VPI Cliffwood - just got one - anyone here familiar?

Letitroll98 · « **Reply #20 on:** 13 Jun 2019, 04:36 pm »

You also might try calling VPI, they used to have a fabulous service department when Sheila was alive. My experience was less than ideal, but maybe I got the wrong person on the wrong day. At least they have a wealth of experience there and may have encountered your issue several times already.

dolsey01 · « **Reply #21 on:** 13 Jun 2019, 05:43 pm »

Quote from: Yomaha on 12 Jun 2019, 06:34 pm

I do not have a scale though, so I'm just going by ear.

You really need a VTF scale. Get the Riverstone Audio one on Amazon.

Yomaha · « **Reply #22 on:** 13 Jun 2019, 06:00 pm »

Quote from: dolsey01 on 13 Jun 2019, 05:43 pm

You really need a VTF scale. Get the Riverstone Audio one on Amazon.

OK...Riverstone purchased...should be here by Saturday (what a time to be alive!). My quest continues. If adjusting the VTF properly doesn't help then I agree that a call to VPI may be in order.

Yomaha · « **Reply #23 on:** 14 Jun 2019, 05:22 pm »

Does the ground wire need to be anything special? I went to home depot and got some 18 gauge wire that would typically be used for trailer lights and ran from ground on Cliffwood to grounding post on SWL9.0 and it really didn't change the hum much at all. Does ground wire need to be a specific type of wire...if so are there any good brands or wire types ya'll would recommend? Thx!

bacobits1 · « **Reply #24 on:** 15 Jun 2019, 01:54 am »

No special wire needed. 18 ga should be fine.
Wait a minute, you have a hum now?
I might have expected a hum with the Grado known for hum. But Not the Ortofon.

Letitroll98 · « **Reply #25 on:** 15 Jun 2019, 06:50 pm »

I would call VPI Monday. While you wait, try all the tone arm wire connections. Make sure it's wired correctly, double check, check for loose connectors and wires.

WGH · « **Reply #26 on:** 15 Jun 2019, 07:51 pm »

Dive right into the vinyl rabbit hole and switch cartridges. The new Ortofon Red could be a bad sample, just don't get them mixed up.

Yomaha · « **Reply #27 on:** 17 Jun 2019, 04:41 pm »

I'm happy to say that Saturday night I did some swapping back and forth between the VPI and the Rp-1...and now the VPI seems to have the upper hand. I'm guessing the break in period was/is a real thing. I know break in exists, it's just difficult to gauge and keep the faith when I'm underwhelmed right out of the box. I think my adjusting the VTF was when the real break thru started.

Thursday and Friday I was noticing more detail from VPI then Saturday I went from 180gram OK Computer on RP-1 then played it again on the VPI and it was more engaging, across the full spectrum. I started to notice more separation and some filling out of the lower mids. I think it still has a ways to go but I'm glad it has started trending in the right direction.

tonyptony · « **Reply #28 on:** 17 Jun 2019, 04:46 pm »

Great news, Yomaha!

Yomaha · « **Reply #29 on:** 17 Jun 2019, 05:08 pm »

Yeah I'm glad it turned for the better. Ever tried the record weights? Fern and Roby makes a very nice brass one that looks great and it's half the cost of ones I see from VPI. Is there something special/different about the more expensive weights?

tonyptony · « **Reply #30 on:** 18 Jun 2019, 06:08 pm »

Well, I'm not sure I can tell you why one might be better than another

, but I can tell you that at least for me I liked a Stillpoints LPI more than my VPI HR-X weight.

Sometimes you can find used weights here, on Audiogon, or usaudiomart. Might be worth seeing what's out there.

dolsey01 · « **Reply #31 on:** 18 Jun 2019, 06:23 pm »

Quote from: tonyptony on 18 Jun 2019, 06:08 pm

Well, I'm not sure I can tell you why one might be better than another , but I can tell you that at least for I liked a Stillpoints LPI more than my VPI HR-X weight.

Sometimes you can find used weights here, on Audiogon, or usaudiomart. Might be worth seeing what's out there.

Saw a recent picture from Harry Weisfeld's personal setup and even he was a Stillpoints LPI.

Yomaha · « **Reply #32 on:** 18 Jun 2019, 08:24 pm »

If all weights were created equal, I'd get this brass weight by Fern and Roby strictly bc I like the aesthetic.

https://www.fernandroby.com/products/details/brass-record-weight

bacobits1 · « **Reply #33 on:** 18 Jun 2019, 09:47 pm »

You have weights and clamps.
More than likely you can put a weight on a table while spinning. A clamp you won't be able to unless you stop it. A big pain using it.
That F&R weight is over 1 lb pretty heavy don't drop it.
I would not go that heavy and also height has to be easy to grab again without dropping.
Lots out there and depends how it sounds. You can easily overdo it.
I use a 6 oz acrylic weight just enough to couple the vinyl to the acrylic platter.
Magnetic bearing here so no heavyweight .

Yomaha · « **Reply #34 on:** 19 Jun 2019, 02:38 am »

The VPI has developed a pretty serious hum. I know some is part for the course but this is very unpleasant. It seemed like it just started in the last day or so after adjusting the counter weight.

I've done the following to no avail:
Swapped RCA cables
Grounded to phono pre
Plugged into different wall socket
Move table about 5 ft away from all components and used diff outlet

It seems like I get the most noise when I touch the tone arm and the hum increases as I move the tone arm over the record. It's so finicky and static-y when I touch the tone arm, I wonder is something loosening there? All connections are snug on the cartridge.

I put the RP1 in just to see if I'm crazy and the RP1 has virtually no hum. My DAC and other inputs are dead quiet. The phono pre input is hum free until I plug in the VPI. Any suggestions are much appreciated!

tonyptony · « **Reply #35 on:** 19 Jun 2019, 12:12 pm »

Yomaha, I'm not sure what to suggest here. I don't have so much experience with the Cliffwood. I assume you checked that the table is still grounded via the rear grounding screw? If so, does it get worse if you remove the grounding wire? Do you have a multimeter? If so, (carefully) check the continuity between the arm tube and the tonearm base. If you have continuity, try directly grounding the tonearm base to a known ground point and then see if this hum remains.

I'm just grabbing at straws here.

Letitroll98 · « **Reply #36 on:** 19 Jun 2019, 12:31 pm »

What did VPI say?

bacobits1 · « **Reply #37 on:** 19 Jun 2019, 01:46 pm »

Try moving the wires at the cartridge (toothpick?) and touching and not touching the tonearm.
Or use a meter on all those wires to check continuity. Has to be in the wiring somewhere.
Try a different system? Out of ideas here too.

Yomaha · « **Reply #38 on:** 19 Jun 2019, 02:50 pm »

Thanks for all the suggestions here - much appreciated!

I have the table securely grounded to the preamp grounding post. The grounding wire does not have much effect. It helps a little bit, but nowhere near reasonable. I do not have a multimeter, but there may be one in my near future. When I touch the tonearm it gets worse. When I move the tonearm from the stand to over the record it gets worse.

I am going to try a ground lift plug. It seems I have more of the angry insect 120Hz buzz, and from what I've read, that should be indicative of a ground loop. I found a nifty resource here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GUqpgMxwj4

and here: https://www.psaudio.com/ps_how/how-to-find-and-fix-hum-extended/

I haven't called VPI yet. I want to see how far I can get before I do that.

tonyptony · « **Reply #39 on:** 19 Jun 2019, 04:19 pm »

That's odd. You were not having this hum before? Did you plug the Cliffwood into a different outlet, or did something new get plugged in somewhere in your house?