How to choose an upgraded tonearm.

Once you post a link screwy things start happening and you can't post further or make correction.(your bearing).

@skyscraper , to continue I think reflex clamps like the ones JA Mitchel and Sota make are your best bet after vacuum clamping. They are less of a hassle to use and are near as dangerous. Do they improve what you hear? If you record is not flat then absolutely. The brief alterations in pitch that occur are probably worse than the worst wow any modern turntable would reproduce.

"If the record is not flat."  I am sitting here at my desk with my turntable directly to the right with my eye right at stylus level. A 180 gm copy of Take Five is playing as I type. It is sucked down tight to a very flat mat and platter. The cartridge is just slightly gyrating all over the place. Back and forth horizontally due to eccentricity of the spindle hole and up and down due to irregularities in the surface of the record. This record is actually pretty good. All these issues in tonearm design matter. There is no real excuse to ignore any of them. I suppose sometimes you have to compromise. 

skyscraper,

 Below, is another UK company with a reasonably priced arm.

If an armboard is available it may be possible to get it to work with minimal hacking of the plinth? Captive IC's, so one less thing to be concerned with. Possible fit with the existing hole?

The Classic plinth may not be sophisticated, but new arm and addressing speed control will put it a notch higher up in performance. You have the record coupling(peripheral ring) thing covered-close enough to vacuum. 

You're fortunate to get the seasoned/qualified voices in here(I am NOT one of them) Just a VPI Classic fan who won't give up on his.

http://www.audiomods.co.uk/

Mijostyn, If, instead of insults to my intelligence, you would point out to me what minutes in the video explain the physics behind having the pivot in the plane of the LP, I would watch that part of the video. I don’t need the part about the wonderfulness of the AR XA turntable, and I would rather not spend the better part of 51 minutes waiting for the lecture on pivot location.

I watched.  At ~20:00, one can find the discussion about pivot height relative to the LP surface. 

VPI pivot upgrade + Lyra w current phono preamp is as far as you need to go….

Mijostyn, I’m sorry I threw in that distracting reference to the VPI peripheral ring, What i would really like is to draw your attention to is the question of whether you think the Rega tonearm you recommended might be able fit on the existing VPI tonearm platform on my Classic 2. And if so would some modification to the platform be needed. If you wouldn’t mind revisiting that part of my previous post it would be appreciated. Thanks for your assistance,

Tablejockey, I’m wondering if that arm you suggest will fit on the VPI Classic 2’s tonearm platform. That’s my main issue right now. It seems VPI’s tonearm and platform are proprietary and you can’t stray much from their brand. Hopefully there are other aftermarket gimballed tonearms that might work on VPI tonearm base without major surgery.

If any of you know of any that meet those parameters that would be wonderful. Thanks.

Lewm, if you’re on my thread you will have to do what you’re told.

Mike