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Got a new (to me) VPI Aries for Xmas... what’s the arm upgrade path?

I’ve been doing some reading and I’m not sure I can tell if people universally think any of the newer arms except the fat boy are better than the original JMW 10 arm that’s on my Aries. Anyone know what I could expect if I went to the 10.5 or the 3D? Are those arms actual worth the money upgrades? Cartridges are Decca Super Gold, Denon 103r and an AT ART 7 on the way.
dhcod
mijostyn's avatar
mijostyn
8,155 posts
 
You'll want to get the gimbal arm version of the FatBoy. It is a drop in replacement I believe.  That will improve your bass quite a bit. Unipivot arms are bad news on a number of fronts. Manufacturers like Lyra specifically recommend against them. Makers like Graham and Basis go through all kinds of shenanigans' to stabilize them. The Basis arms are not even unipivots any more. They are bipivots. 
melm
1,057 posts
 
IMO a good, and not very expensive, upgrade is the dual pivot.  Do some research.  Besides other advantages, it makes setting azimuth very easy.
jollytinker
213 posts
 
+1 @melm 
testpilot
895 posts
 
Before you make ANY changes, live and get to know what the current configuration sounds like. Later on, you will be able to discern what aspects of the table’s performance you would like to improve upon.   
dhcod OP
706 posts
 
Went with the Fatboy Unipivot. It's a great match for my Decca cartridge and works well with the Denon 103 too. Figured I would be upgrading there eventually so why not just pull the bandaid off and do it!
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