2. analog
  3. 123981-46

VPI 3D tonearm adjustment

I have a couple of questions on set up of my new Prime and the 3D tonearm:

1. I've had the TT for about three weeks. I had a scout and moved my Dyna 20x2L to the Prime.
my first impressions was this is a wonderful upgrade. But after a couple weeks I noticed there was more glare on the highs.  I initially set the tonearm parallel to the record - dead level. I then ran across articles about how on some earlier 3D arms the shell warped. I think I have a new style arm, but last night I decided that rather than set the arm parallel I would check and make sure the shell was paralelle - it was not. It tilted downward 1.5 degrees. To get back to paralelle had to turn down the vta adjustment to where the body off the adjustment tower is almost all the way down. But with it adjusted as such the sound is now fantastic. My first question is the shell supposed to be parallel?

2. My second question is now that the tower is almost all the way down I can't use the alighnment jig, the tonearm hits it.  I've heard that the small cup on the underside of the tonearm where the needle sits,can be raised and lowered - is this true for the 3D arm?  There isn't a screw on the top of the arm to adjust with?
last_lemming
don_c55
1,025 posts
 
The 3D arm is NOT an improvement over the older metal VPI arms, when properly setup!   IMO!

VPI has made no sonic turntable improvements since the TNT series.

VPI arms are hard for the "average" owner to setup, and maximize performance. 

They take too much listening, fine adjustment, and care, to setup properly for most!

That is the reason for the variable results.
bdp24's avatar
bdp24
9,874 posts
 
Unipivots suck.
folkfreak's avatar
folkfreak
1,349 posts
 
Unipivots suck.
But that's why we love them! Constantly worrying if they are "in tune", always something to fiddle with. But when they're working boy are they good! 

And more seriously I concur with don_c55 that they do take some user engagement to get the most out of them but that's part of the charm of analog is it not
bdp24's avatar
bdp24
9,874 posts
 
Aw, I was kiddin’ ;-). But I had a couple of them years ago, and I’m not convinced that with a very low-compliance stylus, the arm can’t actually be moved a little by the stylus itself, spun on it’s axis out of correct azimuth. But nobody was more critical of LP playback gear than good ol’ Brooks Berdan, and he highly approved of the Grahams and VPI's, selling a lot of them. What do I know?!
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cleeds
5,986 posts
 
I've always had a prejudice against unipivot arms. I think they're actually a bit creepy, to be honest. I've always chosen arms with rigid bearings. Of course, that rules out linear trackers and air bearing arms, too.
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