Anyone NOT like the sound of VPI?

Spencer is absolutely correct, as well as some others along the same lines.

Ain't it fun figuring out exactly why a turntable ain't performing as it should when it don't?

One of the reason's surely that vinyl pilfered out of the mainstream way back when and most sane people (save us) just go for the ease of digital. Less moving parts to tend to and relatively cheap to replace when it breaks.

Of course, watch out when a digital format is not compatible....

If only they stuck the well made CDs in full sized record sleeves with cover art and text like LPs that I could read without a magnifying glass, I think I might be happy. I would probably have bought more CDs because maybe the cover art would have caught my eye in the store as happened in so many cases for me with LPs, so the record companies would be happier than they are these days too!

Progress, right?

Mapman,
I respect your opinion but the Vandersteens solve all of the size and room placement problems of which you speak without the use of ports and with flat in room response custom tailored to your room. Equalization in the lower frequencies is not deletorious(below about 150 hz) which is why Vandersteen does this. That's all I'll say about speakers. Sorry everyone. I realize this is not the loudspeaker forum.

Dealer set ups are always questionable. I have never had a dealer set mine up correctly. Chances are you have a new cartridge and even if it was set up perfectly, it will change as it breaks in. I don't know any dealer that is willing to put in the hours necessary to properly adjust a turntable. Many of you know just how much time doing an overhang adjust with the Mint requires. Next comes Azimuth, VTA, etc....tooooooooooo much

"Equalization in the lower frequencies is not deletorious(below about 150 hz) which is why Vandersteen does this."

That's fine. I think I said equalization was one possible solution.

But my assertion is that there are many good ported speaker designs that do not have "fat mid bass".

I'd assert I own 4 designs that do not and one older design I've owned for years (Ohm L, front ported) that perhaps does to some extent.

One of the ported designs I own (Ohm 5s, bottom ported)also has equalization adjustments (2 bass, 1 mid, 1 treble) to help match to room acoustics on board. Some like that feature and some do not. It works very well for me in that I want to be able to adjust those speakers to different rooms and acoustics without having to rely on an external solution.

Aren't room acoustics a common determining factor for frequency response with most any speaker and placement? This can affect ported and non ported designs as well.