VPI Aries 3 Questions - Looking to make a switch

Thank you for the responses. I do love the sound of my current Aries 3 through my system; ARC PH-8, ARC REF-6, ARC REF75se, AQ Niagara 5000, AQ William Tell Zero and Bass. AQ Waters. Aurender A10, Vandersteen Quattro CT. This system has nice synergy.

The Tonearm that I presently have is the JMW 10.5i with Nordost wires. Would a gimbaled arm or fat boy be an upgrade?

Any recommendations on cart and tonearm upgrades? Perhaps I will check this out because a move to a Classic 3 or AMG Giro would not be a step forward?

Any opinion on how much benefit I am getting from the single flywheel motor? Would there be a noticeable loss if I went back to a standard motor?

By single flywheel motor I assume you mean the motor and flywheel together in a single case. I would not give up mine as I have always found that anything making the speed of the the TT more constant can generally be heard as an improvement. Are you concerned about its size?

In any event you can experiment by detaching the flywheel and arranging the motor temporarily so that the TT is run from the motor alone. Play some solo piano music before and after the change.

I can’t really advise on available arms. It was a long while ago that I switched a 12" metal arm tub for a 12" 3d arm tube and was happy with the result and was able to sell the old one. Then I went to the 2nd pivot (with a ruby point) and was even happier. An advantage was cost as I mounted the arm on the same base. Had to get a new spike though, one without the damping well. You might get that thrown in with the deal. I did.

I probably shouldn’t comment without having owned a VPI, but there’s no way I would go from any Aries to any kind of Classic. My old dealer Pete of Audio Atlanta (who I trust in all things analog) got frustrated with the direction VPI took when going from the Scoutmaster / Aries lines to the Classics. And since another commenter mentioned SOTA - I bet he’d be blown away by the stuff SOTA is doing right now; major tech and material upgrades with the latest series. And with a much better "classic table" aesthetic than any VPI Classic, IMO. So they’re definitely worth a look.

That said, I love the look of the old Aries / HR-X series. I’ve heard my friend’s HR-X and it’s a sweet table. The Aries 3 looks just like an HR-X Junior. I considered one strongly, before I bought a Clearaudio Innovation. You might consider keeping it while upgrading to the 3D arm, which is very nice - it even did a great job running my Koetsu Rosewood Platinum (I didn’t expect a VPI unipivot to do well there, but it did). I haven’t heard the Fatboy or gimbal version, which may be even better - but the Reference (?) 3D arm is already very good. Surely space can’t be so much at a premium; what’s the actual footprint difference between your Aries 3 and a Classic?

I think the Aries / HR-X will be considered the "real" classics of the VPI line.

OP,

Nice system. I have similar equipment and owned an Aries for twenty years. Fantastic sounding turntable. Personally from your post I would keep it.

I moved from the unsprung Aries to a sprung Linn LP12. I believe (not adamantly) that there is a fundamental difference in sound between sprung and unsprung tables. The unsprung have greater solidity and sound a bit quieter and the sprung sound a bit livelier and detailed. As my dealer said the VPI sounds like a muscle car and the sprung more like a Porsche. They are different sounding. To me the Aries was (is) a screaming deal in sound for the money. I have owned Rega’s, and the AR… and a couple others. To me you have to spend a lot more on a sprung table to get the same sound quality. I love my Linn LP12, but with my cartridge it cost nearly $25K.

 To me you have to spend a lot more on a sprung table to get the same sound quality

A bit more, maybe, but not much more. My Sota Nova VI w/vacuum costs $5700 without arm. Arms comparable to most JMWs can be had for <$1500, IMHO. They can provide armboards for almost anything you need.

Vs. my TNT6-HR (basically an HRX with 1 layer plinth instead of aluminum sandwich), the Sprung Sota is quieter, more dynamic. But take it with a grain of salt, because arm & cart differences come into play too. Tough to find comparisons limited to one variable! Cheers,

Spencer