VPI Direct Drive Turntable

Lewm: "The semantics are everything in this case, I think, because those who had poisoned the public mind about DD had repeated over and over for 20 years that there must be a "noise" problem, because the motor is "directly connected" to the platter. Not so."

Those poisonous people include, regrettably, some rather intelligent individuals such as Art Dudley, Simon Yorke, various Linn worshipers, et al. As Lew said that the idea of attaching a platter to the motor directly is evil is repeated ad nauseam by notable people is rather shameful.

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Back to VPI, I really think they made a marketing misstep on their direct drive model by associating it with the Classic series because since the price discrepancy is so huge that people think it's just a retrofit Classic with DD motor, hence a ripoff. What they should have done is to rename it independently so people right away know it's a flagship product like, for example, the HRX. Back in the days when the HW-19 was ubiquitous (competing with SOTA Sapphire or Linn LP12), they came out with the TNT and nobody seemed to complain at the time. Now, they are left with the chore of explaining the cost of the DD system ad nauseam to those potential Classic upgraders and the cynics. Imagine Toyota comes out with a car costing more than a Lexus model. Oy!

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It is tough for VPI. I think that if they come out with a brand new DD table that is not based on the Classic, the added cost of design, retooling etc will add up. If you go by cost of parts x 5, the new DD probably would cost much much more than $30,000. Basing it on Classic platform would keep the cost down significantly (not that $30,000 is cheap), I would think. Personally, I think I would prefer DD in Classic platform and stick it on Minus-K for addition $3000 rather than having HW comes up with an entirely new platform which may or may not be as effective as Minus-K and will cost a lot more.

Suteetat, I agree with your assessment on the production side of the turntable. But I was referring to the marketing side of it by suggesting NOT naming it Classic. Instead, just call it "Direct" would have been simpler and more, well, direct. Calling it "VPI Classic Direct" inevitably would lead people to draw comparison to Classic series of tables, which none surpass $10k and then out of nowhere you introduce a $30K table! I just don't think it's wise marketing.

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@ Suteetat

VPI uses NO tooling. Every thing is manufactured outside of VPI. All the VPI factory does is assembly of sourced parts!

They should not have made the DD turntable look like the Classic series. That was a BIG mistake!

They should sell direct to the customer - no middle man taking 30% of the sale price!

No speed adjustment? WTF!

The DD is NO better than the TNT!

It's all about profit not performance.

The DD will bomb.

Don,

Could you define what you mean by "bomb"? They may expect to sell very few units. How many would constitute success in your mind?