So Long It's Been Good To Know Ya

IIRC, there are some head-to-head comparisons of the SDS and the Phoenix online. 
 
In these, I seem to recall the Phoenix doing very well in its measurements in comparison to the SDS. Now whether this is audible, and how audible is another question. 

Plus Phoenix has the RoadRunner option as well...

The problem  with the comparison is they did not take a stand.  Except the guy purchased the Phoenix units.  That tells us he like something better about the phoenix stuff.

I do own both the Eagle and Road Runner and they are great units.  Very flexible and once adjusted where you want it ,automatic there after.

I have talked with Bill the owner and he is one sharp dude.  He does not try to do some marketing copy crap on you.  The price vs the features makes it a no brainer.   That being said it would be nice to see if you could hear the differences between the units, features and price aside.

Enjoy the ride
Tom

I was a VPI dealer for years and there are some things you can do to make them sound better. Replace the aluminum feet with brass ones. I put some small brass points under the motor to isolate it.I did some other things but I would start with these. I used Star Tech but there are other things available. Isolating the motor should be easy. If you don't hear any difference I will come over and lay hands on you and say Heal works on TV every time! I was serious in the first part.

Star Sound Tech. I was a dealer for some time until I got sick. Look at their web site. They have brass feet that will screw in when you unscrew the factory ones. I used several others including the small points. Not cheap but very well made and effective. Ask for the VPI feet if you order any. They have threaded ones for many applications. I am not connected with them in any way.

Interesting stanwal, I never tried using brass points on my SDS.
I wound up preferring the Walker Audio Motor Controller, which uses brass points and isolation/damping. Perhaps the SDS would have faired better had I tried using the brass points.