i too get annoyed with all of the vpi upgrades. even some people that sell them have expressed "ambivalence" about the merits of some of these "improvements". i have an original aries and i LIKE the platter; the arm (a mere "10") is elegant and functional. i purchased a plc box which worked great, but then yielded to the desire to get the newer sds, which only caused start-up problems with the original motor. the original motor, a massive block of stainless steel, has also been replaced with a "better" motor- which btw i did NOT get. in the end, nothing VPI has come out with makes a thin, tinny recording sound full and rich. now i would very much like a new TNT-6 which looks elegant and extremely refined. if i ever get an oversized platform to place it on, i just might upgrade. but i consider the original aries the inspiration for ALL of the scoutmasters, which i would guess have driven VPI's popularity for the last several years. so i feel i have one of the seminal products they've created.
the bearing and the platter can be improved upon, no doubt.
along with the motor, a flywheel, all mounted on top of 150lbs of granite, etc. it just sounds like alot of work to me, when what i have was shipped to me complete and ready to play. and just maybe, vinyl freaks are particularly handy people to begin with. i thought i was a clever fellow when i set up a thorens or two back in the 80's, but that's kid stuff nowadays.
