VPI 3D Printed Tonearm Upgrade? Now Fat Boy?

[theoman]

I have 2 of new 3D wands and 2 of the latest stainless/aluminum wands. In order to have them easily interchangeable I had to reset all the pivot screws in the bells of each wand. Not sure what the correct depth is but I just set them low until the azimuth weights were about .100” from the base. I like the 3D wands except for one problem. The azimuth bar grove on the head is printed and not accurate. Same condition is on both 3D wands. VPI needs to machine this grove as it is useless to set azimuth with the bar.

post the pictures of your tonarms

 

[restorer-john]

I'd like to say that Mat from VPI is being very brave and proactive by interacting directly with their customers in this very public forum.

We all know how things can go pear-shaped quickly when addressing solutions for acknowledged issues and although I'm not in the market for a VPI product, I applaud them for their approach.

 

[stoutblock]

post the pictures of your tonarms

I will. Mine is a Classic Signature. I do notice the base of my tonearm is higher off the plinith than yours. The spacer is probably more than twice as thick as yours.

 

[DanaHolmes]

Mat can correct me but I believe their newest version of the 3D tonearm is a two piece that comes in a somewhat glossy black with some sparkle in the paint.

 

[totem]

I'd like to say that Mat from VPI is being very brave and proactive by interacting directly with their customers in this very public forum.

It hasn't worked out all that well for him on another forum.

 

[bob06]

I thought about buying a VPI table but it seems pretty confusion on the 3D arm. You don't know what arm you will end up with and if you have to raise the arm that high to use a cart like the blackbird doesn't seem right. Seems to me you need a thicker spacer under the arm.

 

[OutlawSun]

I saw this arm when it just came out, at the VPI factory. Matt W told us at the time that the printer used to print the arm cost $300K, and took 12 hours to produce an arm, although being an industrial-grade machine it could do 12 at a time. The reason for printing was, as someone has suggested, that the arm is impossible to machine.

Two years later, at another audiophile shindig, Matt told me that the new printer is only $180K, and does a much better job in a shorter time. Those paying close attention will note that the price of an armwand has actually dropped from $2300 to $1800 due to this improved technology.

It is a pretty good arm for the money, but you need a high-compliance cartridge. Ortofons and Lyras work well, but a cartridge like the Denon 103 is nearly unusable.

In the long term 3d printing is going to be really interesting especially as the tech get to the point where production times are significantly shorter while not sacrificing quality. What I think would be neat is seeing parts fabrication for older gear especially in the realm of the knobs, buttons, etc that tend to be hard to replace when doing restoration work.

 

[totem]

Seems to me you need a thicker spacer under the arm.

Twer me raising or having the ability to raise the arm board is a better option than extending most
any arm pillar.

As to the height needed re the Blackbird Mat noted to change the orientation of the bearing to increase
travel.

 

[vpiindustries]

Hey all, this thread might be making it seem a lot more confusing than it actually is. @bob06 there are 3 types: our standard 3D arm, our 3D Reference arm, than our newly released "Fat-boy" 3D arm. Throughout the evolution of the 3D arm it has been the same sonic signature just improvements upon technology, durability (the heat), visual, and pricing along the way.

 

[DanaHolmes]

What I think would be neat is seeing parts fabrication for older gear especially in the realm of the knobs, buttons, etc that tend to be hard to replace when doing restoration work.

A buddy of mine is fabricating all kinds of really nice mods for my 3D-R tonearm to give it more mass and balance. He manufactures his own line of tables as well as creating reall nice aftermarket mods for other brands including VPI. Brian Calaio with Expressimoaudio.com . He's also doing a custom brass pulley for the isolated motor.

 

[vpiindustries]

Well I think we have gone off topic overall back to the original poster, no problem on the tonearm design, adjusting the set-screw on the arm lifter solves the concern. @theoman is getting squared away Happy to be on here and contributing to this forum to provide assistance in anyway.

 

[OutlawSun]

A buddy of mine is fabricating all kinds of really nice mods for my 3D-R tonearm to give it more mass and balance. He manufactures his own line of tables as well as creating reall nice aftermarket mods for other brands including VPI. Brian Calaio with Expressimoaudio.com . He's also doing a custom brass pulley for the isolated motor.

That's awesome. But yeah that's where I see the potential for stuff like 3d printing in restoration work or modifications. Imagine if there was a library of certain parts such as the knobs for a Fisher 800C or the button caps for a Kenwood 4002. You'd basically go from having to track down original parts in good shape to simply making a good replica. Or if you really wanted to get fancy use the template and do it whatever color variation pleases you.

 

[theoman]

UPDATE: I changed the topic to upgrade because the topic took that turn.
I'm sending my tonearm back to VPI for there latest revision or upgrade to the 3D printed Tonearm. I will post when I receive my new one.

Just to be clear, I've been a VPI user from day one and always enjoyed there products. I'm on my second cleaning machine and forth table. It took awhile but I enjoy the the 3D arm.

 

[bob06]

Sounds like to me they haven't perfected the 3D arm yet if they on there 3rd revision. So you buy a NOS table or even a used model your not getting there best arm. Then you have to go thru the hassle off exchanging it and if your not the original owner it's going to cost another $300 or more.

 

[vpiindustries]

Hey @bob06 we have put a lot of time, effort, and research into perfecting our 3D arms We did have a learning curve back in the day but have come a long way since then and still support everyone regardless of the age or original owner. Again, from a performance stand point there is nothing wrong with @theoman tonearm but regardless we take care of anyone in the VPI family

 

[theoman]

Sounds like to me they haven't perfected the 3D arm yet if they on there 3rd revision. So you buy a NOS table or even a used model your not getting there best arm. Then you have to go thru the hassle off exchanging it and if your not the original owner it's going to cost another $300 or more.

are you saying that SME Tonearms weren't perfected til the 3009 series ii improved came out?

 

[theoman]

I think the issue for me was going from the Scout to the Prime

 

[bob06]

are you saying that SME Tonearms weren't perfected til the 3009 series ii improved came out?

No what I'm saying is they weren't perfected till they came out with the series V. You bought a table with an arm that is now obsolete that you have to ship back to VPI to get there upgraded version. Time, Hassle and from what you said it's another $300. And if the arm has to sit that high off the table to use a blackbird cart then it doesn't interest me. That's all.

 

[bob06]

A buddy of mine is fabricating all kinds of really nice mods for my 3D-R tonearm to give it more mass and balance. He manufactures his own line of tables as well as creating reall nice aftermarket mods for other brands including VPI. Brian Calaio with Expressimoaudio.com . He's also doing a custom brass pulley for the isolated motor.

That CW setup is different. The parts look pretty cool. Lots of brass. Does your buddy have a web site?

 

[Tedrick]

Some pretty cool stuff on the Expressimo Audio website. I've had an Expressimo drop-counterweight on an Audioquest PT-6 'arm that's mounted on a a VPI HW-19 Mk IV for years now...it's well-made and works nicely.

I'll definitely keep my eye on the VPI tonearm kit. The only issue I see with the half-moon counterweight is that the Soundsmith Counterintuitive won't work with it. IMO, the Counterintuitive is an essential accessory for VPI unipivots for setting azimuth; it's SO much easier than turning the weight collar on the tonearm housing. In addition, the Counterintuitive allows for very precise fine tuning of VTF.