I recently purchased the Phoenix Engineering Falcon and RoadRunner PS and Tachometer for my VPI Classic. The Falcon replaced the Music Hall Cruise Control 2.0 that I was previously using for my VPI turntable. The Cruise Control had one major problem that drove me crazy and that's the fact that in 45 RPM mode, it could not build speed on its own. I would had to give the platter a strong push to get it up to speed. The Cruise Control was able to keep the spin once the platter was up to speed. Even when picking up the LP to change sides the platter would slow down without the CC being able to spin it without assistance. I suspect the CC is severely under powered for the VPI Classic and as a result does not provide enough power to the motor.

In comes the PS/Tachometer set from Phoenix Engineering. The first thing you notice is how small these devices are. If you combine the two boxes they are actually considerably smaller than the Music Hall CC. Both are powered by an external wall wart power supply. The one that comes with the Falcon PS is multi voltage and will work in both 110v and 220v countries. The one that comes with the RoadRunner is 110v only but any 9v DC power supply will work and these are readily available. I used a power supply I had laying around the house since I needed one that works at 220v. I have no idea why Phoenix Engineering chose to use a 100v only wall wart with the RoadRunner but its not a big issue.

Setting up the Falcon and RoadRunner was a snap and I was up and running with both in 45 minutes, 20 minutes of which was choosing a place to attach the small magnet to the platter and another 15 minutes to route the cables. When I say small magnet I mean SMALL. You can lose it in a second if you are not careful. When both units are working together there is a cable that attaches the two together and provides continuous speed feedback from the RoadRunner to the Falcon. This enables the Falcon to correct speed with no user intervention. Its amazing how great this system works. Out of the box when the Falcon was set to 33.3 RPM the VPI was about 0.8 RPM slow. As soon as I connected the cable between the two units speed was gradually corrected and after 6 or so rotations was with in 0.004 RPM of the desired 33.3 RPM speed. You can actually see the RoadRunner constantly correcting speed as a result of changing stylus drag during playback. The increments are extremely slow and are in no way noticeable audibly.

Now to the sound... The biggest noticeable improvement when I moved to the VPI Classic was its speed stability. Before having the VPI, I never gave too much thought to the effects of speed stability however the VPI quickly made it clear how important this is for micro dynamics, focus, bass weight and solidity of soundstage image. When I used the Music Hall CC I did not notice any significant change in sound. I used it mainly for the convenience of speed change. I do not like to have to touch the belt every time I want to change speeds. The Phoenix Engineering duo the takes this a clear step forward with even better micro dynamics, weight and focus. A great feature of the Falcon PS is that it can reduce the voltage to the motor after the motor is up to speed and thus reduce motor vibrations. After setting this feature to reduce the voltage to 85v from the standard 110v there was a clear reduction in rumble that resulted in a lower noise floor. Putting the stylus on a blank record, I had to turn the volume up 4-6 DB higher on my preamp to hear any noise from the stylus. This is really impressive!

Overall, when using Falcon/RoadRunner duo the sound gains in so many ways it was an eye/ear opener. I have many Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday 45 RPM classics. The vocals on these recording were so lifelike its breathtaking. You can hear every nuance of their voice, every breath and diction. Makes you appreciate just how talented Ella and Billie are. Listening to Count Basie big band, the soundstage was never this expansive. I might be imagining things but I think SS depth has also improved somewhat. Great piano recordings such as the Oscar Peterson Trio "We Get Requests" sound absolutely stunning. I have this recording on a 33 RPM remaster and the piano sounds more lifelike than ever before.

All in all as you can tell I am extremely happy with the Phoenix Engineering duo. I have never tried the VPI SDS power supply but at less than half the price this duo does a phenomenal job and you have the advantage of automatic realtime speed correction.