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Well, a post actually. It would become a "thread" if someone would respond. If Retipper (Peter Lederman) or HW (we all know who he is) would respond, this would become "a damn good thread".
I am the original owner of the first edition of the VPI Classic, the one with the squared off corners of the walnut base. I bought it from Galen Carol and when I asked him which cartridge and phono stage he recommended, he suggested the Benz Glider and Simaudio LP5.3 which he also sold me.
I always liked the sound, but never was in love with it. I played with different phono stages, interconnects, a Fozgometer, a Mint LP, a USB microscope, different feet for the table, etc. Small changes, but nothing huge. I installed a different brand new Glider and then a SS re-tipped Glider ($250 tip). The re-tipped Glider caused a substantial improvement.
By now you might well ask-"what improvement are you talking about and what didn't you like?" The sound was too Hi-Fi, there was little or no body and breath to the sound, it was a tad too sterile. There was zero soundstage. I have a rebuilt Thorens TD124 with a VPI 9T and a Benz Glider and it has always show much more life and body, though also little in the way of sound staging.
This last weekend, I installed a SS Zephyr upon the recommendation of an unknown salesperson at MusicDirect. I anguished over the Mark I and Mark II and chose the Mark I. I am not going to tell you that the Zephyr has shocked me with the improvement. I expected "different" and that is what I got. I do prefer it. The sound is a bit more course, notes do not come across as finely delineated as with the Benz, but the life and jump factor are there, the sound staging I expect is excellent. Female vocals sound a bit "throatier" and I unless that changes, I will give the Benz the nod there, but for most music, I am inclined to keep the Zephyr. My conclusion is that nobody knows his product better than the now-retired HW and nobody knows cartridges better than Mr. Lederman and there is a reason for HW's prior recco of Grado's, despite their shortcomings, and now the collaboration with SS. It may largely be the unipivot but I suspect it also has to do with the overall mass and characteristics of the JMW arm. I think it needs a higher mass cartridge than the Benz Glider as well. Thoughts? Does anyone claim to have first-hand experience with comparing MM or MI with MC and still preferring MC with this particular table?
Edits: 08/19/14
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Topic - Another VPI Classic and SS Zephyr thread - FSonicSmith 05:16:18 08/19/14 (10)
- RE: Another VPI Classic and SS Zephyr thread - dirtyvinyl 20:14:55 08/19/14 (6)
- Couldn't disagree more - Curious 08:16:40 08/20/14 (4)
- How does the Ortofon Cadenza Bronze .... - Greg Gale 12:36:17 08/23/14 (0)
- RE: Couldn't disagree more - FSonicSmith 11:26:30 08/20/14 (2)
- Thanks man - Curious 11:46:31 08/20/14 (1)
- RE: Thanks man - FSonicSmith 11:52:15 08/20/14 (0)
- RE: Another VPI Classic and SS Zephyr thread - FSonicSmith 06:07:03 08/20/14 (0)
- FWIW, I always found Dynavectors to be a great match for the JMW arm. - Opus 33 1/3 07:05:03 08/19/14 (2)
- RE: FWIW, I always found Dynavectors to be a great match for the JMW arm. - FSonicSmith 07:11:15 08/19/14 (1)
- Went a different direction. Well, not quite. Went back to Rega, my 4th. - Opus 33 1/3 10:15:25 08/19/14 (0)