By Juan C. Ayllon Images by VPI Industries and Juan C. Ayllon VINYL is the audio enthusiast’s version of Tai Chi, slowing life down with a Zen-like routine, ushering in a fulfilling musical experience. Removing a record from its sleeve, spindling, wiping, gingerly lowering the stylus and listening for several minutes, then the retrieval and rejacketing -- the ritualistic process takes little time and conscious effort, but the aural rewards of full music waveforms versus digital sampling are not subtle. That said, many higher end turntables aren’t plug and play; proper setup can be excruciating, sometimes requiring professional help for the less mechanically inclined. With the $2,200 VPI Prime Scout, however, you can get your Zen after setting it up yourself in less than an hour! Back Story The VPI Prime Scout is one of over nine turntables produced by VPI Industries, a family-owned hi fi manufacturer of turntables, tonearms and associated accessories based out of Cliffwood, NJ. Founded by Harry and Sheila Weisfeld in 1978, it is now run by their son, Mat Weisfeld, president, and Harry while Mat’s wife, Jane Weisfeld, supervises purchase orders and product shipments. VPI’s flagship performance series turntable, the Prime Signature, went through the paces in our listening room last year (you can read the review here) and now it’s the Prime Scout’s turn to give it a go. The Lowdown The VPI Prime Scout has a rounded four-legged starfish chassis, four flared isolation feet, a silver, 11 ½ lb. turntable platter and 9” unipivot tonearm. A beefy 300 RPM outboard motor serves as belt drive. At 32 lbs., the Prime Scout packs half the heft of its more luxurious brother, the Prime Signature, whose chassis boasts a thick, aluminum slab sandwiched between two black, vinyl clad MDF/steel halves (the Scout lacks the aluminum piece), a beefier platter, upgraded 3D printed tonearm, Nordost Reference wiring and four steel end caps above its more elegant isolation feet. In addition, the Scout uses a plastic screw-on record clamp versus the Prime Signature’s machined steel record weight. Both turntables have optional upgrades. Bottom line, comparing the Prime Scout to the Prime Signature is the difference between business and first class -- both will get you to your destination, but the latter will do so with a few more amenities. (You can read the Prime Scout specs here) Get Set The instructions in the Prime Scout’s manual are excellent, simplifying setup and making it easier to install the cartridge, set tracking force, tonearm height and azimuth (with last year’s review of the Prime Signature, we employed a professional). There are a few challenges, however. Using tweezers to secure the tiny tonearm wire connectors to the cartridge’s terminal pins (red to red, green to green, etc.) is slow going and tedious, demanding care. By comparison, mounting the platter and tonearm assembly are easy. Ditto for anchoring the alignment jig so the square grid is properly aligned. Getting the needle to sit precisely in the grid’s red dot, the cartridge squared up and level at rest, takes some effort. And hitting the tracking force target is time consuming; unscrewing the drop counterweight, sliding it forward or back, resecuring it, weighing the stylus’ force on the digital scale, reholsting it in the tonearm rest, adjusting the counterweight, re-weighing the stylus until the weight is correct will take you several minutes. The manual suggests disabling mechanical anti-skating and slightly boosting tracking force for better sound (we choose 2.44 grams, above the Ortofon Quintet Black’s recommended 2.30, but within their acceptable limits of 2.0 to 3.0). The unipivot tonearm assembly, which rests on a spike, can be wobbly, so care must be taken to secure it with the flip lock on the tonearm rest when not in use and lowering it carefully to play. Placing the outboard motor ¼” to the left of the chassis, stretching and mounting the rubber band-like belt from pulley to platter takes seconds (it automatically aligns when you press play). Speed can be changed from 33 ⅓ to 45 simply by linking the belt to the lower, wider half of the motor’s pulley. Finally, the setup complete, simply connect the RCA cables and ground wire to a phono preamp, clamp in a record, and the Prime Scout is ready for a spin! Go! Twist the record clamp in place, press play, wipe the record, lower the stylus and prepare to be enveloped in rich and full-bodied sound. The Prime Scout is equally deft at flipping the dance floor wax as serving up reference recordings. Both are delivered with dazzling detail, weight, slam and sheer beauty. Josh Wink’s dance remix of Sting’s “Send Your Love” arrives in all its beauty and beats (Sting Remix by Josh Wink. “Send Your Love” Wink Deeper Vocal Interpretation. A&M Records, 2003) -- but also with clarity, revealing a subtle processed and deeper tone to Sting’s vocals. With John Lee Hooker’s “I’m in the Mood”, his rich emotive baritone and Delta blues guitar compels with its timbral richness, grit and accuracy (John Lee Hooker. The Healer. Blue Rose Productions, Inc., 1989). The female voice, often a good gauge for fidelity, shines on the Scout: The range and nuance of Carly Simon’s vocals, vulnerable and airy at first, suddenly infused with power as she belts out, “But you say it’s time we moved in together…” are lustrous; accompanied by crescendoing toms, strings and an overall excellent mix in her 70’s pop hit, “That’s Just the Way I’ve Always Heard It Should Be”, her performance is vivid, well articulated and compelling on the Prime Scout (Carly Simon. The Best of Carly Simon. Elektra/Warner Communications, 1975). Big 80s rock/pop cleans up nicely on this table. The synthesizer -- straight ahead and backwards sampled on pad -- the bass and the punchy snap of Collin’s snare are rich and palpable with the Scout, forming a compelling aural mix with Collins’ gritty tenor vocals in “It’s Gonna Get Better” (Genesis. Genesis. Atlantic,1983). And then there’s the classic acoustic jazz standard. Paul Chambers’ famous ground-breaking, convention-defying bass solo kicks off Miles Davis’ “So What” (hence the name) sounds reticent at first, but quickly becomes deep and resonant (Miles Davis. KInd of Blue. Columbia/Sony Music Entertainment, 1959, 2010); joined by Bill Evans’ stately piano and Jimmy Cobbs’ lilting ride cymbals, then Miles’ spare trumpet solo -- it’s so organic, radiant and visceral with the Prime Scout that you may feel the urge for a cigarette! Differences in players' nuances and delivery are palpable, as Cannonball Adderley leads with his bold and sonorous saxophone, painting in broader, bolder brushstrokes than John Coltrane’s softer, more cerebral phrased and re-phrased notes when he takes over. Evans takes the lead with Miles comping and back again to the bass solo -- the Prime Scout teleports the masterful six into your listening space with stunning presence, air and accuracy. Summing It Up It’s said that auditory memory is not very reliable, but with the same Ortofon MC Quintet S Black phono cartridge used on the Prime Signature a year ago, the overriding impression is that differences in performance between the VPI Prime Scout and the Prime Signature are minor. Bottom line, at slightly over one third the cost of its more accomplished sibling, the VPI Prime Scout is an excellent choice. If easy setup, high end performance without the price tag are important, then this may be the turntable for you. Equipment Used:
7 Comments
Lumley
5/23/2019 06:11:21 pm
Hi Juan!
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5/23/2019 06:50:31 pm
Thanks, John, and great catch! I appreciate it. Have a great evening and see you soon!
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Mark S Lawless
6/17/2019 08:36:58 pm
A turntable review without a speed accuracy test and a wow and flutter test, I feel just isn't a real review. I would think this table should do a pretty good job, but not sure I would trust anyone's ear for these specs. A S/N rating might be a nice thing to have as well. It seems if turntables are expensive enough we give them a pass on actual specs.
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10/16/2019 06:55:17 pm
Hi Mark,
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Butch
12/18/2019 09:30:39 am
I haven't heard them all, but I would have a hard time believing one could find another table in this price range that sounds better than the Prime Scout. The only quibble I have is that the stock footers do nothing to attenuate vibrations being transferred to the plinth and picked up by the tone arm. By audiophile standards, $2,500 is not considered expensive. The other 99.9% consider us fools for spending this kind of money for a turntable that requires spending more for a vibration dampening platform to make it sound 'right'. I was surprised at how micro phonic the turn table is with the stock feet. There is zero isolation between plinth and tone arm. Meaning, any vibration reaching the plinth is transmitted directly to the tone arm and audible through the speakers. The measures required to cancel unwanted vibrations raises the total cost of ownership to around $3k.
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12/18/2019 11:25:12 am
Hi Tom,
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