VPI - HR-X or a SME 20/2A

Macallan,

You may want to check in with Brooks Berdan in Monrovia, Ca. He is a well-known analog guy (he famously developed mods to the early Oracle which the company included in its later versions of the table) and is a dealer for both tables. I don't want to put words in his mouth, but when I asked about SME vs. VPI, he seemed to like the HR-X better than the SME 10 but not quite as much as the SME 20. Happy hunting.

Marty

Semi, I have to laugh at your comment about SME vs VPI arms. First SME arms don't have any azimuth adjustment and their overhang requires moving the entire arm assembly on a rack system, just another path for resonance and smear to set up in the system. I had a IV and it sounds nowhere as good as my JMW 10.5.

hi cohnaudio,have u heard the VPI HR-X with the solid platter rather than acrylic platter? it seems that u may buy it for an additional US1200. The guy fr High-endaudio.com seems to highly recommend it. Any comment. Happy listening

SME arms don't have any azimuth adjustment

A small note of correction... SME makes an SME V that does have azimuth adjustment. The Vd has a detachable headshell that adjusts for azimuth. According to SME engineers and born out by Wally Malewicz, the fitment of the detachable headshell is capable of coupling that is indistinquishable from the fixed headshell design.

Audioblazer,

I have not heard the table with the solid platter. What is it made of? Can it take the outer ring? I seem to recall a discussion with Harry Weisfeld where he told me the pre-production models of the table had a larger platter, but that he thought this approach sounded better. I know the guy at high-end website likes the table with just an aluminum body, but although I have not heard the solid aluminum base, I do not agree with his description of the current HRX - i.e., bleached sound. Harry also thought the current model sounded much better.