How to choose an upgraded tonearm.

I definitely wouldn’t bolt another brand arm to the VPI Classic table. It will affect resale value, too. You’ll be fine with either the dual pivot mod alone, or a new Gimbal 3D arm. A middle option might be a regular 3D+Reference arm plus dual pivot? I’m not entirely familiar with the VPI universe, but I know that I like the 3D+Reference w/ dual pivot in a friend’s rig (on a really nice HR-X there).

When you get to considering the Gimbal Fatboy 3D investment, you also need to consider whether to stick with the VPI or move to something else - that’s your chance to move to another brand arm. You have a lot of decent moves you can take, and you can take even make some of the incrementally. That’s probably why you’re suffering analysis paralysis! Try to step back a minute and have fun again :)

I found out the hard way that the choice of table sometimes dictates the choice of arm. In my case, the Linn LP12 restricts one to a very limited choice of arm. ( This is by far the most annoying thing about Linn ownership). Unfortunately, the same thing goes for the OP’s table...very limiting when it comes to arm choice.

If I owned a VPI Classic model, I would look to the best VPI tonearm available, ( the FatBoy?) and call it a day..unless willing to chuck the VPI and go with another table altogether.

BTW, I am actually a strong believer in the Linn hierarchy...which states that the best SQ comes from the following order of importance..1) Table ( and its subset of components)  2) Arm and lastly 3) Cartridge. 

Tablejockey- what are you referring to with "Lyra’s pre 3d/gimbal"? I tried googling that but came up empty. There’s no 3D gimbal on the VPI or Lyra site I could find. I would like to look it up since you mention it. That’s a good idea to call VPI .about other aftermarket tonearms that may work on their tables. I tried them a couple days ago but no one was around to talk to.

Mulveling, I do need to learn about tonearms first, as I really know little to nothing about them. It might be hard to believe, and my wife never could, how much I enjoy engaging in the analysis part of any search or project, When I haven’t the disposable cash to make a new purchase it’s the perfect time for that too.

I looked up the Gimbal Fatboy you mentioned That;s anoher one in the $4000 plus range. There must be some good gimbal arm for half that which might fit the VPI Classic 2, maybe not.

I will be sticking with the VPI Classic 2 as I’ve other things I’d like to be doing other than fiddling around with continued and expensive audio upgrades,. Heck, I kept my B&O Beogram 4002 turntable for forty years and was perfectly happy with it until kept breaking down So I figure to keep the VPI table until I’m at least age 107 then do another turntable upgrade. By the same token If I do drill some holes in the Classic 2’s base, it’ll be my heirs who take a loss on that, so no worries there.

Mike

Daveyf, I am still curious about what sonic differences an arm can make. Any input on that, you or anyone out there?.

I sure hope I’m not strictly limited to expensive VPI tonearms, but maybe that is the case like with your Linn. I really hate the thought of putting an additional $4-5,000 into a tonearm. But maybe that’s the only realistic option to get the best out of the Lyra Kleos. Maybe the dual pivot will help wring enough out of the Kleos with my current tonearm to make this a minor issue. We’ll see. 

I would wait and fit the Kleos to the current arm but do use antiskate, VPI are wrong about that. Lyra specify a VTF that aligns the coil optimally in the field of their magnet system but if the coil is displaced laterally by the wrong or no antiskate that’s a bit of a waste of time. The other problem is a VTF that varies as the arm swings in the vertical plane because when adjusted the centre of gravity is at a point below and in front of the pivot point.. If you measure VTF at anything but the height of the playing surface your measurement will be wrong. You will also find that VTF needs readjusting after changing VTA. So VTF as well as VTA will differ with record thickness, unless you have the micrometer tower and readjust for each record. I used to run  a Naim Aro with a Transfiguration cartridge, another with ring magnets and set VTA and VTF by ear but used measurement to keeps track of changes, even though to get around 2.1g at the record my scales were reading 2.44g. There is a hand and sensitive spirit level that comes with an Aro and can be placed on the flat topped cup above the pivot to keep an eye on VTA and azimuth, the VPI has the armleads in the way. Some would resort to a USB microscope to set SRA directly, I’ve never tried. Your ears should be the final arbiter.

Where the unipivots tend to win out is eliminating the grain from the sound, if they don’t blow it by having low pressure metal to metal contact elsewhere in their design, like the Aro has with its standard counterweight but even there the effect is less than most gimbal arms. @mijostyn uses a Schröder CB which magnetically stabilises its bearing races and has a well damped armtube too. The 4point tries for a gimbal like bearing with high pressure point contacts and the Triplanar uses very high spec bearings to try to have the best of both worlds. The Well Tempered LTD is another attempt to address this and there are a couple of other string based designs, one of which I now use, and like mijostyn’s CB also from Schröder, in the form of his Reference arm.This uses a very strong magnet to keep a piece of string under high tension but the magnets are shaped to maintain a neutral balance effect. 

Incidently @mijostyn I had a similar problem with my Schröder counterweight being too heavy for the Dynavector 17D3 I wanted to fit but found that the brass cartridge mounting plate option, which adds around 5g over the aluminium one, got round that. The effective mass of around 18g wasn’t a problem despite the compliance of the DV.