VPI Direct Drive Turntable

In_shore, I never said that I knew for a fact that alu/MDF sandwich sounded good. I did say (twice at least) that it MIGHT sound good, because sometimes the effects of CLD transcend the sonics of the individual materials used in the sandwich. I suggested that you might be off base in condemning it out of hand. Or, have you in fact actually heard the Classic Direct? I didn't think so.

Why I did not use it: I lack the equipment and the know-how to make such a sandwich in the proper way so as to get the result one wants. I never thought of it. I took the more simple-minded approach of using slate. Then I found that slate in a sandwich with cherry or baltic birch sounds better than slate alone. Artisan and Porter are selling great beauty as well as solid hard woods. Dobbins is using proprietary materials in the Beat. At one point he referred to it as "man-made slate", or so I am told second hand. There IS such a thing, but I don't know that it has superior sonic properties. The proof of the pudding is only in the eating.

Lewm,I apologize for not reading more carefully,... Years ago some of the serious and more innovative DIY craftsmen on various sites abandoned constrained layering using MDF, aluminum and various mass loading technics for other more effective materials with some involving measured results of various materials before building .

One of a few good examples is what Albert Porter and Chris at Artisan Fidelity use which is panzerholz. Extremely dense, difficult to work with and expensive but very effective even on it's own.

Steve Dobbins as a table manufacture took this to a another level with his own mix of materials for good reasons and all of it comes together with astounding results, a friend has one and it looks I may have to have one also.

My question for VPI is where's the BEEF,,,,,,,? the "majority"of your table is built from maybe $40.00 worth of material, two inches of MDF with a 1\2 inch sheet of aluminum glued to the top of it....the motor maybe fantastic however I just don't get how you arrive at .$30,000.00.,,,,,??

In-shore, so if VPI made the top plate out 1 inch carbon fiber at a cost of $1,000, you would be alright with the MSRP? Some manufactures introduce exotic materials to differentiate themselves from their competitors, and necessarily for improved sonics.

I would hazard a guess that ½" thick machined aluminum plinth bonded to a 1/8" steel sub plate, bonded to 2" of MDF creating a plinth cost more than panzerholz. Also, don’t forget the $30K includes the VPI 3D tonearm.

Nonetheless, still a lot of coin, but I guess that is the entry cost for that last 5% of improved performance..

Hi everyone, Bifwynne, really appreciate the positive words :) Not too sure about the Skala because i personally haven't heard that one enough. The Kleos and Delos (staying in the Lyra family) have both sounded fantastic in our listening room and I can recommend both very highly.

Suteetat, our Bangkok distributor has one on order but to our surprise this 30K table is actually on back order! We have 3 more US orders to make/fill then we are going to start working on our OS orders. Hoping to have some tables heading to your area by the end of February.

In_shore, I kind of agree with Brf; "exotic" and "proprietary" are not always indicators of exceptional performance. I mean no slur on the named companies in saying this. In fact, I too am a big fan of the Beat. (Have not yet heard any product from Artisan or Porter.) Nevertheless, the point is that proper engineering trumps everything else, IMO.