Should I buy a VPI SCOUTMASTER. I OWN 25 RECORDS.

jeffvegas,

Congradulations on your purchase, and your support of your local dealer, and your decision to buy based on what you saw and heard, better known as a very informed decision.

I will make one last recommendation for the Soundsmith Carmen MKII on sale for $699. This is a very easy cartridge to drive, your current preamp MM will drive it fine, no need to go buy a new phono preamp right away, and this cartridge is very forgiving, and has been well reviewed.   The hype-elliptical sylus is not exotic like a shibata, but nor is it as critical of vertical tracking angle, and the latest best documented stylus life puts them both at about 750-1000 hrs, https://thevinylpress.com/the-finish-line-for-your-phonograph-stylus/.   And, the Soundsmith cartridges are known to be quiet, they tend not to emphasize clicks and pops.  Also, you can send the cartridge back to Soundsmith and they will rebuild it for $199, and when they rebuild, they also replace/upgrade the suspension, so you get back effectively a like-new cartridge.  For moving coils, the best you can get without paying about 80% of the original cost is a re-tip with a partial cantilever replacement, but the suspension is not replaced.  However, if your dealer is selling the Hana and they will install, then that needs to be serious consideration as a 1st cartridge.

They can get soundsmith too. My current preamp a Parasound Halo P7 has a switch for moving coil but that doesnt mean I might not try a very good MM. I am in a small condo with Martin logan Esl9 and 2 REL S5/10 SUBS. I moving a lot of air in a small place which is one of the reasons I chose the stability of a gimbaled arm over the VPI Unipivot. I may also consider the soundsmith MM because of its superior stability compared to a MC. The Hana is good but a REAL MC cartridge starts around 2 thousand bucks. 

@jeffvegas,  Congratulations. I'm sure it is a good table. I don't know about the BelCanto phono preamp cause I've not heard it. But I've never heard anyone speak of it either. Whatever the case, a good phono stage is a necessity in order to get the best from your TT. I'd rather spend the $$$ on a phono pre than the cartridge. Fact is that everything counts. Its only as good as the weakest link. But I suspect a lesser cartridge will give you more with a good preamp, verses high $$ cartridge on a lesser preamp.

From some of your posts, I sense some frustration on your part. Don't let that interfere with putting together a good vinyl playback system. There's a lot of good information on this board. Sorry if my earlier  post indicated different. You just have to learn to get to the info which is applicable to you. Anyway, enjoy the new TT 

Direct drives are junk. You never connect a motor to the deck and platter. Vibration. Direct drive is for low end record players. Virtually every 100k dollar table is BELT. Technics is not EVEN close to same league as VPI or REGA. Unless YOU ARE A DISC JOCKEY.

This is a proof how low is your knowledge about turntables, you have to learn something first. I’m afraid you’re living in parallel reality, brainwashed by audiophile press and "experts" in belt drives.

Do you know anything about records and how they are made ?

If you don’t know that Direct Drive is there from the start in process of vinyl production/manufacturing you’d better go back and learn from the start.

Every single lacquer for disc masters cut on DIRECT DRIVE, one of the most popular worldwide is Neumann Lathe. Of course you don’t know that Technics Direct Drive Motor SP-02 is what actually rotate Neumann Platter while a cutting stylus cut the groove on lacquer disc which is a source for disc master used for every vinyl release you ever heard/owned.

Reference Direct Cut LPs recorded on Direct Drive Lathe too, ever heard about it ? Those records are the finest quality, because there is no tape (or digital) between the musicians and vinyl master. Signal from the microphones goes to the mixing console and then direct to the cutter heard located over Direct Drive Lathe!

If Direct Drive motor could harm a signal coming from a cutter head, or could add any noise or whatever ... then no one in the industry would have to use Direct Drive Motors.

But there are NO cutting lathe with belt drive because this is inferior , cheap motor that can’t rotate on constant speed and only degrades in time, it is full or errors, very low torque motor.

And if you think that all those ugly belt drives cost so much because they are superior you’re so wrong, i’m sorry for you.

If you want to speak with the numbers looks for the prices for reference Direct Drive like Denon DP-100 for example. Don’t die of heart attack when you will see a price tag for this Direct Drive turntable. There are many other DD turntables that cost a lot more than you can even expect.  

Why did you post here ? Just to get approval from some users about your cheap low quality belt drive turntable ? Does it make sense for you ?

Many people tried to help you, but you just can’t hear anything.
Now you will do the same about cartridges.

Dear @antinn  @artemus_5  : I understand your " congratulations" posts.

Now and I'm not talking of the TT it self but the tonearm and I know very well the philosophy of R.Gandy: knowing that and knowing that no single cartridge in the world ( and does not matters its price. ) comes with a perfect fit of the sylus tip to the cantilever and almost each cartridge comes with different rake angle.

Then, SRA/VTA and Azymuth tonearm mechanisms are a must to have no matters what if we want that each carrtridge can shows it at its best and the Rega tonearms has not SRA/VTA and Azymuth facilities.

So both of you already own tonearms with out those facilities? No? then why " congratulations " when Rega tonearms has a wide disadvantage for a precise cartridge set-up and we have to remember that it's the cartridge the one that pick-up the information on those recorded grooves and as better the tonearm/cartridge set-up as more recorded information we can get to enjoy it.

R.