SYMPOSIUM®
Classic / Prime Footer Damping Insert Kit
Upgrade your VPI Classic or VPI Prime Turntable to new and better performance
"I am absolutely stunned over the improvement the combination of the Segue ISO and the Prime inserts is rendering. Simply stunning. Thank you."
M. T., Ohio
"I installed your insert kit on my VPI Aries 3D, listened, reinstalled the stock rubber inserts, listened, and then reinstalled your insert kit. I will not uninstall your insert kit as the improvement is significant, worthwhile, and very cost-effective.
Thank you for the recommendation and for an excellent product."
- Jerry Seigel, Editor, 10 Audio
"Attached find a picture of my Rosewood VPI Classic 3 on your Segue ISO platform. It improved the sound of my Classic immediately. The real surprise was when I tried your new inserts for the feet of the Classic. Wow, I couldn't believe how much more detail I heard with that little tweak. These items are keepers and exceeded my expectations. Thank you."
- P.C., New York
"Bass aberrancy is improved in part likely from the footer damping insert. Thank you so much."
- J.K., North Carolina
"I wanted to update you regarding the performance on my turntable with the VPI insert kit. I'm using the VPI Classic 3, or as it is now called, the Classic Signature...this past weekend, I got out the ultra sonic cleaner and spun a few LP's. My first one was the brand new Analog Sounds re-release of Cat Stevens Tea For The Tillerman. This release is a 200G meticulously engineered from the original masters by arguably the best in the business...So it isn't surprising that this LP was a real stunner with the new insert kit. I went on to play some other LP's that weren't so new and they all sounded spectacular. Much better dynamics, LF response, and in general far more musical. So I'd say the inserts were a great addition."
- P.F., North Carolina
Symposium's Damping Insert Kits (for VPI Classic and for VPI Prime Turntables) upgrade standard VPI Classic and Prime turntables to give you better sound without necessitating the removal or replacement of the original turntable foot (Classic foot shown at left, Prime Foot shown at right). Now your turntable's original appearance and leveling capability is preserved, but you'll hear improved definition, better bass quality and superior dynamic contrasts - all with reduced "haze" and "fog." How is this possible? The original Classic (and Prime) footers as supplied by the manufacturer contain an inexpensive "motor mount" insert that consists of two 1/4-20 steel bolts separated by a cylinder of rubber. This rubber cylinder is supplied as a stop-gap solution for isolation problems, but arguably creates more problems than it solves, due to the introduction of rubber into the turntable's direct ground pathway. Rubber is well known as a problematic agent when used in a direct mechanical ground path; Symposium's Damping Inserts replace these motor mounts with a multi-layered damping system that improves time delay characteristics, resonance, neutrality, and more. Note: there are two DIFFERENT versions and the proper type must be used with the specific footer style (Classic or Prime).
The Classic and Prime Footer's original rubber "isolator" insert is removed and replaced with a Symposium Damping Insert (see photo at right). The Damping Insert is actually a small, cylindrical Symposium Platform, precision made and mounted around a custom stainless steel threaded post. This seemingly insignificant little device vastly improves the energy damping capacity of the Classic turntable's footer and restores an effective mechanical ground connection, making an excellent turntable even better. Easy to replace (takes just minutes, and no tools necessary!), the benefits of our Damping Inserts are numerous and include better bass, restored midrange "bloom," superior dynamics and imaging - just less haze and fog overall, enabling you to hear more of what your VPI table is capable of.
The Damping Inserts are an affordable, must-have "tweak" if you own a Classic or Prime turntable, and especially if you presently use or are considering a Symposium platform for use with one, because they optimize the mechanical interface between the turntable and the platform. That means that the sonic advantages of using one of our Platforms under your turntable will be enhanced and more apparent.
Improves VPI Prime turntable Performance
VPI's Prime Turntable benefits as much or more than the Classic 'tables from the use of the Damping Inserts, since the Prime's newer foot is capable of superior mechanical grounding (see our Technology section for a discussion of Cones and Points). However, since the Prime footer comes with the same rubber motor mount "isolator" as the Classic Footer, they cause the same kind of sonic mischief as in the Classic tables. The presence of the rubber footer works diametrically against the very principles of a metal cone footer design, and Prime Insert Dampers will "unlock" the potential of this footer, providing greater dynamic contrasts, superior transient preservation, bass definition, and more.
BE SURE TO SELECT THE PROPER VERSION FOR YOUR TURNTABLE!
If you have a Classic 'table with Classic footers, select the "Classic Footer Damping Inserts"; if you have a Prime Turntable, be sure to select "Prime Footer Damping Inserts." Both types are slightly different and are not interchangeable. Therefore, please specify the correct type when you order!
Want even better analog performance?
Although the addition of Insert Dampers will make audible improvements by themselves, the affordable combination of a Symposium Segue ISO platform and Coupling Inserts will elevate your analog playback to new heights, by providing a superior mechanical interface with simultaneous low frequency isolation. See the Segue ISO page for more information about the benefits of the resistively damped and simultaneously isolated platform system that has reviewers and owners singing its praises.
