VPI Prime 21+ turntable

You can start almost any review of a VPI turntable with, “A few years ago, VPI revolutionised a sector of the high-end vinyl market. Now it’s done it again.” And guess what? With the VPI Prime 21 and Prime 21+, it’s changed the game once again.

VPI uses an ‘if it ain’t broke. Don’t fix it’ model for many of its best designs, allowing a slow but continual upgrade of products over the years. As a result, it’s not hard to see the DNA gone into the Prime 21, as it echoes the design used first in the Prime, then Prime Signature above it and Prime Scout below. The Prime 21 slots in between Prime and Prime Signature, financially, design-wise and sonically. And, while 2020 might have been the year everyone wants to forget, the VPI Prime 21 celebrates 2021 in style.

I have a lot of time for the Prime design, and I’ve logged a lot of hours with it too. I bought the original Prime after reviewing it in Issue 146, and still use that turntable on a regular basis. However, long-term use does highlight a few ‘foibles’ with the original design. The finish – while good – isn’t quite as sumptuous as models like the Signature and beyond. Perhaps most importantly, though, the Delrin feet and the arm feel a little bit too ‘fiddly’ for a deck of the VPI Prime’s level; it makes perfect sense for a four layer foot and a 3D printed unipivot to feature in models like the Prime Signature and the Avenger line, but it seems a little ‘tweaky’ in a turntable that is often compared to top-end Regas and Well-Tempereds (OK, so an arm that has a bearing made up of a golf-ball, a piece of monofilament and an oil bath is perhaps the definition of ‘tweaky’, but in use the Well-Tempered arm is easier to set-up than you might first imagine). None of these things are a deal-breaker, which is perhaps why the Prime has proven so successful and sparked its own VPI range, but they are observations none the less.

Clearly, they are also observations that have been recognised by VPI too. The Prime 21 is the Prime given a few buffs and an extended remix. The overall fit and finish is improved (there’s a logo and its semi-matt black finish looks deeper and richer). What’s perhaps not so immediately visible is beneath that richly finished plinth is a new machined top plate with additional bracing and isolation (you can tell… it’s a lot heavier).

Those feet of the Prime are replaced by the ones first seen on the HW40, which are both bigger, more of a colour contrast, easier to install and even more feedback-proof than the originals.