VPI Aries - either or question, please comment

Kubla, by all means, let me add to your confusion. The "old Aires went through, I believe, at least two different platter and bearing changes and the JMW 10, now the 10.5, also went through a few changes as well. So I guess the question should be: "Which Aries are you getting such a good deal on?"

As I said before and as Semi said, the present 9" arm is thought to outperform the 10 and 10.5 arms, at least until the 10.6 is available. I think if I had the choice, I'd take the cheap Aries deal you found and put the JMW 9" arm on it.

Then, down the road, you can always retrofit the new acrylic platter, bearing, and periphery clamp, as can all other Aries owners, (though this will not be inexpensive).

I believe the 10.6 arm will have all the upgrades/refinements of the present 12.6 arm: internal ceramic coating, tungsten-carbide, no-lube bearing, VTA fine adjustment and lockdown, and VTF fine adjustment.

So, as you can see, you are clearly behind the game before you even begin. :)

The new Aries actually have "Aries 2" logo on the table. The changes include all acrylic platter, inverted bearing, and lower power motor. They were made because the lesson learned from Scout. Notice the HR-X also has all acrylic platter and inverted bearing, the motor is smaller and runs at lower current. VPI realized by reducing the platter weight with full acrylic, they reduced resonance and at the same time they could lower the motor power which translated to lower vibration. You don't get that much more with Aries Black Knight when compares to Scout, but I don't like that clear platter on Scout and Aries Black Knight comes with dark grey platter like HR-X. Notice how Clearaudio has similar setup - all acrylic platter with inverted bearing.

So don't buy an used Aries with JMW10 when you can have a brand new Aries 2 and JMW 9 for the same price and better sound. Contact "zhusain" for a price quote, I got mine from him at a great price and he is a super nice guy.

Funny plato but dead on.

Semi, please, for the love of audiophiles everywhere, offer some more clarity. I can only purchase from one store because i have a credit there for $4k. They said they would give me a new Aries TT with the 10" wand AND the SDS for $4k. Assuming this Aries is the Aries 2, should I still consider going with the cheaper 9" arm? (I don't need to save money for the SDS anymore) In other words, it seemed like you were saying that I shouldn't buy the Aries 1 with the 10" arm but the Aries 2 with the 9" arm. But in all cases I'm getting the Aries 2 as well as the SDS. So, with the SDS out of the way, the question remains...which arm? (I hope this is an easy one)

Semi, the latest HR-X comes with a clear acrylic platter, which is now apparently the favored platter, or at least Harry's favorite platter at the moment...

I don't believe that the Aries are coming with the latest clear platter and inverted bearing found on the HR-X. I know Harry said that they could be converted, so that the periphery clamp could be used.

Also, I wonder if the voltage in the SDS needs to be reset higher when using the periphery clamp, due to its greater mass.

SOME Clarity now...

I got off with a dealer (no jokes please it's before 11) and the photos i keep lookikng at for the VPI Aries are incorrect. The older version of the Aries came with a black platter that looked a bit like the tnt platter. This platter is no longer made for the Aries. Now, instead, an acrylic clear platter is made for the Aries (looking a bit like the platter on the scout.)

To complicate matters further: There is the black night aries which is the new Aries table but with the 9" arm and the SAME acrylic platter as the new Aries HOWEVER it is black. I wasn't able to get an answer yet if a new Aries with the 10" arm could be ordered with the BLACK acrylic platter from the black night. (Personally I like the black acrylic look better.)

The major confusion seems to be this: Many photos in catalogues show the OLD Aries with a black platter that looks a bit like the TNT platter. This platter has been discontinued. I like the looks of that platter better than the new acrylic one but the acrylic platter is supposed to be much improved hence the discontinuation of the old one.

I'm-a-bout-to-throw-UP!

anyway, i'm getting 'chatter' that the 9" arm is often prefered for rock and the longer arms for jazz. Opera and classical i don't know about but i assume it would follow the rule of jazz vs rock and therefore the longer the better but that's a guess.

MORE NEWS: If you hate the idea of the acrylic platter look you can add the TNT platter which looks more like the old Aries platter and costs an additional $800.

hope i'm right about all that and hope it helps other lost souls.

please correct me if i'm wrong somewhere up there.