What direction is VPI headed?

+1 fsonicsmith.  

I haven't investigated the VPI "dual pivot/stabilizer/outrigger", but Frank Van Alstine developed what he named the Longhorn in the 1980's. It was a thin rod with a weight on each end, which was attached to the cartridge. Frank described it as acting like the pole with which high-wire acrobats balance themselves. He recommended it especially for use with Grado cartridges, for some reason, but to me seemed very apropos for use with unipivot arms, for the obvious reason. It was, as with all things Van Alstine, ridiculously cheap. Perhaps that's why it never caught on with high end snobs ;-).

Frank Van Alstine developed what he named the Longhorn in the 1980's.

Looks like he still does them.

http://avahifi.com/products/for-vinyl-lovers/longhorn-phono-cartridges

"   You just need an attention span longer than 5 minutes and someone that can understand what they're looking at. Not loosing the equipment I sent to you for evaluation would have gone a long way as well. "

Bill at Phoenix Engineering is a very nasty person @turntablemat do not let him trouble you he is known for being pompous and argumentative he is a very insulting person! This is why I did not choose to purchase from him and in fact he is now out of business so that should tell you something about him. Mat you we're smart to not do business with this person VPI is in it for the long haul and Bill was not!

Clearthink, you are entitled to your opinion. If you wish to believe that voluntarily ceasing operations means that an entrepreneur is non-trustworthy or somehow a lesser person-as you clearly state-that's your choice. I don't think most us see things that way. None of us know precisely what transpired between Mr. Carlin and the Weisfelds other than the three of them. Many of us read the acrimonious exchanges between HW and Mr. Carlin over the relative merits of their respective speed controllers when Phoenix was still actively in production.. Something you can not possibly dispute; there are more professional reviews of the Phoenix products than of the new VPI ADS. Something else you can't dispute; EVERY professional review of the Phoenix products, specifically the Eagle/Falcon and Roadrunner were overwhelmingly positive-which includes Michael Fremer's. So let's assume for the sake of argument both are roughly equal in effectiveness but one design is less expensive to manufacture, less expensive to the consumer while still  sold at a decent profit, provides more data to the user, is less space-consuming, and seems to attract more consumer satisfaction than the other design. Why wouldn't the producer of the less well-accepted product not entertain a good faith option to license and take over production of the "better" design? It must be that the Weisfelds are more reliable and that is was due to Mr. Carlin "being impossible to work with", right? How could it possibly have been driven by satisfaction of seeing a competitor disappear and regaining a monopoly on an existing product?  Ego, pride, and personal history could not possibly have been drivers, right?  VPI's reaction to the opportunity presented and decision not to accept that opportunity was entirely based upon consideration of what was best for VPI's customers, right? OK, I just wanted to check on those things. Thank you.