New Air Suspension Footers for VPI TNT

James or Cincy_bob,

Can you tell us if the Reactor balls are the blue ones or the green ones?

Also, did the directions that accompanied them indicate if they should be replaced after a period of time? If they are the blue ones and came in a pressurized cannister (I think), then they may lose their pressure over time in the normal atmosphere.

Thanks for any info you can provide.

Melm,

The Reactor paddleballs that came with my new suspension footers are blue. I do expect that the balls will gradually lose their pressurization and I expect they will need to be replaced periodically. However, VPI did not provide any product literature on this topic, and I have not inquired of VPI whether they have any experience that would suggest an average estimated lifespan for the balls in this particular use.

When I spoke to Mike at VPI a little while ago, he said the balls would need to be replaced once a year. I would guess this would have been a pretty wide guestimate as they have not even been out for a year yet.
He seemed to think given thye low cost of the balls, it was easier to replace all the balls every 12 mnths.

Not sure if this advise has changed recently

Does anyone know how much the upgrade is for the HRX??

I received my kit about a week ago. No instructions supplied so I put it together. I was worried about very little clearance bewteen the cradle and the corner cups. Frankly the upgrade did not sound better, it was leaner in the bass and seemed to emhasis the treble slightly.

I was talking an audiophile buddy of mine yesterday and he mentioned he had also upgraded to the ball suspension but VPI did not send out the black foam inserts that go up inside the corner cups so it stops the suspension ball from going up where the valve stem went previously, so he was waiting for some to be sent out. he told me to look at elusive disc web site to explain what the black foam inserts were, see link.
http://www.elusivedisc.com/prodinfo.asp?number=HW-A1111

Guess what, I did not receive the foam inserts either, I guess if some instructions like the one on elusive disc web site had been sent I would have realised that I had not received the full kit.
Well I dismantled the ball suspension and re installed the air bladders. The paddle balls had big circle cuts into them where it had been pressing against the small opening at the top of the inside of the cup. Well it sound a whole lot better now back with the air bladders.

I guess something as simple as black foam inserts can stuff up the sound of your TT and that also explains the lack of leeway between the footer and cup.

Anyway, this is a word of warning for anyone upgrading their air bladders to the ball suspension to make sure they receive everything before installing.

hopefully when I receive the replacement stk I will be able to advise if it was a positive change.

Got my suspension "upgrade" a month ago or so. Had to insert a stiff felt pad above the foam inserts as otherwise there was not enough clearance. This may be because my platter is the original TNT platter, which was heavier. Mike was good about sending out more of the foam inserts, but turns out I didn't need them after putting in the felt.

Is this really an upgrade? Hard to say. More of an upgrade IMO was removing the tripulley assembly, which I finally got around to doing after Mike sent the plugs for the holes in the table. This produces a quieter, more stable sound. But the suspension upgrade is worth it just to avoid having to fiddle with pumping up your bladders every month!

Randy