Turntable gift from the US to Australian Prime Minister

[dougi]

Anyone with any more detail? Likely a VPI of some sort? He has been known to do some dogy DJing, not sure a VPI would be any good for that!

"President Biden will gift prime minster Albanese a custom signature turntable from a family-owned American audio manufacturer that includes a special engraved plaque to commemorate the official visit."

 

[JSmith]

Likely a VPI of some sort?

Yeah I'd think so too.

Anyone with any more detail?

They're specifically not mentioning the name of the manufacturer.

I wonder if it was the top of the line?

Titan Direct | VPI Industries

The Titan Direct is an industrial design statement turntable. Direct Drive tables and isolation/material science of 45 years

www.vpiindustries.com

JSmith

 

[TimF]

Might as well give him and iron lung too and a dial wired telephone.

 

[A Cute Earring]

…and a box of 5.25” floppy disks.

 

[BlackTalon]

...and a manual wind wristwatch

...and a car with a gasoline engine and manual transmission

...and a straight razer

 

[MRC01]

Seems strange because Albanese is either a vinyl loving audiophile, or he's not.
If he is not, he won't know what to do with it.
If he is, he already has a fine turntable and this one will be superfluous.

 

[Graham849]

"However much they may like the offerings Mr Albanese and Ms Haydon will likely have to surrender them to the Prime Minister's Department or pay their equivalent value under Australia's strict rules of office.”

The PM has two official residences as well as an office at parliament house, so plenty of places to install it.

 

[Anton D]

Likely some research done ahead of time. Seems pretty cool!

 

[dougi]

He has the nickname "DJ Albo" but I have no idea whether he already has a turntable/s or not.

 

[tmtomh]

It's highly unlikely that this gift is random - it clearly must have some meaning, whether symbolic or practical, to the Australian PM.

 

[JSmith]

He has the nickname "DJ Albo" but I have no idea whether he already has a turntable/s or not.

it clearly must have some meaning

symbolic

Maybe it means... "the tables have turned", as both countries changed leaders and sides of politics. Or maybe we're trying to look too far into it and it's simply the DJ thing.


JSmith

 

[Keith_W]

"However much they may like the offerings Mr Albanese and Ms Haydon will likely have to surrender them to the Prime Minister's Department or pay their equivalent value under Australia's strict rules of office.”

The PM has two official residences as well as an office at parliament house, so plenty of places to install it.

Yup, I was going to point that out. That reminds me of a Yes Minister episode:

A few years ago, the Premier of NSW had to step down because he kept a gift of a bottle of wine for himself. So this VPI turntable is a gift to the government and not the PM personally, he won't be able to keep it.

 

[restorer-john]

He loves his vinyl. The NZ Prime minister and him swapped records at one meeting between them.

 

[restorer-john]

Impressive:

 

[restorer-john]

"However much they may like the offerings Mr Albanese and Ms Haydon will likely have to surrender them to the Prime Minister's Department or pay their equivalent value under Australia's strict rules of office.”

He'll pay the AU$11,500 and keep it. Surely. It'll be worth an absolute fortune down the track.

It's probably now the most valuable turntable on the planet with that plaque.

 

[restorer-john]

Hopefully VPI doesn't stiff Albo for warranty service when he has too many beers and decides to do a DJ set on it, buggers the cartridge and snaps the arm off.

Maybe when he goes to Japan on an official visit, he'll get a free Technics. Or just do a world trip and get a whole high end system for the Lodge.

He's got a ways to go before catching up with Medvedev's system:

Having dinner with Pootie:

It may be an optical illusion, but it sure looks like someone had one too many vodka shots, tripped and fell on the turntable. The platter looks a bit off horizontal...

 

[dougi]

What model VPI is the gift? Seems bespoke as it doesn't resemble any of the current product line.

 

[restorer-john]

What model VPI is the gift?

It's the DJ Albo Special Edition.

From Stereonet:
The turntable (shown below), sporting a POTUS record mat, is a VPI Classic Signature, proudly designed and manufactured by the family-owned New Jersey-based company.

Classic Signature | VPI Industries

Back by popular demand, the Classic Signature is available in Black Oak, Piano Black, and Gloss Walnut.

www.vpiindustries.com

 

[TonyJZX]

about gifting mechanical watches

the previous govt. here received a gift of some Rolex watches from Chinese officials

the local govt. said they thought they were Chinese knockoffs as gag gifts

on further inspection these chinese 'knockoff' Rolex watches were confirmed to be made in Switzerland and legitmate and valued at $15,000-$20,000 usd

sometime further the Chinese were offered a 99 yr lease on a Darwin port

seems so strange doesnt it? the Chinese make perfectly fine Rolex watches... why would they need to get ones from Switzerland? doesnt make sense? everyone here seems to be acting silly.

 

[thewas]

German government had also given an active Hifi system to Gorbatschow in 1989

Meilensteine - Backes & Müller Exclusiv Partner Sprint Service GmbH

Audiophile Manufaktur Backes & Müller Als Backes & Müller Mitte der 70er Jahre begann, aktive Lautsprecher zu bauen, waren dafür technische Gründe ausschlaggebend, die auch heute noch ihre Gültigkeit haben. Natürlich ist es simpler, eine passive Box zu bauen - es verspricht nicht zuletzt...

www.aktiv-backesmueller24.de

Ein Hifi-Leben für High End: Adrianus Elschot

Adrianus Elschot, Gründer der RESTEK AG, über Vor-, End-, Phono- und Vollverstärker, CD-Spieler, Tuner und Digital-Geräte aus der deutschen Hifi-Manufaktur

www.restek.de