"How much does a 'real VPI' cost these days??"
Good question! As much a souped up Linn! The VPI Prime Signature is about $6K; the Avenger Standard is $10K; the bespoke Classic Direct is about $35.
Since getting into this insane hobby in 1975, I had always wanted a Linn Sondek LP12. When I purchased it used, I spent about $800. This included the table, the Cotter cables, and the tonearm. I bought a Sumiko Blackbird, which is no slouch when it comes to cartridges, and a Clearaudio phono preamp. Even with all of that I couldn't get good sound out of it, even after tweaking the suspension, it was still not good. I think the comments made here about the table being quirky are very true.
I knew that my table's Achilles heel was the Grace tonearm. But my financial decision came down to this: should I invest in something brand-new, or should I throw money -- at least $1K or more -- at a 30-some-odd-year old turntable with one speed. I chose the former and bought a VPI player. And, I have to say, out of the box, using their internal phono preamp, it sounded worlds apart from the Linn, better than I expected.
That's my story.
