FWIW: When I was finally able to buy my VPI 16.5 years ago, after reading about it, after dreaming about it, I was so disappointed to learn that it did not work as I had read for years.
Upon first using mine, I found that the vacuum was so strong that the lp would adhere to the vacuum tube while the platter would continue to spin. I found out from my dealer that there was a screw that can be tightened once you poke through the cork platter mat and find the 3 screws that will allow you to remove the platter. Then you can barely access the allen screw (at an angle) that will allow you to tighten the assembly. If this wasn't enough..read on...
I then found out that the pick-up tube would not release as I've read for years, automatically. This, I later found out, on my own, is a very delicate melding of several factors.
(1) The position of the pick-up tube in relationship to the lp, in terms of how much it should be twisted, left or right of center.
(2) How much actual fluid one applies.
(3) How flat a particular lp is
None of the reviews I had ever read prior to this purchase ever talked about this. This purchase, became my first in a long line of events to come, that reminded me of how little one can rely upon the reviewers of products.
