2. analog
  3. 180494-20855

VPI HW-19 with Graham 1.5 arm Question/Suggestions

Greetings everyone, 

I have a very handsome, black oak, late model VPI HW-19 Mark IV with a black Delrin Aries platter.  The tonearm is a Graham 1.5 Basic tonearm sporting a Benz Micro MC Gold cartridge with elliptical stylus.  The tonearm cable is Audio Art IC-3 Classic phono cable DIN to RCA.

The sound is good but rather lightweight, neutral and nimble but polite, one might say meek with tight but lean bass.  It is not strident or shrill, or analytical, or bright.  Most of the turntable and phono upgrades I read about suggest that they will make the sound have more clarity, be more precise, more accurate, tighter, and lower the noise floor.  These qualities are not necessarily what I want. 

I would like the sound signature to be warmer, fuller, richer, more colorful, or more romantic.  

I am considering many options, including new phono cable, new footers, a platter mat (presently records sit directly on the Delrin platter), a different record weight-stabilizer (presently using a VPI Delrin screw-down clamp), a new shelf, and of course a different cartridge.

I welcome any suggestions from anyone on how to warm up or enrich the sound quality.

hoodjem
bpoletti
1,525 posts
 

Very similar to my early setup. I used an AT OC9/II ML with a Herron VTPH 1-mc and was very satisfied.

The performance of the table was improved by swapping out the springs for AudioQuest Sorbothane pucks. The AQ pucks I used don’t seem to be available, but there are Sorbothane pucks that ARE available through ebay.. I think the stiffer the pucks, the better.

 

hoodjem OP
19 posts
 

My speakers are a pair of Martin Logan CLSI with a ML Depth subwoofer.

Nothing is new, except a move to a new house and a newly constructed listening room. I don't believe that anything has been lost;  to me, this is the sound it has always had. (I am recently retired with more time to enjoy my system, and time to try to get things "right."  That said and with the new listening room, I am focusing more on LPs.  I also recently bought a Project VC-S2 record cleaning machine.)
 

Yes, I have heard of changing out the springs for sorbothane pucks.  That will go on the list.

frogman
7,356 posts
 

Bingo!

You state:

”The sound is good but rather lightweight, neutral and nimble but polite, one might say meek with tight but lean bass. ” Exactly what I heard the times that I heard the original CLS.

For whatever it may be worth, from the Stereophile mag review of the CLS:

-“The bass was a little lightweight, there being a lack of upper bass”.

-“there was then a hole before the relatively sparse low bass came in.”

-“the bass being definitely a little sluggish compared with the treble”,

-“Another aspect of the CLS sound bothered me more in the long term: a lack of dynamic range in the lower mids and upper bass”.

If you are planning on keeping the CLS (it does have a beautiful transparency), my suggestion is to look for a VPI SDS motor controller. Bass will be improved to a degree that no mat, clamp or VTA adjustment will approach, and most importantly dynamics will be greatly improved. Music will be less polite with much more sense of groove.

Good luck.

frogman
7,356 posts
 

Btw, I have no personal experience with the newer ADS motor controller, but it has not received as much positive commentary as the SDS which I like very much. There are other brands that are well regarded that work with the HW. Lastly, when did you last check, clean out and replace the oil in the HW’s bearing well? You may be surprised at the improvement in the areas that you are not happy with.

melm
1,057 posts
 

I agree there will be tonal changes when you change SRA. However there is a correct VTA/SRA and the tone accompanying it should be accepted. It may or may not be the setting with arm exactly parallel to the disk, probably not. As I wrote, it should not be used as a tone control if you want the max information off a disk.  Your choice, of course.

More to discover