VPI Avenger Reference Turntable

Get the ultimate in customization, versatility, and build quality – to say nothing of stop-you-in-your-tracks fidelity – with the VPI Avenger Reference turnable. If you’re seeking a component that will provide you decades of musical bliss, never become obsolete, and allow you to mix and match options at will, Avenger Reference cannot be beat. Once you experience its ridiculously quiet operation, staggeringly precise imaging, front-to-back dynamics, and essentially nonexistent noise floor, you’ll understand why this 85-pound juggernaut sounds three times as good as it looks.

Designed to mount up to three tonearms of any make and size, and developed alongside the company’s flagship Titan model, this U.S.A.-made and Stereophile Class A Recommended analog superhero features a chassis comprised of three layers of bonded acrylic/aluminum/acrylic with damping material inserted between each layer. It’s all locked in place by three steel corner posts complete with adjustable machined knobs that raise and lower the ‘table height for leveling as well as three bolts and a humongous bearing assembly. Cone stabilizers, which sit in a machined Delrin/ball-bearing isolation base, connect to the posts. Fully adjustable armboards – constructed of 5/5″ 6061 aluminum for superb rigidity and grounding – complement a 25-pound aluminum magnetic drive platter, perfectionist-accurate motor pulley, and a 300RPM 24-pole AC synchronous motor housed in a machined aluminum Rim Drive Motor assembly.

Avenger Reference also comes with VPI’s famous JMW 12-3DR 3D-printed tonearm with Nordost Reference wiring throughout. The manufacturer’s Periphery Outer Ring Clamp (unmatched in reducing warp), Analog Drive System (for paramount speed control and adjustments), and Avenger Reference Feet (knurled, machined aluminum cones set in a machined Delrin isolation pad that rests in a machined aluminum isolation pad for wowing isolation and noise cancellation) are here, too. So is VPI’s five-year manufacturer warranty and Music Direct’s 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Time to get spinning.

Reference-Level Construction: Three-Layer Chassis, Massive Bearing Assembly, Adjustable Armboards

Avenger Reference’s chassis is comprised of three layers of bonded acrylic/aluminum/acrylic, with damping material between layers. It’s locked in by three isolation steel corner posts, three bolts, and the massive bearing assembly. The corner posts that hold the tonearms (up to three will fit) have adjustable machined knobs, giving the user the ability to easily raise and lower the height to level the table. In addition, the corner posts connect to the cone stabilizers, which sit in a machined Delrin/ball-bearing isolation base reminiscent of that used on the Prime turntable. Fully adjustable armboards are made from 5/5″ 6061 aluminum for rigidity and grounding. The table can mount up to three arms, of any manufacture’s brand, and of any length.

Exclusive to Avenger Reference: The Magnetic Drive System

VPI’s magnetic drive system is unique to Avenger Reference. The drive platter is mounted to the 5/8″ center shaft, which goes through both platters and deep into the bottom of the bearing assembly. The bottom bearing is an oil bath, and the PEEK thrust disc on the bottom bearing takes the full 30 pounds total of both platters. Hence, the thrust disc is replaceable and should be changed every year so constantly get the sound of a new ‘table. The top platter, or slave platter, rests in a PTFE Super Lube inverted bearing with almost zero rotational motion so that there is no wear on the thrust disc. Powerful magnets from the drive platter grab the magnets in the slave platter and send it rotating noiselessly with a beautifully damped motion. Wow and flutter levels are exceptionally low. The Lyra Atlas cartridge, which touts very powerful Alnico magnets, has no reaction at all to the platter magnets. Neither does the Ortofon A95, Shure Ultra 500, Soundsmith Hyperion, or any other top cartridge VPI has tried.

• Chassis comprised of three layers of bonded acrylic/aluminum/acrylic with damping material between layers
• Three stainless-steel corner posts for isolation, tonearm mounting, mechanical grounding (up to three tonearms will fit)
• Analog Drive System (ADS) for the utmost accuracy in motor speed and fine speed adjustments
• Periphery Ring Clamp for the ultimate in record warp reduction
• 300RPM, 24-pole, AC synchronous motor in machined aluminum Rim Drive Motor assembly
• Inverted bearing features hardened stainless-steel shaft, 60 Rockwell chrome hardened ball spinning in a phosphor bronze bushing, and sits on a PEEK thrust disc.
• Belt side load of bearing placed at the center of the spinning bearing for zero teeter-totter effects
• 25-pound 6061 aluminum magnetic drive platter has accuracy of +/- .001″ in a 39″ circumference
• Motor pulley has an accuracy of +/- .0005″ when leaving factory
• JMW 12-3DR tonearm with Nordost Reference wire
• Avenger Reference Feet