VPI TNT Turntables

"I do find you have to be careful with vpi, a lot of their changes were made to lower manufacturing costs and marketed as "better"

Though you may consider this a distinction without a difference, a number of changes may have been made to keep prices form rising,  HW has maintained that it has become far more difficult (translation: expensive) to obtain the quality acrylic that was used to machine what were probably some of VPI's very best platters.  Thus the return to aluminum.  Yes, the original VPI platters were aluminum and lead and the movement from those platters to acrylic and lead so was widely praised that the aluminum was dropped for many, many years.  Then, as now, many who used the aluminum platters sought all sorts of mats for them.

Lead was discontinued as well, though it had very favorable audible advantages: heavy weight and great damping properties.  The shift here was attributed to health effects during manufacture.

And yes, marketing masters that they are, every change was promoted as improving the sound and they had the published reviews to second their promotions.  And along the way they were making improvements in other ways, such as with their bearings, flywheels and speed controllers.

@jollytinker

They made 100 per year of the TNT turntables, and less profit then now.

VPI sells much more, and makes more money now.

Good for them. Harry knows a lot about hype and marketing!

However the TNT series is as good as (or better) than anything they make now IMO.

High sales "does not" equate with high quality.  New is not always better.

@jollytinker

I know a lot about design, having worked in design, in the medical device industry for years.

I would never work in the high end audio industry, because most all customers are irrational!

I admit that VPI marketing isn't always effective. I think they hyped the 3D tonearm for the wrong reasons - the coolness of a new manufacturing technology - rather than its sonic improvements. That contributed to the feeling that the new tonearm was a gimmick, when in fact - or in my opinion - it actually sounds better than the metal ones.  

But that said, I don't think VPI is declining or veering into cheapness. On the contrary, they seem to be weathering their recent transitions quite well.  Musical enjoyment is highly subjective, and therefore "irrational" if you want to put it that way.  That's the beauty and the intrigue of the hobby, not the 'problem'.  

My $.02, anyway.  :) 

Regarding the number of belts used, I have a classic 3 with Eagle/rr and ring clamp, I use 3 belts on a hrx pulley.  When I went from 1 to 3 belts the variability in speed decreased +-2 hundreths.  Now I never see above 33.335 or below 33.331.  I do run faster at 45 sometimes up to 45.005.