Mat Weisfeld of VPI industries contacted me Thursday to announce that the company’s $900 USD turntable/tonearm/cartridge combination that I spoke about with his father Harry in Montreal several months ago – dubbed The Cliffwood – would be shipping in late July or early August. This looks to be quite an accomplishment to deliver the quality VPI is known for at such an entry-level price point. I think many in the industry will be taking notice of this salvo across the bow of other turntable manufacturers like Rega, Pro-Ject, and U-Turn who have seen great success carving up the sub-$1,000 record player market for some time.
–Rafe Arnott
Press release below:
For 40 years we have built turntables in American and kept it in the VPI family. For almost 30 of those years we have built our turntables in Cliffwood, New Jersey. With us reaching a more entry level market we are still able to make our products in Cliffwood, New Jersey. Most companies when making entry level products source their components outside their country of origin. This is why we celebrate our heritage and our VPI workers by naming this turntable after the place they are built.
We are also excited to be teaming up with our friends from Brooklyn, Grado Labs. VPI engineered a cartridge shell specifically for the Grado to make it easier to mount and contribute to the sound signature. The VPI/Grado Green will be the factory standard mounted cartridge on all VPI Cliffwood turntables.
The Cliffwood will retail for $900 USD and will initially only be available for the US market but will later be opened to the global market. The tonearm is a 9″ machined aluminum gimbal. Both easy and robust to use while providing top level sonic performance. Estimated shipping is end of July to early August.
The Table:
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1.25”” thick textured vinyl covered non-resonant MDF chassis.
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16″ x 11″ footprint
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19” x 14” x6” overall size
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Aluminum Platter
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Platter rotates on an oil bath bearing
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The bearing has a PEEK thrust disc and machined graphite impregnated brass bushings using a Thompson Engineering 60 Rockwell case hardened shaft.
Tonearm:
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New 9” vertical Yoke type tonearm with lateral type bearing.
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Pivot to spindle: 223mm
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Effective length: 240.7mm
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Overhang: 17.7mm
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Offset angle: 22.85 degrees
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Average RMS distortion: .36%
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Damped machined aluminum armtube.
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Very pure copper wire, twisted with special insulating jacket.
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The armbase is upgradeable to a standard JMW 9 arm.
Additional Specifications:
Type Belt drive (manual turntable)
Motor 600 RPM AC Motor – 2 speed pulley
Turntable Platter Aluminum
Diameter 11.81” (30.0 cm)
Turntable Speeds 33.3 RPM and 45 RPM
Cartridge VPI/Grado Green
Dimensions 18.5” (470 mm) W x 13.5” (343 mm) D x 4.3” (109 mm)H
Weight 12.9 lbs. (5.9 kg)
Cartridge Specifications:
Frequency Response: 10-50
Principal: MI
Channel Separation at 1KHz: 30
Input Load: 47K
Output at 1KHz (5CM/sec.): 5mV
Recommended Tracking Force: 1.5
Stylus Type: Elliptical
Inductance: 45mH
Resistance: 475
Compliance CUs: 20
Stylus Replacement (U=user): U
