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All of those listed, save the VPI Classic, have 9" arms (the de facto 'standard')Much depends on what you listen to...but I regularly hear the better tracking on piano pieces (a lot of what I listen to) with 10" or 10.5" arms. It's simply the physics of a longer arm on a 12" record - all other things equal. I own the VPI Classic and it's an impressive deck for $2500 in the US. But, I also have owned a variety of direct drive decks that cost 1/5 to 1/10 as much...yet sound a lot better than 1/5 or 1/10 as good as it. I'm a big Grado fan, too. They're very natural sounding (piano, again, my normal guide) The Brit decks, while fine indeed I'm sure, are ladled with extra costs that come as a result of crossing a long way over the pond and exchange rates. The Brits, likewise, pay dearly for the VPI line for the same reasons.As you are in Canada...the above exchange rate issue is mostly moot as the Loonie is strong of late against both Pound Sterling and USD. John
Bill/95Dyna, I use a Grado Gold....with added van Alstine 'Longhorn' crossbar and silicone damping to the coils. The standard Grado Gold stylus assembly was swapped with that of a shibata shape from the old G1+ series.It sounds superb. A kindly AC'er loaned me his Grado 5mv Reference (USD$1200) and I liked my little bastardized Grado better (and it cost $300, + an hour of my time, the way I assembled it)The Longhorn crossbar helps any Grado to track better...and inherent weakness among it's virtues. Once you get it to track better - you dig more out of the grooves Damping the coils with 1000cst silicone creates a slight more refined sound, too.AC member Wayner actually picked up the gauntlet recently and began producing Longhorned Grado's per Frank van Alstine's original recipe.For $300, you can buy a Grado Gold 1 totally Longhorned out from Audio by van Alstine...and you can choose to swap out the Gold stylus assembly for some older stylus assembly with a nude or better profile shape. Grado still sells older stylus assemblies...you need to simply call them and ask.For less than $500 for all, I think you'll have among the finest and most natural transducers ever to hit a record this way; and you'll save a lot of dough over a potentially inferior sounding, more costly Woodie in the Grado line John
JohnI see that you previously owned a Vpi HW-19 with AQ Pt-6 arm. Could I get you opinion on this as compared to the Classic. Still doing my search for information concerning TT's. Here's my line of thinking. I've seen an Origin Live Tonearm that I will get the chance to listen to in the coming weeks, the Illustrious. My thinking (this my be pretty hard off the wall) but mounting this to a HW-19 Mk III or IV. Also do you have an opinion on the stand alone motor assembly for the HW-19. This table has caught my interest, so just starting my research.Again thank you for your input.
