VPI Industries Classic 3, VPI Classic 3 Setup And Instruction Manual

VPI Classic 3 Turntable

Setup and Instruction Manual

VPI Industries, Inc., 77 Cliffwood Ave. #3B, Cliffwood, NJ 07721

phone: [phone] fax: [phone]

http://www.vpiindustries.com

Important: Read Before Proceeding!

§ Read and follow the Safety Instructions below.

§ Save all packing materials. The Classic should only be moved or shipped in

its original packaging to reduce the risk of damage in transit.

§ The Classic 3 must be placed on a flat, level surface. This will make setup

easy, provide better sound quality, and put less strain on the main bearing.

Safety Instructions

Follow the instructions below to reduce risk of electrical
hazard or injury.

1. To avoid electrical shock, do not open the motor cover.

2. If the power cord provided with the Classic 3 does not reach an outlet, use a
heavy-duty, grounded extension cord.

3. To avoid electrical shock, always plug the Classic 3 into a grounded outlet.

4. Do not expose the Classic 3 to rain or excessive moisture.

5. Do not touch the male pivot point of the tonearm assembly. It is extremely
sharp.

Introduction

The Classic 3 turntable is a precision instrument. It has been thoroughly tested
and run for at least 4 hours. The speed accuracy, wow, flutter, and rumble have
been checked, and this unit meets all of our specifications.

Minimum Specifications

§ Wow and flutter ¾ Less than .1%.

§ Rumble ¾ Greater than 70db down.

§ Speed accuracy ¾ Within .1%.

§ Platter runout - +/- .001 inch in 39” circumference as measured on

the table

§ Pulley runout – as measured less than +/-.0005

Unpacking the Box

The turntable and tonearm are packed very carefully to avoid damage during shipping.
It is important that you save the packing materials and boxes to use for shipping or
moving the Classic.

· Set aside the bag containing the drive belt.

Complete and return the warranty card. The
warranty does not take effect until the warranty
card is returned.

· Remove and set aside the following items:

Alignment Jig.
Record weight.
Power cord.
Bag containing screwdrivers and screws for mounting the cartridge.
Shure Stylus Force Gauge
JMW-Classic 3 tonearm wand

· Remove the large foam top packaging piece and place it on the side.

· Make room for the turntable, it will be ready to place in its final destination

immediately.

· Grab the turntable on the sides where the foam is cut out and lift straight up. Be

careful, the turntable is very heavy (40 pounds) if you need help, get it. Place the
turntable on a flat sturdy surface that will support the weight.

· Lift the aluminum turntable platter from the smaller box, remove the plastic bag,

and peel off the tape covering the bearing hole. Be very careful not to hit or
damage the motor pulley when sliding the platter on to the spindle shaft. It
measured +/- .0005” when it was tested at the factory. Try not to disturb it at all.
The platter can be damaged if it is hit, be careful.

· The paper protection on the platter can be used as a mat if you are not comfortable

with the record sitting on the bare aluminum platter. There is also a urethane mat
provided for those that must use a mat. We recommend bare platter listening but it
is an owners choice to decide.

Setting up the Classic 3

The Classic 3 must be placed on a flat, level surface. This will make setup
easy, provide better sound quality, and put less strain on the main bearing.

· Place the turntable chassis on the shelf or stand where it will be used. The Classic

has very good isolation so it simply requires a good solid shelf on a rack that doesn’t
sway in the breeze. You can get very good sound by placing the Classic on a maple
butcher block board about 2” thick.

· Carefully remove the platter from the smaller box and remove the tape covering the

bearing hole. The platter bearing is lubricated; no additional lubrication is needed
for at least one year. Slide the platter down on the shaft and spin it to make sure it
spins freely.

· Place the drive belt around the platter and around the pulley on the motor. The belt

does not have to be level on the platter. It will self-level when the platter starts
rotating.

· For 33 RPM operation, place the belt on the upper part of the pulley. For 45 RPM

operation, place the belt on the lower, wider part of the pulley. The center groove in
each diameter is usually the correct speed.

· Connect the supplied power cord to the Classic in the fused rear socket. The fuse is

1 amp if you ever have to change it.

· Verify the turntable is level by using a 9- or 12-inch bubble level front-to-back and

side-to-side on the platter. If it is not level, rotate the Classic 3 feet up or down. If
you must turn the Classic feet more than three full turns, level the shelf or platform
the table sits on first.

· The power button is on the left side, it is recessed for protection. Turn on the

Classic 3 by pushing the power button and allowing 3 seconds for the platter to get
up to speed.

· If you bought the Classic with a Dynavector 20X Special or a VPI/Grado it was

installed at the factory and you simply have to drop the arm on the bearing
assembly.

BEFORE YOU BEGIN

· Be very careful when handling the tone arm. The internal Valhalla arm wire is

exposed at the headshell and at the rear of the arm. The wire is very delicate and
physical damage to the wire is not covered by the warranty after the arm is
removed from its box.

· When you remove the black tube covering the unipivot male bearing assembly be

very careful it is sharp, do not touch it, you will get punctured or cut.

· There are a number of setscrews on the JMW Memorial Tone Arm. The Allen

wrenches that come with your arm will only fit the setscrews that you will need to
adjust. All other screws are factory set and should not be adjusted, except by our
trained technicians. Resetting any of the factory settings is not covered by the
warranty

A. CARTRIDGE MOUNTING:

FOR CARTRIDGES WITH THREADED MOUNTING HOLES:

· Use the screws supplied by the cartridge manufacturer to mount the cartridge. Any

other screws may not fit the thread properly and may even damage the threads and
cartridge. USE ONE OF THE SUPPLIED WASHERS UNDER THE SCREW HEAD.

· For all cartridges with pass through mounting holes use the hardware supplied with

the arm. Remember to use the washers under the screw heads to prevent damage
to the finish on the JMW arm. In this step, the connectors will be attached to the
cartridge's terminals. Disregard the color of the insulators on the cartridge clips.

B. THE COLOR CODE OF THE WIRES IS:

RED = right hot BLACK OR WHITE = left hot
GREEN = right ground BLUE = left ground

IF YOUR PHONO SECTION INVERTS PHASE, THE HOT COLOR BECOMES THE

GROUND COLOR

· Using tweezers or fine tipped pliers grip the center of the red wire's connector (do

not grip the wire) and push it onto the cartridge's right hot terminal pin. In the
same way, connect each of the remaining connectors to its respective cartridge
terminal. Do not push the connectors all the way on, as this could damage the
cartridge. Always back up the cartridge with your finger when pushing on the clips.

· The Classic 3 tone arm comes with one large dropped counterweight installed on the

rear shaft of the tonearm. For most cartridges you will only need this large weight.
The counterweight is held in position by a setscrew.

· Pick up the arm tube, taking care not to strain or damage the fine 4-color wire and

Lemo connector.

· For now, position the large counterweight as close to the bearing housing as you can

(toward the front of the arm) but not touching the balance ring. The object here is
to balance the arm while keeping the counterweight as close to the bearing housing
as possible. This results in the least inertia for a given cartridge weight.

· In some rare cases it may be necessary to use two counterweights together or a

larger counterweight. Contact your dealer if a second or larger counterweight is
needed.

B. OVERHANG ADJUSTMENT:

· This adjustment will yield the lowest distortion in the last third of the record, the

hardest to track, when playing a typical 12" record. Do not go crazy over this
adjustment. You do not know if the stylus is aligned properly on the cantilever. You
are also facing a constantly moving target when playing a record. The arm is
moving in 3-dimensions and will only approximate the accuracy you have built into
your alignment.

· Place the arm tube assembly on the lower bearing, taking care not to strain or

damage the 4-color wire and Lemo connector. Place the arm in its rest.

· At the rear of the arm base assembly is the connector block. Plug the Lemo

connector into its receptacle on top of the block. Notice that the connector can plug
in only one way. Align the red dots on the arms plug with the red dot on the
receptacle. Push gently, do not force the plug.

· Place the Alignment Jig into position by sliding the narrow end with the circular

cutout between the arms lateral balance weight and the platform that supports the
armrest. Make sure that the jig's cutout fits against and around the bearing well
and the hole is over the spindle.

· While the arm is in its rest, loosen the screws that hold the cartridge just enough

that the cartridge can be moved back and forth.

FIG. #1: THE PROPER WAY TO USE THE ALIGNMENT JIG.

· Carefully swing the arm over the grid at the far end of the jig and place the stylus

as close to the dot in the center of the grid as possible. Using a lighted magnifier or
the new lighted + 1.5 glasses will make this job very easy.

· BE VERY CAREFUL NOT TO DAMAGE THE CARTRIDGE'S STYLUS:

· Move the cartridge so that the stylus rests on the dot. Now, viewing the cartridge

from above, line it up so that its sides are symmetrically positioned between the
lines of the grid. If the cartridge has parallel sides, these should be made parallel to
the grid lines. Also make sure that the cartridge is centered between the sets of
lines. If you can see the cantilever clearly you can align the cantilever to the
alignment grid. This is difficult and may produce no increase in sound quality.

· Double check the adjustments made above. The cartridge needs to be both

centered and "square" between the gird lines and have the stylus resting on the dot.

· Place the arm back in its rest.

· Without letting the cartridge move, tighten the screws holding the cartridge to the

arm head. Make it tight, but don't over do it and strip the threads or distort the
cartridge body.

FIG #2: THE PROPER WAY TO ALIGN A CARTRIDGE, ALIGN THE CARTRIDGE, NOT THE
TONEARM HEADSHELL!

C. TRACKING FORCE AND AZIMUTH

· Place the arm tube assembly on the lower bearing, taking care not to strain or

damage the 4-color wire and Lemo connector. Place the arm in its rest.

· At the rear of the arm base assembly is the connector block. Plug the Lemo

connector into its receptacle on top of the block. Notice that the connector can plug
in only one way. Align the red dots on the arms plug with the red dot on the
receptacle. Push gently, do not force the plug.

· Make sure the turntable is level. Refer to your turntable instructions and use a

bubble level to check level. In most cases, the best place to put the level is on the
platter.

· With a unipivot arm it is particularly important to level the turntable.

· Move the counterweight until the arm has a very slight downward tracking force,

just enough to keep it from moving sideways on the platter or enough to keep it in
the groove of the record

· Tracking force is adjusted by moving the counterweight forward and back just a bit

at a time. At least initially, you will be setting the tracking force twice. The first
time will be before the cartridge's overhang is set. After this is done, you will need
to double check the tracking force and adjust it as needed.

· The Classic 3 arm does not have a built-in tracking force gauge, but a Shure Stylus

Force Gauge is supplied with your arm. Following the gauge instructions set the
tracking force to the cartridge manufacturer recommendation plus 1/10 of a gram
more. We always recommend going to the high side when it comes to tracking
force. High frequency vibrations can cause a light-tracking cartridge to cause more
damage to the grooves than running a cartridge at a heavy setting. Make sure the
damping fluid is not installed when setting this force.

VERY IMPORTANT: MAKE SURE THE TONEARM IS PARALLEL TO THE PLATTER WHEN
SETTING THE TRACKING FORCE. IF IT IS NOT THE END RESULT WILL BE HIGHER OR
LOWER VTF THAN YOU WANTED.

· Next, the lateral balance or azimuth must be set. Because the phono cartridge is

offset, there is an unbalancing force that tilts the arm to one side. For the cartridge
to properly track the record groove, the stylus must be ninety degrees to the record
surface. Move the counterweight so a slight tracking force is applied and the stylus
just sits on the record surface.

· Use the azimuth ring to set correct azimuth. Lay the long thin rod supplied behind

the cartridge mounting screws into the V groove and use it as a guide for setting
azimuth. Rotate the flat part of the ring towards the side that is lower and that side
will become lighter causing it to rise. Playing with this will give very accurate
azimuth settings.

· Unlike other unipivot arms, the JMW’s lateral balance weight does not hang off to

the side of the arm. Instead, its position around the bottom of the upper bearing
housing places the weight below the pivot point. This increases mass below the
pivot and increases arm stability.

· In the rear of the counterweight stub there is a large hole, in this hole is a screw

that is used for fine adjustment of VTF. Use the large wrench supplied for this
operation. Most times you will not need this but it is there if you want to really fine
tune. You will need a digital tracking force gauge to use this feature properly.

D. ANTI-SKATING:

REMEMBER: A 10.5” ARM NEEDS VERY LITTLE ANTI-SKATING FORCE

· Anti-skating is one of the least understood forces acting on a tonearm. Skating force

is created by friction between the stylus and the record, causing a force vector in a
direction towards the center of the record when the headshell of the tonearm has an
offset angle. Putting a stylus down on a flat, groove less record will cause the arm to
move toward the center of the record. Arm manufacturers have tried to compensate
for this force, but that is impossible because the force is constantly changing as the
music and velocity change.

· VPI has conducted careful listening tests and determined that every tonearm we

tried sounded better with its mechanical anti-skating disabled and the tracking force
very slightly increased.

VPI has a unique solution to anti-skating: the coiled wire of the JMW Memorial
Tonearm acts as a spring and pushes the arm back without affecting the sound
quality.

You now have the option of using a mechanical anti-skate for those that want
it.

IF ADDITIONAL ANTI-SKATE IS NEEDED FOR WORKING WITH TEST RECORDS YOU
CAN GO TO THE MECHANICAL ANTI-SKATE SUPPLIED.

If you try adjusting the anti-skate with a groove less record, you
will ruin the twist in the tonearm wire and void your warranty.
Do this with the mechanical anti-skate if you want that much
anti-skate.

E. ARM HEIGHT:

Unlike many tone arms, the Classic 3 height is both easy and repeatable to vary. The
knob next to the bearing housing bears a scale numbered from zero to ninety-nine.
Below the knob there is an index mark engraved on the front of the support pillar.

Rotating the knob clockwise lowers the arm and rotating it counterclockwise raises it.

Set the arm height as follows:

· Start the turntable and place a record on it. Lower the arm onto the record and

make the arm tube parallel to the record surface by rotating the arm-height knob as
needed.

· This is a good initial setting. You may wish to vary it depending on the cartridge

you are using and or the particular record being played. The knob's scale makes it
easy to return to a previous setting by making a note of the number above the
index mark and the number of complete turns taken.

· If you have a gentle touch (so as not to bounce the turntable) you can simply vary

the arm height while listening to the record and the changes in distortion those
results. Depending upon your patience and other mental factors, you could go
through this process for every record you own. Or, as most of us do, you can find a
setting that works for most records and sit back and listen to the music.

THE ARM HAS TWO THUMBSCREWS FOR LOCKING THE VTA SETTING
ONCE YOU ARE DONE ADJUSTING. LOCKING THE ARM WILL GIVE THE
BEST SOUND WITH THE TIGHTEST CLEANEST BASS. REMEMBER, WHEN
MOVING THE VTA UP OR DOWN YOU MUST LOOSEN BOTH
THUMBSCREW.

H. VISCOUS DAMPING

· The JMW-Classic has the ability to use damping fluid around the pivot. Use this

option sparingly and only if needed with certain cartridge like Grado or Clearaudio.

· You can now add damping fluid. Use only enough to stabilize the arm, too much

will kill the sound and make the cartridge sound slow. Try listening with and
without damping and decide which you like better in your system and with your
cartridge. Fill only ½ to begin, excess will spill over and make a mess.

I. CONNECTING TO THE PREAMPLIFIER/AMPLIFIER

· ONLY USE INTERCONNECTS THAT ARE SHIELDED AND PROPERLY GROUNDED. NON-SHIELDED

INTERCONNECTS CAN HUM AND PICK UP RF.

· The ground connection is available to eliminate hum if necessary. If hum is present,

first connect a ground lead from the connector block to the preamplifier or amplifier
to which the output cable is connected. If this does not eliminate the hum, run a
ground wire from the turntable chassis to the connector block as well. The block's
connector will accept bare wires, spade lugs, or ring tongue connectors.

J. PLAYING RECORDS

· Before playing a record, make sure that the two tonearm thumbscrews are tight.

· You can use either the paper, gray urethane, or no mat at all on your Classic. They

sound different and one may work better in your system than the other. We prefer
no mat at all or the paper mat.

· Place the rubber washer on the platter spindle, then the record on the platter, then

screw the clamp onto the spindle. The clamp will lock the rim of the record down
first forcing the air out and acting like a vacuum.

· Press the power button and sit down and enjoy listening to your records!

K. GENERAL USE

· Allow at least 20 hours of break-in time.

· The motor will make some low-level noise. This will not get into the system. The

motor and bearings will become quieter as you use your Classic 3.

· After at least one year of use, the platter bearing and motor will need to be

lubricated. For the platter bearing use 1/4 teaspoon of white lithium grease placed
on the ball. For the motor, use 1 drop of 40-weight motor oil below the brass piece.

Additional Items Available from Your Dealer

· The VPI Synchronous Drive System power supply provides a major increase in

musicality by feeding the synchronous motor a perfectly stable wave form at the
frequency you choose. The SDS lets you change speed electronically.

VPI Industries, Inc. Limited Warranty

VPI Industries, Inc. (VPI) warrants this unit against defects in materials and/or
workmanship for three (3) years from the date of purchase by the original retail purchaser.
VPI’s sole obligation under this warranty is limited to the repair or replacement, at VPI’s
option, of any part(s) found to be defective. VPI’s obligation to repair or replace defective
parts is the purchaser’s sole and exclusive remedy, and VPI shall not be liable for any direct
or indirect injury and/or property damage arising out of the use of the product or defect in
or failure of the product.

This warranty does not extend to any unit whose serial number has been defaced or
altered. Any product that VPI determines causes a defect or malfunction due to incorrect
installation, modification, misuse, or servicing by the purchaser, or service technician not
authorized by VPI to perform such service will not be warranted. This warranty does not
cover trivial or cosmetic defects that do not impair the unit’s normal function.

VPI reserves the right to make changes in this product without assuming any obligation to
install such change in any product previously manufactured. This warranty to repair or
replace defective parts is in lieu of all other express or implied warranties of merchantability
or fitness for a particular purpose. There are not warranties that extend beyond the
description herein.

Some states do not allow exclusion of implied warranties or limitation of incidental or
consequential damages, so the above exclusion or limitations may not apply to you. This
warranty gives you specific legal rights, and you may also have other rights that vary from
state to state.