Post your turntable setup...can't get enough of those spinners!

That was literally a Black Friday sale, Merrick. Up to $3,499 now.

 

I figured it would either sell out or go up in price, which is why I jumped on it.

Also I got my shipping notice already, expected delivery day is Thursday.

 

I have an AT440MLB, and there are modern releases that this cart still cannot handle.

It's quite the magical cart for working through what other carts pickup as IGD, but it's not a perfect solution.

 

Honestly, I'm still a vinyl noob.

I've got some modern metal core stuff that this cart tracks with amazing effort, and some modern pop stuff it just can't deal with and just ends up with distortion in one channel or the other.

I had a short run with the Rega Elys II cart, and by god is that cart garbage. No treble, dead dynamically, and it tracked horribly.

On older used records, it'd be nothing but IGD, switching to the AT440MLB, 90% of the IGD was gone. There's still a hint of it, which suggests the LPs really are damaged.

The problem it seems is most modern records are just pure shit to start with. Vinyl seems to be incapable of producing the near square waves that the digital files are. This is purely speculative, but I rather enjoy how vinyl seems to interpret that. It breathes some life back into these otherwise fucked recordings.



That's the same peak, Vinyl vs CD.

Here's after applying gain (-5dB) to the CD version to get the perceived levels the same:

 

Took me a day to get the Classic set up because I needed to procure longer cartridge screws, but now it's sounding great! And goes well with my audio rack.

 

@Merrick - I like the way the color of the ceramic coated platter matches the tonearm! Does the record clamp screw on?

 

Yep, it's a screw on clamp, the spindle has threads on it already. One day I'll get the outer ring clamp and see what all the fuss is about.

 

Beautiful setup @Merrick!! That Denon cart does wonders with the Nighthawk stage.

 

Yes it does! Even without my new speakers or a tube amp I'm hearing a fuller sound and more detail over this same cart in the Technics SL-1800. It may be placebo but it just feels more musical too. I'm digging albums I've heard hundreds of times even more than I did before.

Beyond that, I really appreciate some of the engineering and design decisions. It's nice to have a cue lever that gradually lowers the arm onto the platter instead of the basic lever on the Technics that just dropped it straight down immediately. And I have much more control over where I place the stylus now. It's just a much more pleasing experience overall.

And my god do 45 RPM records sound AMAZING on it.

 

Congrats, and Happy Listening !!!

The periphery ring and HRX center weight will elevate that bad boy to new heights, a must have in my book.

I thought you got the steel arm, that one looks 3D printed?

 

Music Direct told me that this version had the metal arm. I was very emphatic that I do not want the 3D arm.

It looks like the same arm from this Classic 3 (and this table did come with a Classic 3 arm):



That's a photo from 2011, from a Stereophile article that mentions it's made of stainless steel. I'll be pretty pissed if it's the 3D version.

 

Also this may sound silly but I love how quickly it starts up and also how quickly it stops. The direct drive on my old Technics would take a little longer to warm up but a lot longer to stop spinning. It's a small thing but it makes the VPI so much nicer to use.

 

I think the black metal arm wand on your metal arm may be throwing @JK47 off. The 3D arms look like these, @Merrick.


About your arm:
https://www.musicdirect.com/turntables/VPI-Classic-2-Black-Friday-Special-Edition - "Classic 3 metal black arm..."

Edit: I found a side by side shot.

 

Yes, I can tell immediately that's not the same arm. To me the most prominent elements are where the headshell connects to the body and where the body connects to the base. On the metal arms, the length of the main body is thinner than the headshell and base connectors. On the 3D arm it's all one piece.

Here you can see the difference, look at where the wand connects to the base on each:

 

Cant you flick it and feel a difference? Just curious.
Congrats on a life changing experience, and so many ways to move forward, too!

 

Below is a Music Direct pic of the 10" 3D armwand (and its $1800 for the 10"). It looks like Willie's but matte instead of glossy.

I like the black metal arm. Haven't seen that before! Great setup, Merrick!

 

Possibly an aluminum arm shrink wrapped for additional dampening according to this thread on VPI's forum... interesting

http://vpiindustries.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=4380&p=9021

 

That would make sense. The black wand doesn't get cold to the touch like the bare metal parts do.

 

Here's my fairly modest vinyl setup, consisting of a Pro-Ject Debut Carbon DC with acrylic platter and Ortofon 2M Blue. Phono stage is a Lounge LCR MKIII. Rest of the setup is a Parasound Halo Integrated amp and PSB Imagine T2 floorstanding speakers and a Martin Logan Dynamo 700w subwoofer. On the digital side I'm using a Gungnir Multibit DAC.

My girlfriend and I bought a house this spring, moving out of a 2-bedroom condo we were renting. I didn't have room in the condo for a turntable or speakers outside of some Emotiva powered monitors, so after moving I immediately went kinda balls-out crazy auditioning and buying/selling gear for a 2-channel setup. Initial budget was going to be around $2.5k but ended up spending more than double that on the final product when all was said and done, and that's even with getting some great used deals. I hadn't listened to any vinyl since I was a kid (in my mid 30s now) so this is a damn fine treat.