VPl Traveler Manual

The VPl "Traveler" Turntable
nmr/{, I in ff.Jidr,
Setup and lnstruction Manual
VPI lndustries, lnc., Cliffwood Ave. #38, Cliffwood, NJ 07721
Phone: [phone] http://vpiindustries.com/

lmportant: Read Before Proceeding!
o Read and follow the safety instructions below.
o Save all packing material. The Traveler should only be moved or shipped in its original
packaging to reduce the risk of damage in transit.
o The Traveler must be placed on a flat, level surface. This will make setup easy, provide
better sound quality and put less strain on the main bearing.
Safety lnstructions
A Fotlow the instructions below to reduce the risk of electrical hazard or injury.
o To avoid electrical shock, do not open the motor cover.
o lf the supplied power cord does not reach an outlet, use a heavy-duty, grounded
extension cord.
o To avoid electrical shock, always plug the Traveler into a grounded outlet.
o Do not expose the Traveler to rain or excessive moisture.
lntroduction
The Traveler turntable is a precision instrument. lt has been thoroughly tested and run for at
least 4 hours before shipment. The speed accuracy, wow, flutter and rumble have been
checked and this unit meets all of our specifications.
Minimum Specifications
o Wow and Flutter --- Less than .02%
o Rumble --- Greater than 80db down.
o Speed Accuracy -- Within .1%
o Total Weight --- 24 pounds.
o Platter Run-Out --- Within .003 inch.
2

Unpacking the Box
The turntable and tonearm have been packed very carefully to avoid damage during shipment.
It is important that you save the packing materials and box to use for shipping or moving the
Traveler.
/&
/l\ Complete and return the warranty card. The warranty does
#*: not take effect until the warranty card is returned.
o Remove the top layers of packing material to uncover the accessory compartment and
set aside the items inside.
Remove the tonearm and gently place on one of the foam packing layers.
Remove additional packing material to uncover the turntable. Carefully remove the
turntable by lifting straight up and placing on a flat, sturdy surface that will support its
weight. Get assistance in lifting the turntable if needed.
Remove additional packing material to access the platter. Carefully remove the platter
by lifting straight up. Do not damage the platter in any way. The rim of the platter along
with the motor pulley has been machined to very close tolerances to insure playing
speed accuracy.
Any strange markings on the platter or chassis are usually caused by the plastic bag
being in contact with these surfaces. You can smooth out the look and polish the
surfaces using Panel Magic or Stainless Steel Magic from Home Depot or other large
home supply store.
The tonearm bearings are spring loaded so they can take more abuse than regular
gimbaled bearings but you should still be careful handling the tonearm bearing section.
Try to keep the tonearm in its rest as much as possible.
You will feel more play in the bearings of the Traveler tonearm as compared to other
well made gimbaled arms, this is normal. lf you feel motion you are compressing the
springs and they will bounce right back and keep tension on the bearings when playing.
There is no motion in the audio range.
3

Setting up the Traveler
The Traveler must be placed on a flat, level surface. This will make
setup easy, provide better sound quality and put less strain on the
main bearing.
TONE ARM POST
OCK SCREW
PLATTER
LOCATING
tN5
Place the turntable on the shelf or stand where it will be used. The Traveler has built-in
isolation so it simply requires a good, solid surface that doesn't sway in the breeze. You
can get excellent sound by placing the Traveler on a maple butcher block cutting board
about 2" thick.
The platter bearing has been pre-assembled and lubricated. No additional lubrication
should be needed for at least one year.
Carefully place the Platter on the Platter Post disregard any holes or posts.
Screw the Spindle through the Platter and into the Platter Post. Using the included
spanner wrench, tighten the spindle until snug but not excessively tight. This will center
the platter over the bearing and minimize run-out.
Place the belt around the platter and the pulley. The belt will self level upon rotation.
The upper (smaller) pulley diameter is used for 33 1/3 RPM operation and the lower
diameter is for 45 RPM.
4
FIGURE 1

. Connect the supplied power cord to the fused rear socket behind the motor housing.
lf required, levelthe turntable by using a 9 or 12 inch bubble level placed on the platter
near the spindle to adjust left/right and front/back level. Move the level and re-adjust as
needed until the turntable is level in both directions. Rotate the feet up or down as
needed. lf more than three turns are needed, level the shelf or platform holding the
table first.
Loosen the Lock Screw and insert the Tonearm assembly so that the Tonearm Post and
the Arm Clip align with the openings in the base as shown in the illustration above.
TONE ARM
CONNECTOR
HEIGHT ADJUST RING
LOCK SCREW
COUNTERWEIGHT
ADJUSTMENT KNOB
FIGURE 2
BEFORE YOU BEGIN
NOT FOLLOWING THIS MANUAL WILL VOID YOUR WARRANTEE.
FAILURE TO SEND IN THE WARRANTEE CARD WILL VOID YOUR WARRANTEE.
Be very careful when handling the tone arm. The internal arm wire is exposed at the
headshell and at the rear of the arm. This wire is very delicate. Physical damage to the wire
is not covered by the warranty after the arm is removed from its box.
There are a number of setscrews on the Traveler tonearm. The Allen wrenches that come
with your arm will only fit the setscrews that you will need to adjust. All other screws are
factory set and should not be adjusted, except by our trained technicians. Resetting any of
the factory settings is not covered by the warranty.
5

A. CARTRIDGE MOUNTING:
FOR CARTRIDGES WITH THREADED MOUNTING HOLES Use the screws supplied by the
cartridge manufacturer to mount the cartridge. Any other screws may not fit the thread
properly and may even damage the threads and cartridge. USE ONE OF THE SUPPLIED
WASHERS UNDER THE SCREW HEAD.
For all cartridges with pass through mounting holes use the hardware supplied with the
arm. Remember to use the washers under the screw heads to prevent damage to the
finish on the Traveler arm. ln this step, the connectors will be attached to the cartridge's
terminals. Disregard the color of the insulators on the cartridge clips.
THE COLOR CODE OF THE WIRES IS AS FOLLOWS:
RED = right hot
GREEN = right ground WHITE = left hot
BLUE = left ground
B.
c.
IF YOUR PHONO SECTION INVERTS PHASE, THE HOT BECOMES
THE GROUND COLOR
Using tweezers or fine tipped pliers, grip the center of the red wire's connector (do not grip
the wire) and push it onto the cartridge's right hot terminal pin. ln the same way, connect
each of the remaining connectors to its respective cartridge terminal. Do not push the
connectors all the way on, as this could damage the cartridge. Always back up the cartridge
with your finger when pushing on the clips.
THE COUNTERWEIGHT:
The Traveler tone arm comes with the counterweight installed on the rear shaft of the
tonearm. For most cartridges you will only need this large weight. The counterweight
moves on the shaft with the thumbscrew in the rear of the arm. This is a fine adjustment
and will give you very accurate results.
BALANCING ARM: TRACKING FORCE AND AZIMUTH
Plug the arm wire connector into its receptacle at the rear of the Traveler base. Notice that
the connector can plug in only one way. Push gently, do not force the plug.
Depending on the twist given to the wire when the plug was inserted into the box, the arm
will have a tendency to swing inward or outward when it is in neutral horizontal balance.
Later on, you will adjust the wire's twist to provide slight anti-skating compensation.
6

Move the counterweight until the arm has a very slight downward tracking force, just
enough to keep it from moving sideways on the platter or enough to keep it in the groove of
the record
D. TRACKING FORCE:
o Tracking force is adjusted by moving the counterweight forward and back just a bit at a
time. At least initially, you will be setting the tracking force twice. The first time will be
before the cartridge's overhang is set. After this is done, you will need to double check the
tracking force and adjust it as needed.
o The Traveler does not have a built-in tracking force gauge, but a Shure Stylus Force Gauge is
supplied with your unit. Following the gauge instructions set the tracking force to the
cartridge manufacturer recommendation plus 1/10 of a gram more. We always recommend
going to the high side when it comes to tracking force. High frequency vibrations can cause
a light tracking cartridge to cause more damage to the grooves than running a cartridge at a
heavy setting. Make sure the damping fluid is not installed when setting this force.
o Always make sure that the arm is parallel to the platter when on the Shure gauge and then
parallel to the platter when on the record. By doing that you will actually be tracking at the
force you set with the Shure gauge. You can vary the vertical height later using the large
thumbwheel but for now parallel is king.
E. OVERHANG ADJUSTMENT: TONEARM DETAILS
Pivot to spindle - 235 mm
Overhang - 16 mm
Effective length - 251- mm
Offset angle - 21.82 degrees
lnner null point - 66 mm
Outer null point -t2lmm
This adjustment will yield the lowest overall distortion when playing a typical L2" record.
Do not go crazy over this adjustment. You do not know if the stylus is aligned properly on
the cantilever. You are also facing a constantly moving target when playing a record. The
arm is moving in 3-dimensions and will only approximate the accuracy you have built into
your alignment.
Place the Traveler Alignment Jig into position and make sure that the jig's cutout fits against
and around the arm rest.
7

While the arm is in its rest, loosen the screws that hold the cartridge just enough that the
cartridge can be moved back and forth and side to side.
Carefully swing the arm over the grid at the far end of the jig and place the stylus as close to
the dot in the center of the grid as possible. Using a lighted magnifier or new magnified
glasses with lights will make this job very easy.
BE VERY CAREFUL NOT TO DAMAGE THE CARTRIDGE'S STYLUS:
Move the cartridge so that the stylus rests on the dot. Now, viewing the cartridge from
above, line it up so that its sides are symmetrically positioned between the lines of the grid.
lf the cartridge has parallel sides, these should be made parallel to the grid lines. Also make
sure that the cartridge is centered between the sets of lines.
o Double check the adjustments made above. The cartridge needs to be both centered and
"square" between the gird lines and have the stylus resting on the dot.
tooK DowN THE STYLUS CANTLEVER FRoM rHE FR::ffit THE CARTRTDGE AND SEE tF tr tS UNED up wtTH
o The alignment gauge does not have a hole or dimple to hold the stylus. While the printed
dot makes it harder to keep the stylus in place, this method was chosen to avoid the
possibility of damaging the stylus cantilever or the diamond tip as the cartridge is
positioned.
o Place the arm back in its rest.
o Without letting the cartridge move, tighten the screws holding the cartridge to the arm
head. Make it tight, but don't over-do it and strip the threads or distort the cartridge body.
I

F.
o Double check the tracking force and adjust as needed. lncrease the tracking force by
1,/tO of a gram above the cartridge manufacturer's highest recommended force.
DO NOT GO CRAZY DOING THIS, YOU WILLALWAYS HAVE ERROR NO MATTER HOW MANY
HOURS YOU SPEND ON THE ALIGNMENT.
ANTI.SKATING:
Anti-skating is one of the least understood forces acting on a tonearm. Skatingforce is
created by friction between the stylus and the record, causing a force vector in a direction
towards the center of the record when the headshell of the tonearm has an offset angle.
The longer the arm the smaller the offset the lower the skating force. The Traveler arm has
significantly lower skating force than a standard 9" arm
Putting a stylus down on a flat, groove less record will cause the arm to move toward the
center of the record. Arm manufacturers have tried to compensate for this force, but that is
impossible because the force is constantly changing as the music and velocity change. Time
is better spent listening to records than setting anti-skate on a 10.2" tonearm. Make sure
the wire loop is nice and round, set the tracking force to .L gram higher than the max.
recommended force, and you are set.
ARM HEIGHT:
To adjust the arm height, loosen the THUMBSCREW on the base of the arm assembly and
turn the adjustment wheel above the base. Put a record on the platter and a 5X7 lined
index card (bent in half on the middle line) on the record near the spindle. Use the lines on
the card as a starting point to adjust arm height. Make the arm tube parallel to the lines on
the card. When the arm is at the desired height, tighten the screw. You can raise or lower
the arm later for fine adjustments.
coNNECT|NG TO TH E PREAMPLt FtER/AM PLTFTER
The ground connection is available to eliminate hum if necessary. lf hum is present, first
connect a ground lead from the connector block to the preamplifier or amplifier to which
the output cable is connected. lf this does not eliminate the hum, run a ground wire from
the turntable chassis to the connector block as well. The block's connector will accept bare
wires, spade lugs, or ring tongue connectors.
o Make sure the wire loop is a smooth round loop, no kinks and no twists.
. Plug the right channel cable into the red RCA connector, do not go by any diagram, look at
the connector and make sure it is red on the inside.
G.
H.
I

VPI Industries, lnc. Limited Warranty
VPI lndustries, lnc. (VPl) warrants this unit against defects in materials and/or workmanship for
three (3) years from the date of purchase by the original retail purchaser. VPI's sole obligation
under this warranty is limited to the repair or replacement, at VPI's option, of any part(s) found
to be defective. VPI's obligation to repair or replace defective parts is the purchaser's sole and
exclusive remedy, and VPI shall not be liable for any direct or indirect injury and/or property
damage arising out of the use of the product or defect in or failure of the product.
This warranty does not extend to any unit whose serial number has been defaced or altered.
Any product that VPI determines causes a defect or malfunction due to incorrect installation,
modification, misuse, or servicing by the purchaser, or service technician not authorized by VPI
to perform such service will not be warranted. This warranty does not cover trivial or cosmetic
defects that do not impair the unit's normal function.
VPI reserves the right to make changes in this product without assuming any obligation to
install such change in any product previously manufactured. This warranty to repair or replace
defective parts is in lieu of all other express or implied warranties of merchantability or fitness
for a particular purpose. There are not warranties that extend beyond the description herein.
Some states do not allow exclusion of implied warranties or limitation of incidental or
consequential damages, so the above exclusion or limitations may not apply to you. This
warranty gives you specific legal rights, and you may also have other rights that vary from state
to state.
10