VPI Classic Signature HW Plus with JMW 10-3D Reference Gimbaled Tonearm

Upscale Audio is the only VPI dealer in California that is VPI Trained & Certified to handle all of your VPI needs!

"It is a work of art, Harry Weisfeld's best. Amen! Five Stars." - Harry Pearson

Stereophile Analog Product of the year 2011

Golden Ear Award – TAS, AHC

While the Prime and Prime Signatures are beautiful turntables, there is ONE turntable that everyone agrees has the quietest plinth while having an organic beauty that is undeniable. The problem is the cost to make it. Back ten years ago, the Classic Signature was $6,000. Adjusting for inflation, that would be $7100 today. What Uncle Kevvy has done is make a volume commitment to get the price much lower while making performance improvements.

The Classic line pays homage to the great turntables of the past that have been synonymous with state of the art turntable design. The Classic has been the best-selling large turntable VPI has ever made. The sales and rave reviews from around the world are based on the glorious sound and the incredible speed stability, speed stability normally associated with $20K plus designs.

The newest Classic Signature HW features a ½" thick machined aluminum plinth bonded to a 1/8" steel sub plate, bonded to 2" of MDF creating a plinth which is so massive and well damped it virtually eliminates resonance. For the Classic Signature HW we updated the arm to the latest 3D printed designs, and offer you three levels of tonearm choices. To complete the visual aesthetic of this state of the art design, we offer Black Oak, Gloss Walnut, and a deep Piano Black Gloss.

Gorgeous and glorious, the new Classic Signature HW is an absolute triumph! Critics and owners are using adjectives like "Gorgeous", "Quietest table I've ever heard", "How could it be so inexpensive", "Speed stability like my digital masters".

The Table

• The platter is machined 6061 aluminum and stainless steel weighing 20 pounds with a precision inverted bearing. Run-out +/- .001” on 39” circumference!
• Platter bearing using Thompson Engineering precision shafting with 60 Rockwell hardened and polished ball running on a PEEK thrust disc. The side thrust is taken by graphite lubricated composite bronze bushings
• The belt runs around the platter through the center of the bearing assembly for no teeter-totter effects and no noise.
• Speed stability on par with a master tape: Due to the rigid mounting of motor - platter - tonearm there isn't any random motion to cause speed instabilities
• Feedback rejection that lets the Classic Turntable sit near four 15" subwoofers and having virtually no feedback
• 300 RPM precision low noise high torque 24 pole AC synchronous motor drives the platter with a pulley accurate to +/- .0005”
• Lack of random motion between the motor, platter, and tonearm giving the ultimate in low-level resolution. Not only does this rigidity improve speed stability, it also allows the retrieval of low-level information on par with the world's great turntables and very close to master tapes
• Absolutely solid, non-resonating laminated one-piece chassis: This is not a wooden frame; it is a solid laminated 2.5" thick MDF block with a ¾” sandwich of aluminum and steel attached to the top with silicone and long bolts through all the layers. The chassis weighs 30 pounds and is totally non-resonant
• VPI stainless steel record center weight
• Feet from the $15,000 HW40. These alone retail for $600

Table Dimensions

Overall (to top of the wire loop): 20.5" x 15.5" x 9.5"
Footprint: 19.25″ x 14.25″
Total Weight: 65 lb

The Tonearm

Reference JMW 3D printed 10-inch gimbaled tonearm with VTA on the fly as above but wired with Nordost internal wiring. 

Tonearm Cable

The cable Kevin discusses in the video above is a special package as listed on the pull-down menu and is incredible. Want something different? Call us and buy any other tonearm cable from us at 20% off.

The Cartridges

We’ve made volume commitments to manufacturers in order to sell a “package price” way better than normal. But if you don’t want one of the ones on the list, call us and buy any other regularly priced cartridge from us at 15% off.

Soundsmith MIMC Star

Soundsmith basically reinvented moving coil technology by replacing the copper coil with iron. Iron has a lower mass than copper, therefore the coil has less inertia and momentum for the same output, letting it pick up far more detail. The MIMC Star has a gorgeous midrange bump (around 2 kHz) that lets wooden instruments and vocals shine through. That's not to say there is no top-end detail because there is plenty, but the texture of the midrange offers a more sultry tone than the Kiseki.

• Low output MI, 0.4 mV / >470 ohm (we like it loaded between 600-800 ohm). Needs about 60 dB of gain. Compatible with phono stages from 55 dB to 65 dB
• Contact line stylus / sapphire cantilever

Ortofon 2M Bronze

A timeless Ortofon moving magnet, with a balanced and dynamic overall sound. It even provides an upgrade path! The stylus is interchangeable with the 2M Black for a quick upgrade. The fine-line stylus tracks accurately and reproduces really high-frequency information, but is also sensitive to dirt, so ensure that you maintain your records properly.

• High output 5 mV, 47 kOhm load. Needs about 37-45 dB of gain. Works with just about any phono stage
• Nude fine line stylus

Ortofon 2M Black

A true flagship of the Ortofon MM series. A Shibata diamond gives you the best contact to the groove walls, increasing detail and accuracy across the board. This is a very resolving cartridge, which reproduces even the most subtle high-frequency groove information. The Shibata is a type of line contact and tracks beautifully--giving you tons of high-end detail.

• High output 5 mV, 47 kOhm load. Needs about 37-45 dB of gain. Works with just about any phono stage
• Nude Shibata diamond stylus

Kiseki Purpleheart

One of the most referenced cartridges in this industry. Sparkly highs, rich mids, tight bottom end. If you like a little speed while maintaining richness, this cartridge is for you. Its body is made with purpleheart wood, and it uses a boron cantilever and diamond stylus. The pure iron coil offers extremely low distortion. There are plenty of cartridges out there, some double in price, but the Purpleheart will get you the performance you seek no matter what.

• Output voltage of 0.48 mV needs anywhere from 58 dB to 62 dB of gain
• The load impedance will range from 400 ohm to 1k ohm depending on how much detail in the top end you're seeking. The higher the load, the more rolled off the top end will be
• Nude line-contact diamond stylus

“This new version of VPI’s best-selling Classic 1 is twice as expensive and it’s worth it. Why? Because it is better…the new version sounds more stable, as if the speed control has been enhanced. The net effect of these changes is there is less detectable turntable between you and the music. The LPs seem to float on a cushion of air. It is a work of art, Harry Weisfeld’s best. Amen! Five Stars!”
- Harry Pearson, Founder of The Absolute Sound, Five-Star Review, May/June 2011