VPI Classic hum

Vibration, which is picked by the stylus and transmitted through the phono section. If you remove the motor from its mount the hum (resonance) goes away. My motor vibrated a lot compared to the other motors that we checked. We had gotten it to the point that you couldn't hear the resonance through the phone stage, however when we connected my tape deck and monitored the source it was very audible. It was also very audible on the tapes that I made. I'm thinking that a stethoscope would be very useful in trouble shooting this. A shield cartridge may mask the resonance problem. If nothing else it cost very little to check the motor vibration out before springing for a cartridge.

Get out -- motor vibration. Wow. Now that's a first for VPI. The underlying premise of the Classic is that the machine is built like a tank and weighs like one too. The permitted inference is that the motor on your Classic must have been defective. If so, that would be disappointing because I would expect better QC from VPI.

If my inference is off base please advise because I would very muck like to be wrong.

Can anyone here explain why the Classic motor, when you turn it by hand you can feel cogging, just like a stepped attenuator. I have never noticed this before on any other tt motor.

The heck with this, I give up. I'm doing what you guys did. The hum still comes through on my tapes. So it's either a Soundsmith or a DV20XH.

Last suggestion: if you want to go the Sound Smith or DV 20X route, maybe the dealer will lend the carty to you, or at least install it for you in his shop. Then check the TT for hum. Btw, is using a tape deck to check for hum really a valid way to assess the problem? For all you know, the tape deck may have a hum problem.

Look . . . fortunately, the Classic TT is not an old fashioned Swiss watch with gears, cogs and a main-spring. There simply aren't that many parts that can be defective. It's either the motor or the carty -- period. If you still have a hum in your system, it has to be somewhere or something else -- 60 Hz inductance from a power line, I/Cs, or other electronic gear.

As I said, try the Zephyr at your dealer's shop. If there's a little hum, ask yourself if it's OCD? Otherwise, plug the Classic in, turn up the juice and enjoy. Here's another suggestion. Pick up Linda Rondstat's "Living in the USA" record. The first track is the Check Berry standard, "Back in the USA." Turn the volume up -- a lot --listen to the track and look at the album cover pic of Linda wearing her roller skating shorty-shorts. She was in her prime back in the 70s -- one big time adorable cutie-pie. Aaahh, youth is wasted on the young. Sigh.