VPI Classic and Soundsmith Zephyr -- Kudos to Pete


To VPI Classic owners. There's been a lot posted about the Soundsmith VPI Zephyr. I'd like to post another comment about the Zephyr. A couple of weeks ago, my TT/Zephyr started to sound a little off: imaging not sharp; playback congestion on difficult, "busy" musical tracks, etc. Suspected it was time for a re-tip so I sent the carty back to Soundsmith for an evalulation.

Peter Ledermann checked the carty out within a week and confirmed my suspicions - it was retip time. He said the cantilever and suspension were in perfect shape, but the stylus had to be changed out. He did the job same day and I got the carty back the next day -- yesterday to be exact. Peter even gave me a "good customer" price.

I did the set up in about 45 minutes and I'm back in business. Wow!! The carty sounds great again. Right now I'm listening to Stokowski conducting the London Symphony Orchestra performing Stokowski's Firebird Suite, recorded on London Phase 4. WOW!!

Kudos to Peter Ledermann is all I can say!! A "brand new" like carty for just a couple of bucks.

P.S. When Peter evaluted the carty, he reported that the sylus showed uneven wear resulting from anti-skate misadjustment. This is an issue for VPI Classic owners because if you follow VPI's "twisted" wire approach, it's rough justice at best. In addition, the wire twist can torque the wand causing azimuth issues. If you check my posts, I reported that Mike at VPI sent me a new heavy weight azimuth ring which seems to mitigate the twisted wire torgue issue somewhat. Sooner or later, I'm gonna have to figure out how to use the VPI AS/fishing line device.
bifwynne