@tooblue , does your 3D arm have the finger lift molded to the tonearm?
I ask because I just received a VPI Prime from a VPI dealer (demo), and I noticed that the 3D arm I received did not look like the same arm as I see on the internet in many photos of the 3D arm. Mine has a separate metal clip that you attach to the headshell when you mount the cartridge to use as a finger-lift. The ones I've seen on the internet have the finger-lift molded to the arm as one piece, using the same material as the arm itself.
I contacted the VPI dealer and VPI about this. The VPI dealer said that he had a problem with the original arm, sent it back to VPI and that my arm was the new arm that VPI sent him.
VPI said that the one piece arm, that is in all the photos on the internet, was the 2014 version of the 3D arm, and that the version with the separate metal finger-lift clip is the 2015-2016 version of the 3D arm.
I didn't get anymore detail from my dealer about exactly what problem he was having with the older arm though. VPI made no mention of any problems, or why they changed the design.
I ask because I just received a VPI Prime from a VPI dealer (demo), and I noticed that the 3D arm I received did not look like the same arm as I see on the internet in many photos of the 3D arm. Mine has a separate metal clip that you attach to the headshell when you mount the cartridge to use as a finger-lift. The ones I've seen on the internet have the finger-lift molded to the arm as one piece, using the same material as the arm itself.
I contacted the VPI dealer and VPI about this. The VPI dealer said that he had a problem with the original arm, sent it back to VPI and that my arm was the new arm that VPI sent him.
VPI said that the one piece arm, that is in all the photos on the internet, was the 2014 version of the 3D arm, and that the version with the separate metal finger-lift clip is the 2015-2016 version of the 3D arm.
I didn't get anymore detail from my dealer about exactly what problem he was having with the older arm though. VPI made no mention of any problems, or why they changed the design.