Mat Weisfeld finally got the new VPI forum up and running. The old one had to be retired, so a venue for VPI owners and fans was out of action for a little while. Link below
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Hey all, I use the older VPI Classic II table with the JM Memorial tone arm with a SUMIKO blackbird high output MC. Great table and mostly easy to use. OK, the uni-pivot is hard to set tracking force and lateral alignment as one changes the other so it is iterative, but not impossible. It doesn’t ruin the fun of records! I love it.
I should upgrade to the printed arm, yes I know, I know!
Best,
Galen
So I know they sell both the unipivot and gimbaled arm now?? Which is best ?
The Classic II is a fine table. I was using a Harry Weisfeld rebuilt Classic I (it was essentially somewhere between a II and a III after his work). I loved that table. The 3D arm is great, but the metal arms do their thing quite nicely. I have 4 different metal VPI arms as well as the printed arms, and it’s interesting how a cart will sound different on each arm. I guess if I were backed into a corner I’d say yes the 3D is superior.
@timm, that’s a tough call. I own the unipivot in 10.5” and the gimbal in 12”, but used the 12” uni for a while. I’ve heard both very often at VPI House, on more than one occasion with he exact same arm in uni and gimbal forms running the same model cartridge. I think ultimately it’s a system call, including the cart being used. Neither is inherently superior to the other. What’s your system like? What carts have you liked in your system?
VPI offers good value for the money and a uni pivot arm can offer really good performance for the price because it is so simple. It requires you to do some set-up, true. Once at the best of the best end of things I’d have to say I don’t know anymore which is best.
I like uni-pivot because you can change “wands” so easy if you have two cartridges, again making multiple cartridge choices cheaper, you just get another arm, not the gimble parts. Remove the arm cable connector lift and drop a new one on. All the set-up is on the arm except the VTA and that’s a dial…easy to adjust to the different cartridges height requirement.
I wasn’t sure about the arm when I first got it, now I’m a fan.
Best,
Galen
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Ha! That’s part of the reason I eventually sold my Classic and leapt to the Avenger. Now I have my main (gimbaled) arm in the primary spot and a secondary arm board set up with a pivot mount for all my other cartridges. 
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I’ve had an original Aries Scout w/ JMW 9 arm since shortly after Art Dudley’s Stereophile review came out in '03. In all that time, it’s served me very well. I can’t help but wonder, though, if moving up to the Prime Scout, Scout 21 or a Prime might be a worthwhile upgrade. It would probably depend a lot on what I could get for my old one.
Anyway, happy to hear the forum is back in action. I’ll have to look in from time to time.
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I have no TT Tony. However I always look at the vpi and I heard about the gimbal offering a couple years back and was curious. As a youngster I had a Thorens td145
Galen described the use-value differences pretty well. If you do decide to jump back in, and are considering a VPI, IMO if you’re going to stick with one cart then the gimbal has a lot going for it. Easier to set up, not as fiddly, sonically presents a smooth, solid space with no loss of HFs. Nice low end. The pivot is a great choice if you’re going to go with more than one arm wand, maybe a tiny bit more spacious presentation. The differences between the two are small enough to make the use case more one of functionality than of sound.