2. analog
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VPI Fatboys versus others in its' tonearm weight class.

In their never ending quest to push fiscally responsible audiophiles into bankruptcy, site members have succeeded in making me consider a new gimbaled tonearm to keep a Lyra Kleos company on a VPI Classic 2 turntable. Dover, on my previous thread, pointed out most other tonearm options would be limited on the Classic 2 short of major surgery to it. So here I am considering keeping the tonearm upgrade in the VPI family. Their gimbaled Fatboy, will readily fit onto the VPI Classic 2’s tonearm base without any fuss.

Here’s my question after reading up on the Fatboy. How does the Fatboy compare with other tonearms in it’s $4500 price range? Is it about average in that class, which would be acceptable, or is it much better or worse than its’ peers?. If you.ve had any chance to compare the Fatboy with other tonearms in the same price range, what is your impression? I don’t want to spend that much money on one if the consensus is that it’s at the bottom of its class, which hopefully it isn’t.

I haven’t had an opportunity to listen to one, or any other tonearm as expensive. I would likely need to arrange a two day road trip to accomplish that. In lieu, I’m soliciting your impressions as to whether the Fatboy is worth that much compared to others in it’s price range. I guessing it will be okay, but don’t want to spend $4500 if the consensus is it’s at the bottom of its’ class just because it fits easily on my turntable. So what do you think? I’m all ears.

I’m not looking here for alternative solutions to a Fatboy. That was the topic of my recent thread, I’m only soliciting your impressions of the Fatboy compared to other similarly priced tonearms, and why I should or shouldn’t take a chance on it. Thanks all,

Mike

skyscraper
lewm
12,488 posts
 

I have never seen a VPI Classic but if what Mijo says is true, if you do have a removable mount, then why are we even here? You can have any tonearm you want provided the P2S distance is not crazily different from the OEM tonearm, simply by replacing the mount. You can probably acquire a replacement from VPI, or Mijo, or a sympathetic local machinist. And you won’t have to compromise the originality of the deck itself.

thekong
203 posts
 


Well, if you look at around 2”00 and 2”45 in the video, you can clearly see the tonearm’s mounting hole at the bottom and at the top. So, if the Classic 2 is similar to the Classic in this video, it should be easy to make a mounting collar for another arm (if the tonearm’s shaft is of a small enough diameter), or for surface mount. Spindle to pivot distance also looks to be similar to other arms of same length. 

skyscraper OP
825 posts
 

Gentlemen, below are a couple of pictures, front and back, of the model VPI Classic 2 I own. To me this tonearm set up looks like a fairly complex mechanism in total, that I’d be afraid to mess with. For those of you with expertise in this field, it may be easy pickings to deal with. But I’m not at the place where this is somewhere I want to go.

It is doubtless you could getter a better tonearm onto the Classic 2 readily with your admirable knowledge and skills, but please understand that process is more than I want to deal with now. So I’ll have to settle for less than the best, as long as the Fatboy is a reasonable choice.

At this point I’d like to find out if the Fatboy would be a a good replacement for my current tonearm, maybe not the best, but hopefully not the worst in it’s class. I am hoping this thread might address that concern. Mike’s suggestion the Fatboy is run of the mill, but certainly better than what I have now is more the type input I’m looking for right now.

 

dover
2,178 posts
 

@thekong 

if the Classic 2 is similar to the Classic in this video, it should be easy to make a mounting collar for another arm.

Its not - the Classic 2 has a surface mounted arm with the VTA adjuster. The basic Classic in the video has a conventional arm pillar - hence the armband hole.

stringreen's avatar
stringreen
6,370 posts
 

My VPI is mounted on the base with screws .....there is no cutout.   In all the arms I've worked with there was a cutout in the table to acomodate it. Another arm would require you or someone else to cut it out.

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