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

@rauliruegas,

I will congradulate anyone who is passionate (or crazy 😎 ) enough to take on the challenge of vinyl which has so much "skin in game", and I respect that.  Sometime its more than the music, sometimes its also the experience, and today with so many options it really is Faithful to the Music Your Way.  Different strokes for different folks.  

Otherwise, the Rega has received near universal praise, and while the tonearm does not have the full compliment of adjustments, Jeff has the support of a local Dealer which can assist him, and of course today that is rare.  Otherwise, my TNT has two VPI tonearms the 10.5 and 12-3D, one with Soundsmith Carmen, the other a Soundsmith Paua.  But I am an engineer and experienced and have no problem setting each to my perfection, which is Faithful to the Music My Way.

It was a tough call. With the VPI you can do SO many upgrades to the table. You do have full adjustment of the arm. Plus it's a substantial table. Big and heavy. It looks and sounds expensive. The REGA RP10 is everything opposite the VPI. It's small and light. When in its skeleton plinth looks like a 500 dollar turntable. All you know that it's high end is the diamond machined ceramic platter. The ultra precision bearings are out of sight. I like it. It's very sleek, modern and very very quiet. I was offered a VPI HRX for 5 grand . It was tempting. But my digital is in need of a severe upgrade. AURELIC VEGA G2 DAC is next months purchase. 

I am thoroughly addicted to buying records. Cleaned out almost all the mobil fidelity vinyl at a local record store. Over 4 grand in vinyl purchased. 

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.

Weird. I switched from a Soundsmith Carmen to a Hana SL and the improvement was incredible. The Carmen isn’t even in the same league, let alone the same ballpark. The linked thread details the experience of a guy who "downgraded" to the Hana SL from a Koetsu Rosewood:
https://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/so-glad-i-took-a-chance-on-a-hana-cartridge.751483/#post-18685655

I also posted in that thread regarding some trouble I was having with the bass of my SL, but disregard all of that, it turned out to be a problem further up the chain.

My local dealer used to listen to a Koetsu Rhodonite on a regular basis. He's considered one of the most talented analog gurus in the industry and sets up 5-figure analog systems regularly. He will tell you Hana carts are hands down the best value out there. 

Hana doesnt last. Reports are out that they burn out after 400 hrs. I want something that will do a 1000 hrs.