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Thinking About Upgrading the VPI Tonearm Base

This post is directed to VPI Classic TT owners. I own a Classic 1 TT, with a Classic 3 wand upgrade. Been thinking about upgrading the tonearm base to the Classic 3 base. I am not interested in dropping the $$$$ to buy a Classic 3 TT. The Q is would you expect that upgrading the tonearm base will yield any improvement in sound??

BTW, when I asked Mike at VPI if this could be done, he said ... yes.

Mike also suggested that I might improve the sound isolation of my TT by mounting the TT on a 2 or 3 inch thick piece of butcher block, which would be supported by four tennis balls placed in ashtrays to provide stability -- i.e., to keep the TT and butcher block from rolling off the table. I'll report back later about the results.
bifwynne
stringreen's avatar
stringreen
6,478 posts
 
Bif....if you look back, I told you there would be little if any improvement with the tonearm base. If you do want an improvement, get rid of the VPI mini feet, and screw on Bearpaws. Big difference for the better.
bifwynne OP
2,206 posts
 
String..., I re-read the thread and yes, ... you did say that. And I have to admit your advice is usually spot on. I'll keep the bear paws on the radar screen.

As I said, I ordered a maple butcher block slab and rubberized cork feet. Let's see what that does. Btw, how much do bear paws cost?? Do you think there will still be much benefit if I use the butch block slab AND the bear paws?

Btw, btw, I'm playing an oldie but goodie, The Night Hawks. Wow!! I can feel the bass guitar SPL slam kicking my chest and listening seat. The Classic/Delos combo is great -- with a little help from the rest of my rig. It's a shame CDs suck so much compared to a great vinyl set-up.
captain_winters
133 posts
 
Bifwynne,
Now that you have the VTA tower, dial in your SRA, I did mine with a digital microscope at 91 degrees, then re-align with the MINTLP at that VTA/SRA. I think you will notice an improvement. BTW, what I just did is adjust my azimuth at my optimal SRA for lowest crosstalk in both channels. I used to try to achieve equal crosstalk, even if it was higher db. I recently went to the lowest crosstalk in both channels, even though they were 2 db difference and I believe it sounded better.
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