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Vinyl Asylum: REVIEW: VPI Industries Prime Turntables by davehg

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REVIEW: VPI Industries Prime Turntables

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Model: Prime
Category: Turntables
Suggested Retail Price: $3,800.00
Description: All the right pieces
Manufacturer URL: VPI Industries

Review by davehg on October 07, 2016 at 16:37:46
IP Address: 12.105.154.110
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for the Prime



I switched to the VPI Prime after a few months with a Pro-Ject Carbon Debut table - a great entry level table that provides a glimpse of great vinyl but left me wanting much more. The step from the Pro-Ject to the VPI is a massive step. The Pro-Ject retails for about $700 with needed upgrades; the VPI Prime retails for $3800 plus cartridge - I went for the $750 Ortofon 2M Black. Look for deals, however, as I was able to get the two for $3700 total - still over 5x the cost of the Pro-Ject.

Once you've recovered from the shock of that massive price tag, you might hesitate to call the VPI Prime a "bargain" until you realize it is competing with turntables that are typically in the $8000-14,0000 price range. The closest step below the Prime in the VPI product line is the VPI Scout - about half the cost (safely about $2k with Ortofon 2M Blue). My dealer told me the leap to the Scout was noticeable, but the leap to the Prime was a step into the big leagues.

So what do you get for your nearly $4k that you won't find in the Pro-Ject?

First is bass response and bass detail. I'd say it's like adding a bass boost, but that doesn't capture it - it doesn't create a missing low end, it reveals the low end that was always there. I've always complained that my LCD-3's lacked bass slam and attack, but hearing the VPI Prime, I realize now that's not the case - the problem was my source. You want to hear real energy driving bass that you can feel? With a slam and an impact? That's what a high end table like the Prime provides - the real energy of the bass.

Second is dynamics and detail - the kind of micro detail that made you choose headphones over speakers in the first place. Take a cut like Crosby Stills Nash and Young's "Find the Cost of Freedom" or the Violent Femmes' "Add it Up".. With CSNY, there are four very distinct voices there, and while the Pro-Ject differentiates them, the VPI lets you hear each one in its space, with all the micro detail like breathiness, intake, and tone, in a way that entry level tables can't quite master. On Add it Up, you can feel the raw scrape of the guitar strings and the drums.

Third is background - by reducing LP surface level noise and transmitted vibration, the VPI Prime lets the music emerge more naturally from a black background instead of fighting to come through the haze of rumble and surface noise. That brings out the detail and nuance.

Last is the sort of drive/energy/rhythm that you typically hear live, but which can be difficult to replicate at home. Guitars "growl" more, the unique tone of instruments are more readily perceived. They aren't totally absent on the Pro-Ject, they are just more jumbled together and sort of lost in the mix, and a great table like the Prime pulls them out and sets them in their space, and presents a more coherent overall picture. Want to dive in and focus on one instrument? Easy. Want to sit back and take in the collective glory? Easy.

Downsides? Really just one - the arm sits on a needle-like pivot point - no bearings on the tone arm - you can literally lift the arm right off just by picking it up. That means when you move the arm over the record, or lower it, it is a tad wobby at first and not stable like on other tables. VPI has a low cost upgrade that takes out some of the wobble - you send your arm in for the upgrade. The upside of this design is that you can buy multiple arms with different cartridges and swapping would be easy. Me - I'll be happy with just the one arm.

I will also say that the table benefits from a super thick - like 3" thick - maple block foundation, to deaden any transmitted resonance. Finally - no dustcover, though you can buy an aftermarket version for about $300.

I owned a nice VPI table, an HW-19Jr twenty years ago, and the progress that has been made in the quality of the arm, the platter, and the motors are clearly evident. I loved my old table, but it can't compete with today's technology and design. I swallowed hard when I handed over my credit card number to place the order - I have less than 60 records (I foolishly sold my 1000 record collection many years ago), but the VPI has me returning to local record stores and thrift shops and really loving music again in a way I hadn't in the past ten years.

Well purchased, then.


Product Weakness: arm can be wobbly
Product Strengths: Bass, dark backgrounds, low surface noise, ease of setup, built like a tank


Associated Equipment for this Review:

Amplifier: Woo Audio WA22
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated): Ifi Phono preamp
Sources (CDP/Turntable): VPI Prime
Speakers: Audeze LCD-3, Sennheiser HD650
Cables/Interconnects: Acoustic Zen Silver Reference II
Music Used (Genre/Selections): Variety
Other (Power Conditioner etc.): Cardas Golden Ref AC, Foundation Research LC2
Type of Audition/Review: Product Owner




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Topic - REVIEW: VPI Industries Prime Turntables - davehg 16:37:46 10/7/16 ( 24)