Price Paid:  $3350.00 from North Country Audio

Summary:
This actually was a Mark 2 that I had upgraded to the Mark 3 status. There is a Graham arm and Audioquest 7000nsx cartridge. I've owned it for almost 9 years. The Mark 2 had springs in the suspension towers, which had a tendency to "walk" or move. When it was upgraded, I had these springs replaced by, I believe, a sorbathane suspension. It hasn't moved since! With this amazing rig, if there is information on any given LP, you'll surely hear it! It is completely quiet once it comes up to speed. You'll hear a little belt squeal when it first starts. It had a "stainless steel? flywheel" that you placed over the motor pulley, but I took it off as it "rang." Backgrounds are black as can be, dynamics are explosive, imaging both horizontal and vertical are hard to believe. Listen at night, with all the lights out. If the rest of your equipment is up to it, you will hear a wall of sound that is totally unbelieveable. And any equipment upgrade will only show you how much better this unit uncovers things you haven't heard before. And VPI stands behind their products. Shortly after buying it, the motor "gave out." A call to VPI produced a new one at NO CHARGE! If you can afford one, and the price has gone up, you'll NEVER have to buy another turntable!

Strengths:
natural imaging, doesn't need constant tweeking, bass impact, can be upgraded

Weaknesses:
changing to 45 RPM stalls the motor

Similar Products Used:
not similar by any means, but it replaced a B & O 4002

Price Paid:  $3400.00 from binghampton ny

Summary:
Massive plinth, massive outboard motor, massive platter= great sound
No hum noise whatsoever
Easy to set up
Nothing to break
Good looks are only a byproduct not the purpose of the ttable
The clamp is a must in all ttables, after you lived with the TNT
No felt on the platter is the way to go
Rigid

Strengths:
Solid, no nonsense construction. Everything has a purpose.

Weaknesses:
none except price, but I think that especially in pricy turntables there is a big difference in sound quality

Summary:
When I purchased this piece of gear it marked my induction into the word of audiophilia. Before I was really just a top mid-fi kind of guy. But I decided to step it up a level and see what all the fuss is about. Well gues what... this is not voodoo folks. This turntable sounds amazing. I bought it equipped with the VPI JMW 12" arm and a Grado Reference cartridge. It's hooked up to a Cary PH301 tube phono stage. Together the whole setup is mouth watering. The JMW arm is a work of art that can track like a mother. The bass response out of this setup is remarkably tight and warm, and you feel like you are sitting in the drummer's lap. I cannot explain how much better records sound than they did on my Thorens (which while not audiophile was a damn fine table). The differences are that severe.

The VPI has several advantages from a design standpoint. First of all the table's subchasis itself is suspended using springs on four legs. The new MK IV and MK V have air suspension instead, which is supposed to be very cool. Other changes have been made in MK IV and V which include a new platter and bearing. All of these components can be upgraded individually, which is a staple of VPI's gear. You never get stuck with a dead end product.

The platter is quite massive, as is the entire system. I'm not sure what the whole thing weights but I'd venture it approaches the high double digits in pounds. Together with the stand I have it on (filled with 100 pounds of lead shot) the whole thing is about to fall through the floor :)

There is a two piece clamp system used which emulates vacuum clamping but without the disadvantages. The clamp combined with the JMW arm translates to unbelievable tracking ability. You'd need an LP with speedbumps on it to throw this system out of whack. But the clamp and arm also mean an incredibly low amount of background noise and distortion. VPI has just introduced a new clamp which is apparently superior to the stock TNT III clamp.

My particular setup also includes the flywheel which increases the intertia of the platter for more consistent speed control but also translates to an absurdly low noise floor. In between songs you hear nothing. Dead silence. Amazing. The motor is exceptionally well separated from the platter by way of the flywheel and three piece pully system. Also, of course, the motor and flywheel are actually separate units and only connected to the subchasis by way of separate belts. Likewise the subchasis and platter are not physically touching the three piece pulley system. All in all you have about as much separation as possible.

VPI also sells a special stand for this turntable with two versions of the top plate, one wider to accomodate the flywheel. It is sand/shot fillable and has cross beams for two shelves. Not sure what the price is...

I must say I was skeptical when I considered purchasing a high end analog setup. I figured it wouldn't sound much better and in the process I would go broke. Well I did go broke but... the difference in sound is really indescribable. I am hooked. I haven't listened to a CD for months. This is the sort of system that dreams are made of. Many people argue that this is the finest table money can buy and I can certainly see why one would claim that. You could put any arm or cartridge on this table and it will not only handle it but reveal all the resolution therein.

This product gets a five star rating for obvious reasons. It's state of the art. I am giving it five stars for value because despite what might strike one as a high price tag, this product can outdo products considerably more expensive. If you are either incredibly rich or incredibly stupid you can spend several times as much but the sonic improvement will be minimal over the TNT.

If you need to know where the best places to buy VPI gear are, just drop me a note to evan@sover.net

Peace,

--Ev

Strengths:
Arguably the best turntable on the market, straightforward setup, excellent vibration immunity, amazing bass and low midrange, looks damn sexy.

Weaknesses:
Honestly I cannot think of one. Maybe price but frankly you can spend more on a turntable and you won't necessarily get a better product sonically speaking.

Similar Products Used:
Well this replaced my Thorens TD295 MKIII but that didn't compare at all. I have not A/B'd the VPI with other comparable gear.