Rim-Drive Turntables

A rim-drive turntable uses a motor-driven wheel that contacts the inner rim of the platter directly, delivering the high torque and rotational stability of direct-drive with the vibration-filtering benefits of mechanical isolation between the motor and the record groove, a topology refined over decades and most fully developed today by VPI Industries of Cliffwood, New Jersey, USA. Vinyl Sound in Toronto, Canada carries the complete VPI rim-drive turntable lineup, representing the most advanced expression of rim-drive engineering available from any manufacturer. The VPI Avenger is the entry point to the rim-drive Avenger series, featuring a three-layer acrylic/aluminium/acrylic bonded chassis with damping material between layers, three stainless steel corner posts supporting up to three tonearms of any make or length, and the Harry Weisfeld Signature Rim Drive motor assembly driven by the Analog Drive System for precise speed control. The VPI Avenger Plus adds the JMW 12-3DR tonearm with Nordost Reference wire and a periphery ring clamp. The VPI Avenger Reference introduces a magnetic drive platter system in which a 10-pound driven platter spins a 20-pound slave platter via six high-power machined magnets, using magnetic flux as a mechanical damper to smooth micro-vibrations at the record surface. The VPI Titan double-stacks the Avenger Reference chassis architecture and machines a 4-inch-thick platter weighing approximately 40 pounds, driven by a dual-motor Magneto Rim-drive flywheel, with a triple-tonearm acrylic/aluminium/acrylic sandwich chassis on pneumatic air-suspension isolation footers and analog-based oscillators generating regenerated AC sine waves for ultra-low motor noise. The VPI Vanquish is a Magnetic Direct Drive turntable with a 14-inch Fatboy Gimbal tonearm, finished in ruby red on a dedicated heavyweight Vanquish Stand. Vinyl Sound is an authorised VPI dealer in Toronto, Canada, with reference listening sessions and bespoke setup available at our Richmond Hill, Ontario showroom by appointment.