Congratulations on owning what I now believe to be the best values in high-end turntables. I've owned a few turntables over the years and I was looking to upgrade from my Project Debut. VPI wasn't on my radar because they were way out of my price range, then my friend offered to sell me his VPI Classic with a $1,200 cartridge for $800 a couple of years ago so he could upgrade to a VPI Avenger. He had never lubricated the motor or platter in the years he had owned it and the turntable had a lot of 'patina', the cartridge was probably due for stylus replacement and as you saw in the video, the bearing was well worn. I spent a week restoring the Classic visually and mechanically, added a new belt and slip mat and carefully cleaned the stylus and cantilever (they were really, really dirty). I have enjoyed the turntable since the moment I first played it. VPI's super simple, but massively overbuilt, design is genius. I finally had the cartridge re-tipped by VAS Audio vasnyinc.com (which is a subsidiary of VPI) a couple of weeks ago. I played a few albums I don't care about to be sure I had the cartridge properly aligned and then I played Donald Fagen's Morph the Cat. Wow! Someday I'd love to upgrade my phono preamp, amplifier and maybe even upgrade my speakers, but I plan to keep this VPI Classic for the rest of my life...unless my friend decides to sell me his Avenger super cheap. 😉
@@Koolbob2 I hear you man, I have had my Classic for about 7 years and bought the Ads in 2018. This table is built like a tank and I too had a Project Debut III, Dual CS5000, Technics SL1200, VPI HW-19, amongst others. I agree with you that this table can last you a life time and I too like the Avenger. I also have the same cover as you. Your video made me look at my bearing, which will need to be replaced. I have three questions for you, 1. Is it easy to take off the thrust plate and 2. what size bearing is that exactly 7.5 or 8mm. 3. The trust plate is the metal rod that holds the platter on and is is glued to the bearing, right? I love VPI because of the upgrade path that they provide. Again, I want to thank you for being thorough and the only one on RU-vid to cover this the way you did. I just did some trades with some money and I have an Audio Research Ref 2 coming sometime next week. I had an Audio Research PH8, so I’m looking forward to it when it comes.
@@sidvicious3129 The steel and ceramic balls I got were 5/16" diameter. I didn't install the ceramic ball when I rebuilt the turntable several years ago because I didn't want to wear out the brass plate inside the platter that sits on the ball. I believe the brass part inside the platter is the thrust plate, but I may have my terminology wrong. I didn't remove the post that the bearing sits on from the turntable. I used a small disposable lighter torch like the one in the link below. It doesn't produce all that much heat, perfect for burning off the superglue without heating the post too much. Just hit the bearing with the tip of the flame for a few seconds and grab the bearing with needle nose pliers to see if it's comes loose. If it's still stuck, hit it with the flame for a little longer and try again. Repeat as necessary. If you see a puff of smoke come off the bearing from the super glue vaporizing, then it's ready to remove. www.amazon.com/Solder-SODMJ300-Micro-Jet-Extended-Refillable/dp/B0002UNOHY/ref=asc_df_B0002UNOHY/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=309748512842&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=10897743867042812681&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9013748&hvtargid=pla-598704136004&psc=1 Apparently I wasn't the only person with this concern, so someone figured out the solution is to insert a sapphire glass disk (~1/2" diameter) inside the platter so the sapphire disk rides on the ceramic ball. The catch is that having two such hard surfaces together has the potential to transmit more vibration from the turntable chassis to the platter. Here's the link to the discussion. www.vinylengine.com/turntable_forum/viewtopic.php?t=130645 I just got my VPI up and running again after waiting to get the cartridge rebuilt, so I'm going to leave it as is, but please let me know if your impressions if you decide to make the ceramic/sapphire upgrade.
Thanks for watching and for the great feedback! The VPI is definitely the best component in my modest system so I want to do everything I can to keep it in tip top shape.
Great job in your explanation. I too thought about replacing the bearing with a ceramic one, but instead with the manufacturer part as I figured they knew best.
You can probably improve the performance of your TT by doing something about that worn out thrust pad. Though it is difficult because of the inverted bearing design. When VPI was running a forum there was quite a bit of discussion on this. Some replaced it with a synthetic. I think it was called Rulon. Some replaced it with a disk of sapphire. That, together with the ceramic ball you have, would optimize the bearing. Getting the old one out might be a problem. If you can't, the platter would run a bit higher. Not sure if that would matter. This was a very simple matter on the old non-inverted bearings. If your ears and the rest of your system are in good shape you should be able to hear these sorts of bearing improvements. I did.
Make sure it's 846 carbon conductive grease that's what vpi recommend. What you could do is put a shim on the top as the thrust bearing of titanium they are used in valve lifters they'd be the right size maybe a bit thick about 3-4 millimeters they vary, stick it with good quality industrial double-sided tape clean it out first with acetone. if you want to remove it get a piece of rubber pipe that will slide into the bearing housing that's flat on the end and suck on it and pull it out at the same time this would release the shim. You can use your ceramic ball then
Interesting ideas, good to know. There are thrust bearings available made from sapphire or synthetic material that are supposed to last a lifetime. If the urge to modify the turntable hits me I may go that route, but right now I'm on a quest to build up the rest of my system to the quality level of the VPI.
LOL, I get that you need clearance between the tonearm wires and the cover, but even with the VTA set quite high there's still almost 2" between the top arch of the tonearm wires and the underside of the cover. I'm guessing the guy who made the cove also likes stovepipe hats. :)
Awesome and informative video! I was just wondering if you knew of any alternatives to Noxon 7 for cleaning up the platter? Noxon appears to have been discontinued recently. Edit: Also, come to think of it, do you happen to know the size of the steel ball bearing that fits on the spindle?
Thanks for watching and taking the time to leave a comment. Any metal polish would do, Brasso, Flitz, Nevr Dull or any polish designed for aluminum or magnesium wheels. I'd recommend taking the platter off the turntable to work on it, or you could remove the tonearm and drive belt and cover the entire plinth with paper and masking tape then polish the platter. I'd avoid any polish with any kind of wax or sealer in it, you want a nice shiny platter with no residue on it that might make the belt slip.
Nope, there’s a very sharp point on the turntable chassis that rides in a ‘cup’ inside the tonearm. The contact area between the two is minuscule and any lube applied would just run down the needle.
