Warm-hearted replay
With my stalwart Benz Micro ACE high output MC cartridge
[HFN Sept '11] fitted to the VPI's tonearm and the deck's RCAs connected to my
Primare R32 phono stage [HFN Jan '12] via a pair of Crystal Cable
interconnects, I'm up and running. But using The Beatles' track ‘For No One' from
their Revolver LP [Parlophone PCS 7009] to check all connections are wired
correctly, I'm surprised to hear Paul McCartney's clavichord coming through the
left channel, instead of the right channel where it should be found. After
checking that all the connections I've made are correct and that the
colour-coded arm wires correctly match their adjoining cartridge pins, I
continue to the next set of connections in the replay chain.
Swapping my Crystal interconnects around at the deck's RCA
outputs shifts the clavichord to its rightful place in the right channel, so
somewhere along the way within the tonearm, connections between the cartridge
tags and RCA outputs the channels had been switched!
Threaded conical
alloy feet make levelling easy and have furniture-friendly rubber tips in place
of the old model’s ball bearings. Unipivot tonearm has lots of adjustment
With that sorted out, listening could begin in earnest. The
VPI is actually a very warm-hearted musical performer. Stephen Fretwell's
‘Bumper Cars' track from his Man On The Roof LP [Fiction Records 1743212] has
plenty of romance and warmth in the midrange, which sounds rich without being
overly pronounced - although it's a tad more forward than the most neutral
vinyl spinners in this price range.
Because of this, the Scout manages to present Fretwell's
restrained and melancholic vocals with real clarity, while ensuring his voice
stays suitably subdued, which brings degrees of convincing honesty to his
performance. This sonic trait is equally so with the strings in the track,
which gently emanate from the back of the soundstage to envelop the music,
without sounding forced in any way.
Instead, the Scout is much more subtle in its approach to
extracting the music from an LP's grooves, and the resulting sounds it serves
up are more than just a box-ticking exercise in striving for accuracy, so the
music conveys genuine feeling. And while the VPI package's treble is not
ultimately as revealing or focused as with some at and beyond this price point,
what you do hear is very organically presented, which shifts your attention
away from analysing the music to simply enjoying it.
VPI Scout 1.1 in
room
The higher notes of Fretwell's plucked acoustic guitar
strings, for example, capture my attention every time, as they escape the
tweeters with a natural twang before disappearing back into the mix.
The way the VPI blends the treble with the upper midrange
certainly plays to my Dynaudio Focus 260 loudspeaker's strengths, by sounding
bold and substantial across the soundstage - which brings lots of dynamism to
the track.
Bass control
Having recently lived with a few German behemoth type decks
blessed with the ability to extract exceptionally low frequencies from even the
most flimsy of LPs, it's fascinating to compare and contrast how deep the VPI
can dig in the bass regions. While the Scout ultimately might not go as low as
some of these more costly heavyweights, the bass it does present is still ample
and, arguably, even more controlled.
The bass guitar in Morrissey's ‘I'm Not Sorry' [Attack
Records ATKLP 001] can catch even the most authoritative vinyl-spinner out,
resulting in muddied bass that degenerates into boom, which quickly blurs the
soundstage and compromises instrument separation further up the frequency band.
Loop of twisted
arm wires helps set anti-skate, and unplugs from the junction box so the arm
wand can be removed in seconds. RCA sockets are top quality
Thankfully the Scout casts aside the presumed shortcomings
typically associated with unipivot tonearm designs and their lack of bass
authority, by confronting the track's bottom-end head-on and determinedly
keeping everything in check. The resulting bass notes go convincingly low while
sounding taut and free of unnatural overhang, which adds to the track's sense
of power and pace.
With Devon Sproule's ‘The Unmarked Animals' from her I Love
You, Go Easy [Tin Angel Records TAR024LP], the Scout shows no hesitation in
strutting its funky stuff. Timing sounds well governed - on the side of
sprightly rather than lethargic. This seems to complement the track by giving
its rhythms a sense of joy and buoyancy.
The soundstage set out by the Scout is expansive and open,
allowing it to be highly accessible. And while the VPI's imaging isn't as
pinpoint sharp as the more analytical decks I've heard, when fitted with my
Benz pick-up, the VPI ensures instruments sound convincingly full-bodied and
presents them in a manner that shows the Scout package certainly isn't lacking
in confidence.
The VPI's combined strengths reveal this machine to be a
well balanced all-rounder that approaches everything that's placed on its
platter with equal passion.
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Specifications
·
Turntable speed error at 33.33rpm: 33.54rpm (+0.63%)
·
Time to audible stabilisation: 5sec
·
Peak Wow/Flutter: 0.06% / 0.04%
·
Rumble (silent groove, DIN B wtd): -69.6dB
·
Rumble (through bearing, DIN B wtd): -73.9dB
·
Hum & Noise (unwtd, rel. to 5cm/sec): -57.1dB
·
Power Consumption: 5W
·
Dimensions (WHD): 483x1 02x330mm
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