And talk about turntables! From the entry-level $1499 Cliffwood to the top-of-the-line $104,000 Vanquish (found under the website's "VPI Luxury" page, accompanied by the…
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Founded in 1978, VPI Industries appears to be one of the most successful turntable manufacturers in the world—certainly in the US. The New Jersey–based company sells turntables, tonearms, cartridges, record clamps, plinths, record cleaning machines, and a phono preamp. But that's not all. The company offers VPI-branded pillows, candles, mugs, stickers, T-shirts, and a tell-all company history, 40 Years on the Record.
Setup
Hugging the 75lb Avenger Direct turntable with platter to his chest, Mat Weisfeld marched up the steep stairs to my sky-high hacienda without breaking a sweat. I carried the tonearm, cartridge box, alignment jig tool, counterweight, and accessories. Inside my apartment, Mat positioned the turntable's three bases atop my Salamander rack, placed the turntable's large cones into the bases, and affixed the tonearm assembly and armboard to one of the large steel corner posts. He ran though some basic setup pointers and split: The meter on his cab was running. Or was it an Uber driver who…
Hugging the 75lb Avenger Direct turntable with platter to his chest, Mat Weisfeld marched up the steep stairs to my sky-high hacienda without breaking a sweat. I carried the tonearm, cartridge box, alignment jig tool, counterweight, and accessories. Inside my apartment, Mat positioned the turntable's three bases atop my Salamander rack, placed the turntable's large cones into the bases, and affixed the tonearm assembly and armboard to one of the large steel corner posts. He ran though some basic setup pointers and split: The meter on his cab was running. Or was it an Uber driver who…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Two-speed, direct-drive turntable with 3D-printed 12" FatBoy Gimbal tonearm. Platter: Aluminum and acrylic, 25lb. Motor type: ThinGap direct-drive. Motor torque: 2.68Nm/s. Startup time: 1s. Speed monitoring: 2500 pulses/revolution.
Dimensions: 18.5" (470mm) W × 10" (254mm) H × 17" (432mm) D. Weight: 75lb (34.1kg).
Serial number of unit reviewed: Not assigned. Designed and manufactured in the US.
Price: $36,000. Approximate number of US dealers: 70. Warranty: 10 years.
Manufacturer: VPI Industries, 77 Cliffwood Ave., #5D, Cliffwood, NJ…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog sources: Kuzma Stabi R turntable; 4Point tonearm; Clearaudio Panzerholz, Ortofon Verismo, VPI Shyla cartridges.
Preamplifiers: Shindo Allegro, Miyajima WO-1, Manley Steelhead RC phono preamplifier, Sculpture A Mini Nano SUT, Auditorium 23 SUT.
Power amplifier: Shindo Haut-Brion.
Loudspeakers: DeVore Fidelity Orangutan O/96, Volti Audio Razz.
Cables: Interconnects: Triode Wire Labs Spirit II (RCA), Analysis Plus Silver Apex (RCA), Shindo (RCA). Speaker: Analysis Plus Silver Apex Speaker (bananas). AC: Triode Wire Labs Obsession NCF.…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
While Technics certainly fired the starting pistol on the 21st century's fledgling direct-drive revolution, VPI was still quick out of the blocks with its belt-free HW-40 40th Anniversary. The Avenger Direct uses the same nonferrous motor design with its claimed 2.68Nm/s torque, bringing the 24lb (11kg) platter, complete with peripheral ring clamp, up…
When Art Dudley reviewed the original PS Audio PerfectWave DirectStream D/A processor in Stereophile's September 2014 issue, he very much liked what he heard. "For those who've waited for a computer-friendly DAC that offers, with every type of music file, the best musicality of which DSD is capable, the PerfectWave DirectStream may be in a class by itself," he concluded. It was computer-friendly because, with an add-in card, you could connect it with USB or to an Ethernet cable and use it with, for example, Roon or JRiver.
DSD? The DirectStream's D/A conversion engine, designed by former…
As I was writing this review, it had been 8 years since Stereophile reviewer and gifted pianist Bob Reina passed away from an aggressive esophageal cancer. I had used the DirectStream MK1 to play several of the recordings I had made of Bob's free-jazz ensemble Attention Screen back in theday.
The DirectStream MK2's maximum output level is 2.3dB higher than that of the original DirectStream, so after switching to the new DAC, I matched its level to within 0.3dB with the 1kHz warble tone at –20dBFS on Stereophile's Editor's Choice CD (STPH016-2). Playing Attention Screen's Live at…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Solid state D/A processor with volume control. Digital inputs: 2 AES3, 1 TosLink, 1 coaxial S/PDIF, 2 I2S on HDMI, USB Type B. Ports: Ethernet (RJ45), USB Type A. Analog outputs: 1 pair balanced (XLR), 1 pair unbalanced (RCA). Frequency response: 20Hz–20kHz, ±0.25dB. Channel separation: not specified. THD+noise:<0.1% (1kHz full-scale). Maximum output level: 4V RMS (balanced), 2V RMS (unbalanced). Output impedance: <200 ohms (balanced), <100 ohms (unbalanced). Power consumption: 25W. Supplied accessories: AC cord, remote control.
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Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Digital Sources: Roon Nucleus+ file server with HDPlex linear power supply and AudioQuest JitterBug FMJ; iPad mini running Roon; Benchmark DAC3 B & PS Audio DirectStream D/A processors; MBL N31 CD player/DAC; Ayre Acoustics C-5xeMP disc player; Ayre Acoustics QA-9 A/D converter; NetGear Nighthawk router.
Integrated amplifier: CH Precision i1 with 2.1 firmware.
Power amplifiers: Parasound Halo JC 1+ monoblocks.
Loudspeakers: GoldenEar BRX, KEF LS50.
Cables: Digital: AudioQuest Coffee (USB), DH Labs (AES3). Interconnect: AudioQuest Wild…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
I measured the DirectStream MK2 first using my Audio Precision SYS2722 system, then with the magazine's higher-performance APx500. The review sample was fitted with the v2.3.5 FPGA firmware, but after I experienced some anomalous measured results, I installed the v2.3.3 firmware package, which was available as a download on the DirectStream MK2's information webpage. I then installed the v2.3.6 firmware when it was available and repeated the testing.
The DirectStream MK2's optical input locked to sample rates up to 96kHz, the coaxial and AES3 inputs locked…