VPI Tonearm Damping Fluid -- Your Experiences?

Who uses this? I've been with VPI (first a Classic 1 now a 'vintage' TNT Jr.) for a number of years now and never used the damping fluid. I tried it early on, but decided I didn't like what the damping fluid did to the highs and just left the cup empty all this time. Fast forward to 7 years later now, filled the fluid cup about halfway this morning and it has changed the sound to my liking. Seems like it has opened up the mids and the soundstage on this old (1964) mono LP I'm listening to. I don't know if it has actually taken down the highs much or not yet, I believe it has some, but I did notice on another old mono record it made the cymbal hits ring and sound better than I remembered, so it does seem to be affecting the sound somehow. This time for the better so far, in any case.

I also noticed that when lowing the tonearm down to the record the needle locks in better than without fluid.

So I'd like to check with people what their experiences are and see if I'm not all wet with my observations, you know, just imagining what's not actually there.

 

I must be crazy to have written that tracking comment ...

But adding the fluid has affecting the sound coming out of my Lyra Kleos mono. I had the cup filled up to the top and took out enough to bring it down to 3/4 full or less, and the sound changed again. Interesting.

 

Yes - I used this briefly when I had the cup - like on my Technics with it - helps with skips/tracking on albums that skip. Only filled 1/2 way. I couldn't identify any obvious sound difference.

 

Post sound samples.

 

I am not familiar with VPI tonearms but I have a London Jubilee cartridge on a Decca London International tonearm. This is a damped unipivot tonearm with the arm supported on a flat piece of metal ending in a point that rests on a concave jewel. The jewel forms the bottom of a cylindrical cup that can be filled with silicone damping fluid. The flat piece of metal acts as a paddle in the highly viscous fluid, giving the damping action.

The original fluid for this tonearm was 600,000 cSt. I couldn’t get this in the UK, so had to settle for 500,000 cSt. This is so viscous that you can stand a spoon in a cup of the fluid and it just stands there. It took over 48 hours for about 0.5ml of the fluid to flow into the damping cup.

I filled the damping cup to the brim to give maximum damping with the slightly thinner fluid. The effect was dramatic. With no fluid the arm was so skittish that it would wobble all over the place when cueing a record and the cartridge would wobble slightly when playing a record, which must have created distortion. With the fluid, everything is rock steady and the sound quality incredibly good.

The Decca cartridges really do need to be mounted on a damped unipivot tonearm to perform at their best. The Jubilee mounted on my previous gimbal tonearm sounded ok but poor compared with the International plus damping fluid.

 

I filled the cup to 3/4 as recommended and it has been producing some interesting, good effects on SQ. Listening to some old mono records through headphones, it seems there is a lot more depth to the sound, like front to back has been extended. It tamps down some high end (which is actually good in my case my carts tend to be on the bright side) -- yet the sound of cymbals is crisper somehow. Cymbal hits shimmer and decay in a way they didn't before. It also seems to have done something to bass -- there's more of it now. And that's on playing some 60 year old mono recordings that are pretty bass-shy overall.

The best way I can describe it is that it is as if the mono recordings were akin to pictures flat on the page, the lead instruments have been lifted up off the page and the drums set back, if that makes any sense. I don't know if soundstage is the right word for mono, but what I heard can definitely be related to that, just not in a left-right orientation like in stereo.

I am a bit disappointed in myself for not having experimented with this before. I thought I didn't like the effect the fluid had on the sound when I first tried it a long time ago. Now probably going to have it as a permanent fixture.

Really odd, to me anyway, that something like this could have the kind of effect it does. Glad I found out, in any case.

 

@EdogawaRampo, I had to changed the pivot on my Classic 2 to work with the first generation 3D tonearm. My turntable no longer has the damping trough so I can't comment directly on your situation. I have used fluid damping in the past and often liked what it did.

I am not surprised it improves your older mono records. The purpose of fluid damping is to raise the horizontal inertia of your tonearm. You want to keep its vertical inertia low for record warps but a higher horizontal inertia will hold the tonearm steady, or at least that's the theory. Those old mono records were cut laterally. To track the groove, the needle only moves from side-to-side, not up and down. Adding greater horizontal stability to the tonearm only makes sense, at least to me. I'm sure someone will post that I must have flunked freshman physics in college and they would be right.

You don't say but I assume you are using the VPI fluid. Try Johnson's Baby Oil. It's a lot less viscous. I'm sure your turntable will sound different. Oh boy, oh boy. I love how you are playing with your turntable. More people should follow your lead.