Hey all, no worries I won't take any of this as bashing, just a chance to share our goal. Actually, a lot of it was because originally I was confused by our own product line coming on board.
*A bit of history, feel free to skip if you have read about this already*
At the end of 2011 when my mom died, I was a school teacher and reluctantly took on the family business. In the process, I found the love I never knew I had for the industry and my family's company. However, I couldn't keep track of our own brand because we had over 22 models each being very close in price and build with each other. It wasn't against anything my dad made just very confusing for me which means it had to be even more confusing for customers. This started a long transition and learning process for me. In addition it lead to the decision to focus the brand, not for marketing but for sanity. The dealers used to have a saying that "no two VPI's are a like." Which at the time some considered charming but overall can lead to a lot of headaches. Three years ago when we had our first VPI dealer training and presented this direction the dealers breathed a sigh of relief.
Our direction is to have an easy to understand and use product line of "good, better, best" that has multiple options for the customer to upgrade and grow with their table.
From our FAQ's page:
Q: Can you explain your product line at a quick glance?
A: We have made the line very simple with the idea of “good, better, best” in mind across the whole line. All products are consistent and locked in to be in the line without any changes!)
Entry Level
Cliffwood
Player
Production
Prime Scout (good)
Prime (better)
Prime Signature (best)
Reference
Avenger (good)
Avenger Plus (better)
Avenger Reference (best)
On top of that we are in the process of introducing some VPI branded electronics to provide a full solution for that first time user. As well as having something down the pike for our 40th anniversary ;)
We still have an HR-X as an option but it is visual with no real sonic advantage over an Avenger. The difference being the Avenger is MUCH easier to tweak, modify, and add tonearms to... a high-end sandbox for someone to play with! A lot of dealers and customers have been switching for Avengers because they want to easily mount multiple arms for quick cartridge demo or mounting other company's arms without getting too technical.
Hope that clears up the goal and directions for VPI. :)
-MW
