Referring to his longtime reference 'table-arm combination, MF observed that 'the Classic Direct with its JMW Memorial 3D-printed 12' tonearm comes as close to the Caliburn's sound as has any turntable, and for less than one-fifth the price.' Quibbles: MF wondered if even greater performance could be had with a more sophisticated plinth, and lacked enthusiasm for the model's peripheral platter clamp. To this, Weisfeld has mated a version of his tried-and-true JMW unipivot tonearm updated in both mechanical design and materials choice, this one a seamless resin creation whose existence would not have been possible even five years ago. The platter and drive system (combined weight: 27 lbs) are snugged into an aluminum-and-MDF plinth measuring 23.5' wide by 17.5' deep. For VPI's Classic Direct, designer Harry Weisfeld selected a $4000 ( his cost) Thin Gap motor, servo-controlled by a custom-designed active-feedback loop, which he combined with an 18-lb platter machined from a single billet of aluminum. VPI Classic Direct turntable: $30,000 including tonearm ★Ī brand-new, US-made direct-drive turntablein the 21st Century? Believe it. Though it didn't sound as smooth as the Continuum Caliburn or the Onedof One Degree of Freedom, the Air Force One was sensational in terms of harmonics, space, texture, and microdynamics, said Mikey, who concluded: 'The TechDAS Air Force One was a sonic masterpiece.' After noting, in Vol.38 No.11, that the less expensive Air Force Two nipped at the One's heels rather more fiercely than expected, MF borrowed a second sample of the latter and noted 'far less of the mechanical sound' that had checked his enthusiasm for the first sampleand he enthused over the One's new titanium-platter option ( ca $5000). The review sample was equipped with a Graham Engineering Phantom II Supreme tonearm. The platter uses an air bearing LPs are held to the platter with vacuum suction. 'A visually stunning technological tour de force,' the 174-lb Air Force One has a three-layer chassis of damped aluminum, a forge-processed stainless-steel platter, and a massive AC synchronous motor controlled by an outboard dual-50W amplifier. TechDAS Air Force One: $105,000 plus tonearm ★

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