quite remarkable (and frankly, considering the huge price difference, it damn well should be!) and easily noticeable. I will say the Prime has much more isolation than the Nomad/Player. I'd *strongly* recommend investing in a huge thick block of maple to rest the turntable on because it's easy for it to vibrate otherwise.

If it were me, I'd buy a used one as I find the price of a new one to be way too high, IMHO.

Here's one on eBay right now at half the price of a new one. Apparently, this one is in fantastic condition too. No affiliation ; just posting a link. $750 VS $1500.

VPI Industries Nomad All-In-One High-End Audiophile Turntable | eBay

You could buy that and with the rest of the money, you can splurge on a bunch of albums.

 

Check the post above where I mention the Nomad version 2 being the *exact* same thing as a Player, defeatable phono preamp and all. There's one on eBay for $750. Check it out.