[Packgrog]

Well, thanks to a happy twist of fate, I am now the owner of a new VPI Player. Much more experimenting with the forthcoming as time allows.
 
Some initial thoughts:
 

1. First off, the stock felt(?) mat actually isn't bad. I decided to finally try the leather mat that I'd made years ago out of black deerskin, and it just sucked all of the life out of the music, so the stock mat went straight back on. I have not yet tried bareback (ie: vinyl directly on the bare metal platter), nor the Achromat 1200 that I have in limbo, as I haven't felt particularly thrilled with the idea of adjusting VTA, and the only clamp that I have is my Michell clamp, which likely would not work correctly with either option. I'm sure that I'll try each eventually to satisfy my curiosity. Whether or not to invest in the HRX weight is still an issue bouncing around in my mind.
2. So far the only record that the Player (or more accurately the 2m Red) couldn't track was my pristine and well-cleaned copy of R.E.M. - Document. Very strange there. Did I clean it so well that it got to slippery? Are the grooves just too small for the caveman tool design of the 2m Red stylus?
3. I have thus far only used the Player in stand-alone mode, separate from a receiver. I have noticed audible hum when using the built-in headphone amp and an external battery powered headphone amp via the line output of the Player. My hopes with this setup was that I wouldn't need it hooked up to anything else, so I'm a little concerned about how to eliminate the hum. I'm not sure if it's from a ground loop or if it's noise from the motor bleeding into the system. The stylus does not need to be in the groove.
4. I have not yet tried bypassing the internal amps. There are no directions for it publicly available, apart from suggesting taking it to your local dealer to have them do it. Supposedly a 5-minute job. I hope to try it eventually to see how it works as just a regular turntable.
5. As with any turntable, platform definitely makes a difference. Glass is BAD. 

 
Quote:

 
Having a VPI Scoutmaster II with a 2M Black, and having listened to both the 2M Red and 2M Blue, I would suggest to anyone with the 2m Red to immediately upgrade to the Blue for $150 bucks more. There is nothing "wrong" with the 2M Red, but the Blue is 100% better. No kidding ... the SQ doubled for me when I went from Red to Blue in all areas: quieter background, better timbres/tones, richer and more accurate, more dynamism and emotional involvement.

 
I've been debating this. As stated above, the Red can't track my R.E.M., so I'd like to upgrade to SOMETHING. I never really was that fond of the Ortofon house sound, but apart from the harsh highs, I haven't minded the Red on this system. Good punch, good drum/bass/guitar sound (cart still needs breaking in though), but vocals are just harsh. I've been very curious to try the AT150Sa, but I fear that like most Audio Technica carts, it may need some impossible custom loading to tame the bright highs. I'd love to go back to a Denon DL-110, but I fear that the headphone amp wouldn't have enough gain. So the 2m line seems like the best choice, given that the internal phono was pretty much tailor made for it, with perfect capacitance and resistance load matching. Given that I've hated every sample that I've heard for the Bronze, that leaves me wondering whether to be kind to my wallet and get the Blue stylus, or go all in on the Black full cartridge swap (the generator for the Black/Bronze being better than the one used for the Blue/Red). Before I bother with any of that, though, I need to get rid of that hum.
 
More impressions to come as I get more time to tinker, if anyone here is interested.

 

[Packgrog]

Hum update: The RCA connectors need to be connected to SOMETHING. I plugged in a cheapo RCA-to-mini cable, and most (but not all) of the hum disappeared. I'm thinking of investing in some RCA caps to see if those can be used when I have the Player disconnected from anything else. I still need to address the grounding, as touching the grounding lug with my finger reduces noise even further, and I'm wondering if there's a way to lessen the effects of motor vibration transmitting through the plinth. As these noise issues are addressed, the Player gets more and more impressive.
 
I've also tried it fed from the line output (with aforementioned Rat Shack RCA-to-mini cable) to both my iBasso D1 with HiFlight TopKit and iBasso D14. The modded D1 was just bright with weak low-end, though I recall comments about the D1 not performing that well when bypassing the internal DAC. The D14, on the other hand, was a much better match, keeping the lushness of the Player's built-in headphone amp while losing most of the grain and tightening everything up. I'd have been alarmed if the D14 hadn't bested the Player's built-in headphone amp, honestly, but the Player's amp is more complimentary to the sound signature of the 2m Red, making the bright, edgy cartridge sound more lush and organic. Fair disclosure: I'm not sure any part of the Player has had adequate burn-in/break-in time yet, unlike my well-used iBasso amps, so this could improve further.

 

[Packgrog]

Last update on the hum issue: A large part of it was my fault, and due to dimmable LED lights on old-fashioned dimmer switches. Switching off these switches killed off the remaining buzz. There *IS* still a hum from the motor or possibly a transformer in the deck, but that is the price paid for having the motor and/or preamp integrated into the plinth, and doesn't actually interfere with the sound quality. Based on what I've read, Ortofon 2m cartridges (or MM carts in general) are just more susceptible to hum issues than many other cartridges.