VPI Direct Drive Turntable

Hiho, Thanks for the reminder, I guess. I had forgotten that Art Dudley, of all people (because I generally respect him and believe him to be a good writer), is one of those who has perpetuated the "big lie" about DD turntables. You would think he'd know better. Meantime, he is in love with his TD124, which requires BOTH a belt AND an idler to drive its platter, the worst of all possible worlds.

I agree with the many who have said that for $30K, there are other tt's I would choose over the VPI Classic, most especially any one of the Steve Dobbins "The Beat" iterations. In fact, I'd rather have my SP10 Mk3. But the marketplace will ultimately determine whether VPI made a wise move in naming, pricing, and choosing build materials for the Classic DD.

Lewm, yeah $30k is a lot of money and there seems to be a few more options in that range and I really think VPI made a marketing misstep. Since I can't afford products like that, I am mainly curious about the technology. I'm not sure you've checked out my _P_O_S_T_ from few days ago about VPI using THINGAP motor. Check it out. The Classic Direct uses the same brand of motor in the Continuum Caliburn and said to be truly "cogging free." The stator design is fascinating.

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Yes Lewm the market will determine the fate of this 30 G entry however ,..

Let's say Winfelds costs per motor and power supply with bulk pricing is somewhere in the $5000.00 region .
Now here's the kicker,..

$6.00 for the MDF per unit ,
sealer and paint another $6.00 per unit.

5/8 aluminum plate that's glued to the MDF , $15.00 bulk price per sheet,
machining the aluminum platter lets say $500.00 , "Aluminum ",not stainless steel and copper or some custom blend of materials that you would expect on a table at this price point.

platter bearing $150.00 again nothing special I suppose , I'm sure he has cases of platter bearings in the stock room and finally shop labour per unit $1,000 to $1,500.00 before going out the door and I think I'm being pretty liberal with the shop estimates.
$ 30,000.00 ,...come on .
This is new territories for VPI , I wouldn't imagine anyone in their customer base would jump in and buy one no matter how brand loyal some of them are. Maybe stick with what you know best VPI .

In_shore, you have isolated some of the direct material costs, you touched on some of the direct labor cost, but you completely eliminated any reference to factory overhead, manufacturing profit, and distribution/dealer profit.

In manufacturing, a 5x multiple is not unreasonable to generate a retail price. The motor alone would account for $25,000 of the retail price. VPI’s retail pricing model is not out of line with other manufactures. Having said that, I still think it is a big misstep for VPI.

Dealer cost on this table is prob in the $18K range. Doesn't the Classic Direct include the new 3D arm and a VTA on-the-fly micrometer? If Harry is planning a new flagship it will probably be $50K or more retail and look very different.

Has the same motor as the Continuum? What does that cost?
Some people might have a beef with VPI over customer service, QC or whatever. It's the dealers responsibility, not the factory. VPI is nice enough to deal directly with the customer, but they're not set up for that.

You have a choice. Buy what you want.