VPI Aries Panzerholz Plinth

I have fabricated two plinths using Panzerholz engineered multi layered wood. One utilizes the Scout series dimensions while the other has the Aries series dimensions. I have the Aries series plinth available for immediate purchase.

NOTE: This ad is for the VPI Aries series plinth only. The ad for this item does not include any turntable components (e.g. footers, platter & bearing, SAMA, tonearm, cartridge, center weight/clamp, periphery ring etc.).

Panzerholz is a hard multi-laminate material manufactured from beech veneers and synthetic resin under high heat and pressure. The material has metal like properties and is critically damped. The following link compares the material characteristics of Panzerholz with aluminum.

http://www.lessloss.com/page.html?id=80

VPI Aries series plinth is constructed using 50mm of Panzerholz B15 material. The Panzerholz core is wrapped with Rosewood stained solid Maple planks. The Maple is finished and sealed with a clear natural Danish Oil.

The most significant improvement of the Panzerholz plinth is the even balance of the frequency spectrum. Clarity, coherency, attack and decay are considerably improved. Combined, this is an immense improvement and justified the effort.

The Aries plinth has been designed for use with either the VPI Single Motor Flywheel Rimdrive or thread belt drive system. The platter has been located such that the Single Motor Flywheel Rimdrive fully resides within the plinth SAMA cut out. A thread based belt can be constructed of appropriate length in order reach the pulley of the standard 300 rpm motor unit. The VPI Nitrile belt may not have enough elasticity to be used with this plinth design due to the platter location. I found a silk thread belt combined with electronic speed control was equivalent to the Single Motor Flywheel benefits. If you have electronic speed control, I would suggest trying a thread belt tied with a blood knot.

The inverted platter bearing resides on a piece of Panzerholz directly coupled to the 50mm Panzerholz core.

The plinth uses a 4” x 6” tonearm board which will accept 9" - 10" effective length tonearms. Two tonearm boards are currently made for the plinth; one is made from solid Maple and the other using B25 Panzerholz faced with a Maple veneer. The tonearm boards are currently thicker than required for VPI tonearms as the initial intention was to use a non-VPI tonearm. If a VPI tonearm is to be used, the tonearm board thickness can be adjusted. If other tonearms are to be used, please inquire with the platter to tonearm board height.

Local pickup is welcome and preferred. Please contact if shipping is required.

I have additional material to fabricate two Scout or Aries series plinths; one having a 25mm Panzerholz core and the other having a 30mm Panzerholz core. I could also make one 40mm Panzerholz core plinth. Different species of solid wood plank wraps can be used to face the plinths with an optional stain and Danish Oil finish. An Aries plinth can have the standard or adjusted platter mounting location. Please enquire if you are interested in fabricating a new Panzerholz plinth.