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Recommendations for a tonearm upgrade on a VPI Classic 4 turntable

Greetings Everyone,

I have a VPI Classic 4 turntable that I bought with the 12 inch JMW 3D tonearm. My cartridge is a Dynavector XV-1S. This is the first unipivot tonearm I have owned, and after a year I have decided that I really don't like it.  I am considering upgrading to the 12 inch VPI Fatboy gimbaled and would love to hear your opinions on that tonearm, or others that you think I should consider.

Thanks!
TMQ
qchorn
stereo5's avatar
stereo5
6,250 posts
 
@qchorn,

I sympathize with you, I ditched my Prime for that exact reason. The arm was too fiddly! Every time I went to use it, I had to adjust the horizontal plane and screw with the side weights. I could never cue the record in the right spot. That unipivot arm is not for me. If they had the gimballed arm available for the Prime, I may have kept the table.
bdp24's avatar
bdp24
9,411 posts
 
I have had two unipivots, and they suck! Except the Graham. Art Dudley loved the Naim.
gpgr4blu
1,077 posts
 
+ Stringreen
Counterintuitive from Soundsmith makes azumith adjustments much easier on VPI 3d unipivot. it also helps with slight downforce adjustments.
chakster's avatar
chakster
6,144 posts
 
look for REED 
reed 3p for example, available in  9.5″ 10.5″ 12″ with different armwands
Ag insider logo xs@2x
cleeds
5,642 posts
 
stereo5
... The arm was too fiddly! ... That unipivot arm is not for me ...
It’s just a personal thing, but I find unipivot arms to be kind of creepy. I’ve never met one that I liked. It just seems to me that a pickup arm should be rigid and not floppy and wiggly.

I know that it’s all in my head, because I’ve heard VPI unipivot arms sound absolutely fantastic, and in more than one system. But they are just not for me.
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