VPI Classic Series Discontinued 2017

Discussion in 'Vinyl Nutjob World: Turntable and Related Gear' started by Wfojas, Oct 18, 2016.

  1. Wfojas

    Wfojas Friend

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    From Mat Weisfeld at the vpiindustries forum
    Sorry about the silence on my end I have been out of state a lot more and it partially has to do with this topic. First, the Classic will not be evaporating completely, it is going to be pulled from the standard VPI line and will not be getting marketing. Since the Prime the ratio of Primes to Classic has been mind blowing (in a good way). Also from a performance stand point the Prime does blow away the Classic. That being said, it will not go away completely in the since of having special limited runs (mainly isolated to the US, sorry overseas but it is tough on the distributors). Also there has been a partnership VPI has been getting involved with for some time now that is about to go public (anyone who has been by the shop or at an audio society meeting might have gotten a hint of this). This "Made in America" partnership just might be taking concepts of the classic and wrapping it up in the more appropriate high end life style market it belongs in [​IMG] More news to come!
    Mat Weisfeld
    President
    VPI Industries Inc.

    There will probably be a price drop to move inventory, so for people looking, this might be a good time.
     
    Last edited: Oct 18, 2016
  2. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Prime with small MDF X shaped plinth and plastic arm blowing away the hefty Classic. Bwhahahahahahaha. Sure Mat.

    Not unexpected. I've always surmised the Classic tables were their most expensive to make in terms of labor and materials; and that all the other tables were made to subsidize the sale of Classic tables.
     
  3. HitmanFluffy

    HitmanFluffy Hoping to see real genitals someday!

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    I told Mat about my preference for the Classics over the Prime in person. Its a bummer that the Classics aren't going to be so readily available anymore.
     
  4. Wfojas

    Wfojas Friend

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  5. bazelio

    bazelio Friend

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    Prime blowing away the Classic ... In margins maybe. But either way, I wonder how this affects Classic resale. It's a bit like when the neighbor sells his house and makes a public stink about the builder of the subdivision doing substandard work.
     
  6. Dino

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    Well, that kind of sucks for me.

    I am still happy with my HW-19 MkIII, but I have long figured that if I ever got the desire to upgrade to a new turntable it would be in the form of one of the VPI Classics.

    So, I probably will not ever upgrade (and save some money) or I will feel some pressure to purchase quickly sometime when I see a Classic that catches my fancy.

    I'd rather be able to leisurely ponder the purchase at my own pace. But, things don't always work out the way I'd like.
     
  7. Wfojas

    Wfojas Friend

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    Not sure the dislike for the Prime is as universal as it is here. I remember that the HW series was not as beloved as the Aries (and TNT) that followed, thereby tanking their value quickly. They did come in at a lower price point, initially, as well.
     
  8. Merrick

    Merrick A lidless ear

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    I may consider getting a different brand then. I'm not a fan of the direction VPI is taking.
     
  9. Dino

    Dino Friend

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    Harry Pearson had nothing but praise for the VPI Classics, and he was very picky.
     
  10. Dino

    Dino Friend

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    Kind of reminds me of how I felt when the BMW 2002 was replaced with the 320i.
     
  11. Dino

    Dino Friend

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    Not my cup of tea:

    [​IMG]
     
  12. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    The Prime was Mat's idea. The Classic was HW's. If you can afford the Prime, you are much better off with the a Classic 1 and periphery ring. If you already have an Aries, get the aluminum platter upgrade. I'm only on this because I want to warn people about the Prime. The Prime is a teaser product. The 3D printed arm is at best "different" than the older metal arm. It is good match if you have aggressive solid state sounding gear with nasty treble or leaner tonality. The printed plastic arms lack the transient response and energy of the metal arms. It's over-dampened. Don't let the words 3D fool you.

    You can go to Analog Planet and hear the difference in the rips, but really, the difference doesn't reflect the everything because digital rips never sound the same as from the original TT. I had the plastic arm for a while and I promptly got rid of it. This wasn't that hard to do because the audiophile press is totally in on it. Seth @ SSD congratulated me because I insisted that my Classic 4 also come with a metal arm. He said something to the effect of "Do you know what I like about you? You don't listen to what the rags and 'other' people have to say."

    The Prime plinth and the attached feet are a joke for what we have come expect from VPI for $4000. You figure at least Mat could have designed something sexy looking from MDF, not some retarded fat X shaped plinth using the least amount of material possible. This is sad because you can read all over the Internet of people congratulating themselves on getting the Prime (vs. better tables). Don't be fooled. You have been warned.
     
    Last edited: Oct 18, 2016
  13. Dino

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    Anyone know who this partnership involves?

    Anyone know what this means?

    I hope so. (Although this is not a good time for me to be making a big purchase.)
     
  14. Torq

    Torq MOT: Headphone.com

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    So, given that I'm on the verge of making a major turntable switch (current setup is a simple Pro-Ject RPM 9.2 Evo w/ Speed Box SEII and Dynavector 10x5), and that I was leaning towards a loaded VPI Classic in some form, and that I am not going to invest in a discontinued product (no matter how good), where would you look next within VPIs line-up?

    For me there are lots of possibilities, but coming off major DAC auditioning I'd love to get some input on narrowing things down as right now I'd wind up in analysis-paralysis between the Avenger series, AMG, Michell (always wanted a Gyrodec ... mostly for aesthetic reasons I'll admit), an SME, Kuzma or perhaps even an AirForce table ... I've done the loaded-LP12 thing and prefer mass-damped to sprung ... or just saying "f**k it" and going off the deep-end with a rapid-acuisition of an EAR (2nd hand, to do it as fast as I'd want, and no doubt costing more than MSRP) or big, gaudy, Clear Audio deck.

    Or, you know, tracking down @shaizada and just stealing everything he has setup ... ;)

    Has to look at least as good as it sounds (sue me ...) ...
     
  15. bazelio

    bazelio Friend

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    Devil's advocate for a sec.... Based on what I hear around here, the Prime should be a step down. And, out of the box, I'm sure it is. But could it be upgraded with a rim drive or single motor flywheel and metal tonearm, and wind up being a pretty nice setup overall? I'm not so sure an MDF with steel under carriage plinth is necessarily bad (maybe it's very light weight?) if isolated. And it would seem there's merit in some of the Prime's design aspects vs the Classic. A single integrated motor in a one-piece plinth does, after all, have its drawbacks. A lot of high end belt drive tables have separate housings. Some megabuck tables use multiple lower power motors. Etc. Physics is physics, right? Anyhow, just curious.
     
  16. SoupRKnowva

    SoupRKnowva Official SBAF South Korean Ambassador

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    every time i see another VPI thread i get even more sad that I sold my Aries 1 with JWM tonearm and dynavector 10x5 :(

    JK i actually had the 17D3 and classic 3 tonearm...
     
    Last edited: Oct 18, 2016
  17. Wfojas

    Wfojas Friend

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    VPI does go through these flavor of the month cycles. There were acrylic platters, lead platters, acrylic aluminum, clear acrylic, superplatter, and now all aluminum. And bearing changes, rim drive, triplanar, flywheel, pumped feet, fixed rubber, magnetic drive and then again bladder feet for the Titan. It all comes around. The best deals to be had continues to those a generation or so behind, it seems. The new drives replacing SDS is a reaction to Phoenix Engineering success'. It's still fair game, caveat emptor, and some of the stuff is fairly good. They are starting to seem to be driven by product/revenue cycles and prior year vs current year revenue, with the rapidly evolving models.

    I see their partnerships with Nordost continuing, wonder that's what Mat hinting at, as well.
     
  18. Chris F

    Chris F Boyz 4 Now Fanatic - Friend

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    VPI will soon be shipping the Prime with optional walnut plinth so wood is not entirely banished. There is also a "Prime Signature" that inherits the sandwich style plinth of the HRX/Avenger line which ups the price by $2K. (Is the sandwich plinth that expensive to make?)

    Everything I have read suggests to me that the DD based tables with the Thingap motor are the best thing VPI makes but if you press them they will dance around it as Harry is the only guy that can build and service them.
     
  19. bazelio

    bazelio Friend

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    Walnut plinth or a walnut veneered MDF plinth?
     
  20. Chris F

    Chris F Boyz 4 Now Fanatic - Friend

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    Looks like veneered MDF:
    https://www.facebook.com/vpiindustr...6800918.372190.313369810917/10153916759310918

    For better or worse (IMO worse) VPI is deeply entrenched in the traditional HiFi dealer model with it's 4-5x markups. I don't know what the total BOM on the Prime is including labor but it's definitely not more then $1000. The best time to buy VPI tables is always Black Friday when SSD (and possibly others) usually throw a deep discount on something. Last year it was Classic 4's with SDS and 12" arm for I think $4500. Killer deal on a great table. Hopefully with the discontinuation of the Classic series you will see extra killer deals on them this year.

    IMO (I am biased with a Classic 1 still sitting here) the Classic series will never go out of style and will still retain value. The only thing that might change that is if VPI were to stop using a critical part of the table in other models; for example go to some sort of different armboard, stop using the 300/600rpm motors or radically change the JMW tomearm design.
     

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