What direction is VPI headed?

@bdp24,

I lived with mine for over 20 years with my ET arm and tried several things.
It has a very resonant base that is difficult to overcome. It is a tweekers tt though. I’ve used the SIMS, practice golf balls, etc... In my experience, anything rubbery/squishy became a trap that destroys ultimate dynamics, transparency and bass response. ( I believe this to be a general rule of thumb. The 1st thing I did when I bought my Classic 3 Sig SE was to replace the rubber (inside) feet with Stillpoints SS). I was never happy until I ended up using a stack of Symposium Rollerblock Jrs. w/ ceramic ball bearings, that I had to modify the base for their use.

@vpi,

I’m just reporting what a friend of mine told me after he spoke with Harry years ago regarding his VPI TNT Jr/ET arm. According to him, Harry told him the TNT Jr. was developed with the ET arm.

As you may know, The TNT Jr. had no sprung plinth like the Hw-19. Having said this, lots of people used the ET on the VPI HW-19 series w/ spring suspension as did I (initially), also a lot of SOTA users did as well. In my experience the ET needs a more stable platform to work the best. Just think about it... that long counterweight beam hanging on the end of the ET is subject to any movement times a lot more than a regular pivoted arm. Some refer to it as "the tail wagging the dog". This is why some of the later developed upgrades for the ET were the double or triple spring I-beams, to help stiffen the I-beam or to have less movement at the I-beam..

You said above, "I believe it competes with the finest today". In my experience, it’s not even close. I suppose it comes down to what one’s definition of "competes" is? Why would VPI remove the HW-19 series out of their line-up if they thought this way?

@slaw 

Rumor has it Harry said he discontinued the HW -19 because it got too expensive to manufacture and sell at at a reasonable price.  With a TNT platter and bearing and a SAMA I've heard few tables selling for less than 10k that best it.  But then music is in the ear of the listener.  Then again, I'm sure any table with a modern high density plinth and a high quality, stand alone motor would be a good platform for the ET.  The problem is fewer and fewer manufacturers are producing tables with replaceable arm boards so one cannot swap arms without ending up with a plinth that's full of holes

ET has recently started selling an extra long weight I-beam.  (It's not on the web site but if you call or email Bruce he'll sell you one).  I'm using one with double springs and have no problem with tail wagging the dog.  It is so long you cannot use a standard dust cover but then attached dust covers degrade sq anyway.  The further out on the beam the weights are placed the better the sq. This with a VDH Black Beauty SPX which is a high compliance cartridge and tracks at a low VTF.  My Second cartridge is a Lyra Delos which is relatively low compliance but it also tracks fine.  

I've toyed with replacing the springs with something firmer but have yet to try them.

@vpi,

If the rumor you heard is true, I find it hard to swallow, unless one adds on to the end of that rumor, this way...’given that there are now better ways/materials to achieve superior results for a similar cost and a higher profit margin’.

I’m glad you are enjoying your table. I too, have tried 3 different platter/bearings on mine, along with a prototype outboard motor enclosure on a separate platform w/ thread drive. These additions brought the table up substantially. When I first listened to my Classic 3 Sig SE, it was clearly superior, even with it’s S2P distance off. ( I was using a SDS). Then I put in the Rock 7!

I will say that as a tweeker at heart and my focus being on trying to extract the most out of a tt instead of trading away, the Hw-19 was an excellent learning platform.