Mat Weisfeld and Co. over in New Jersey at VPI Industries have been very busy indeed these last several months (Congrats to Mat, his wife Jane, and their whole family on the birth of their daughter Shyla) designing new equipment, and extending their warranty to a full five years, but it’s the new 12-inch Fatboy Unipivot, and Gimbal tonearms that will be making the biggest splash for the company at AXPONA in Chicago this week.
Press release below:
VPI Industries is proud to debut the production models of the VPI JMW Fatboy tonearms at Axpona 2018. Both Unipivot and Gimbal versions will be on display and are available choices for all VPI turntables. In addition, they can easily be mounted with other turntable brands. The availability of Unipivot and Gimbal options is to provide arm option styles for all listeners.
The Fatboy adds a new level adjustment to the VPI-type tonearm. On the Unipivot version you can adjust azimuth using the the side arm tube setscrews, the adjustable side weights, or the included dual pivot. By having the combination of a 3D printed-tube with the fine machined back-stock it creates the perfect balance of precision and balance for your tonearm. The fine adjustable counter weight makes cartridge set-up easier than ever.
Initially the Fatboy (Uni and Gimbal) are only available in 12-inch, but eventually will be released in 10-inch and 9-inch as well. The wands retail for $4,000 USD and are backwards compatible for all VPI turntables (Note, will not fit on Travelers or Nomads V1 without some serious DIY work).
The Unipivot style Fatboy will be demonstrated in Room 442 with Odyssey electronics and speakers using a VPI Avenger Reference. The Gimbal style Fatboy will be demonstrated in Room 710 with Avantgarde, Gershman Acoustics Posh speakers, Grande Studio, VAC / Valve Amplification using a VPI Titan.
Other VPI products can be found at AXPONA with our friends in the industry in the rooms below:
- Room 1605 with Bob Audio Devices using a Prime Signature in Rosewood
- Room 340 with Daedalus Audio, ModWright Instruments, WyWires using a VPI Prime Signature.
- Room 358 with Koetsu, Marantz, Music Direct, Shunyata Research, Solidsteel Racks, Sutherland Engineering using a VPI Prime Signature.
- Room 388 with AudioQuest, Canton, Esoteric using a Prime Signature.
- Room 442 with Odyssey using a VPI Avenger Reference.
- Room 540 with Rainbow Audio using a VPI Prime Signature.
- Room 542 with Bandwidth Audio using a VPI Prime.
- Room 546 with A.J. van de Hul B.V., Accustic Arts, Convergent Audio Technology, Core Power Technologies, Essential Sound Products, Finest Fidelity, Galen Carol Audio, MusicCord, Vermeer using a VPI Avenger Reference
- Room 570 with Holm Audio, Newvelle Records, Rogue Audio, Straight Wire, Tannoy using a VPI Prime Scout
- Room 622 with Alta Audio, ANTICABLES, Audio by Van Alstine using a VPI Avenger Reference.
- Room 704 with Cardas Audio, Dynaudio, Dynavector, Legacy Audio, Pass Labs, PS Audio, The Audio Surgeon, Torus Power using a VPI Avenger Reference.
- Room 710 with Avant garde, Gershman Acoustics, Grande Studiom, VAC / Valve Amplification Company using a VPI Titan.
- Room 717 with Black Ice Audio, Jolida Inc. using a VPI Avenger.
too many setscrew type connections, for an imperfect fit and static sitting of the other component, certainly not for $4,000.