VPI Aries - either or question, please comment

Hi Gladstone,

As to the sound of the HR-X, that's a more complicated question than it appears on the surface. It was dynamic and extended, and the midrange character appeared to be correct (neutral). The soundstage was expansive, especially with the Manley Steelhead. One record we played had a great drum solo and the HR-X delivered the goods with great impact, weight, and articulation.

Since the system (as a whole) was unfamiliar to me, I really can't get into the fine nuances of performance. But my off-the-cuff impression is that it's a reference quality TT that should be compared with the other top-quality designs in and around it's price range.

I would've liked to have compared it to my Michell Orbe SE with Wilson Benesch arm in my own system. I didn't hear anything from the HR-X that would indicate it was doing anything better than my rig. But with so many different variables in equipment and room acoustics it was not really possible to make that determination. Cheers!

I personally went with your option 2. I spoke to VPI extensively before making the decision. The new Aries 2 is better than Aries 1 with SDS, but you can still benefit from SDS which should yield better pace and bass. JMW 9 is more rigidly coupled to the base than JMW10/12 because there is no on-the-fly VTA. That rigidity translates to more details and ambience. Also, the bearing and low counter weight (standard on newest JMW9) make JMW9 the best sounding arm in the JMW family. This is not my word, this is from VPI. If you tweak the arm further by some resonance control device and replacing the internal wires, you will have a world class arm at a very low price.

BTW, Aries + JMW9 is called Aries Black Knight.

thanks for all the answers so far.

SEMI, please help me understand; you mention an 'Aries 1' and an 'Aries 2.' i didn't know there was a distinction. let's assume i'd be purchasing the latest version. does VPI really think that the 9" is a better arm than their more expensive 10" arm?

I just found a dealer that has a low enough price on the aries that my options are no longer the 10" arm and NO SDS or the cheaper 9" arm with the SDS but now in both cases I can afford the SDS. so what seemed to be a no brainer before (ie that the 10" arm was clearly superior to the 9" arm) has me confused as usual.

so, with the SDS in either case, would you still prefer the 9" to the 10"?

thanks for your help.

Kubla, by all means, let me add to your confusion. The "old Aires went through, I believe, at least two different platter and bearing changes and the JMW 10, now the 10.5, also went through a few changes as well. So I guess the question should be: "Which Aries are you getting such a good deal on?"

As I said before and as Semi said, the present 9" arm is thought to outperform the 10 and 10.5 arms, at least until the 10.6 is available. I think if I had the choice, I'd take the cheap Aries deal you found and put the JMW 9" arm on it.

Then, down the road, you can always retrofit the new acrylic platter, bearing, and periphery clamp, as can all other Aries owners, (though this will not be inexpensive).

I believe the 10.6 arm will have all the upgrades/refinements of the present 12.6 arm: internal ceramic coating, tungsten-carbide, no-lube bearing, VTA fine adjustment and lockdown, and VTF fine adjustment.

So, as you can see, you are clearly behind the game before you even begin. :)

The new Aries actually have "Aries 2" logo on the table. The changes include all acrylic platter, inverted bearing, and lower power motor. They were made because the lesson learned from Scout. Notice the HR-X also has all acrylic platter and inverted bearing, the motor is smaller and runs at lower current. VPI realized by reducing the platter weight with full acrylic, they reduced resonance and at the same time they could lower the motor power which translated to lower vibration. You don't get that much more with Aries Black Knight when compares to Scout, but I don't like that clear platter on Scout and Aries Black Knight comes with dark grey platter like HR-X. Notice how Clearaudio has similar setup - all acrylic platter with inverted bearing.

So don't buy an used Aries with JMW10 when you can have a brand new Aries 2 and JMW 9 for the same price and better sound. Contact "zhusain" for a price quote, I got mine from him at a great price and he is a super nice guy.