Upgrades for Scoutmaster, In order of improvement?

1- SDS with power regenerator ahead of it (speed kills)
2- 10.5 I adustable VTA great for 180 gram records
3. Ring clamp and weight
4- Motor upgrade(s)
5- Platter
6- Feet
I have an aries 3 with all of the above

sell it and buy a Aries or tnt.Going down the upgrade path with vpi is a expensive expedition with vpi.Just buy a better table its cheaper.
The only upgrade i would want is the sds.The problem is vpi has not sensibly priced it.

Thanks for your response Starcon. What is the power regenerator you are refering to? I am not familiar with this.
Hello Redtop: I have been looking at the Aries, but the main reason for not getting it is its large size. Have you heard the difference between the Scoutmaster and Aries? How great is it?

On my Aries II Black Knight (quite similar the Scoutmaster), I have found the SDS and a Gingko Cloud 11 platform to be excellent upgrades.

I second the SDS. I got one for my Scout and it made a clear improvement. I am also using a Gingko, Cloud 10, with pretty good results.

Ring Clamp and center clamp a must have. You'll never hear the SDS improvement w/o them first.

Maybe I'l chime in, (if the mods will let me) saying that this thread seems to have mucho differences, and who do we trust?

My first questions, are, why does the SDS deserve special merit, when the Periphery Ring, and Center Weight are used? How does these mechanical components compliment a electronic one?!

Maybe Andrew Dice Clay needs to chime in, saying this is some sick, confusing thread?

Now don't oust me modders, I'm just getting started here!

I believe the SDS is mandatory for every VPI Table, because none of them have accurate speed. No slam against VPI, this is true of virtually all Belt Driven Tables. Can't be helped due to irregularities of Platter, and Pulley size. Throw in a stretched Belt, a different, new Lube on Bearing, a different Temperature even, and you have variance.

What does the Ring Clamp do, other than eliminate Lip Warps from about 1% of your Record Collection? Add mass? If you want mass, with a Platter the weight of a Sewer Cover, and a Bearing that makes some Car Axles look puny, sell the VPI, and buy a Galibier.

Upgrades from Arm to Arm? I just don't know, a crap shoot?

How Starcon rates the Super Platter at the bottom of the list, just above the Feet, is beyond me? IMO probably one of the most significant upgrades of all.

I like the fact that VPI offers a path, but as has been mentioned, these upgrades upon upgrades will make you broke.

How much are you willing to lose for trade-sale of parts?

I'm just a "bantam weight" here in this forum, but before you shell out the $$$, do some more homework, maybe buy a Table-Arm, where you aren't changing out components every other week.

Again, want to say,everyone here will have a different opinion, and they aren't necessarily wrong. I don't believe m viewpoints are wrong either. Mark

The addition of the feet is only a mild improvement. The change from the 9 inch sig to the 10.5 is a minor improvement except that it is easier to dial in VTA if that is important to you. The heavy platter, the SDS, the ring clamp are all worthwhile improvements. It pays to upgrade so that you can have your desired table and pay for it as your budget allows. It is also instructive and pleasurable to listen to the new upgrade and hear the improvements...a growing experience.

Hi, I am currently enjoying a modestly upgraded Scout, went to Sig. arm, then instead of the SDS, which I also think is overpriced, got a PS Audio P-300 power regenerator. While it will not precisely control speed under all circumstances, it does regulate voltage. I have noticed much better pitch control, while at a much reduced price, being purchased used on Audiogon. Though not a VPI product, be sure to try Mapleshade's Nanomount System. It works. An isolation platform is a must, and perhaps most important, order a MintLP arc tractor for set-up, which will make the biggest difference of all.

Best of luck,
Dan

Based on my experience of hearing a friend's Scout with the Teres VERUS rim drive/controller, if I owned any VPI table that could accommodate it, that is the upgrade I would make before considering any other.

A logical question may be, why spend as much on any upgrade that costs as much as the table/arm to start with?. My reaction would be, can you find another new table/arm with better performance for less than $3,500?

I am enjoying reading all the opinions on this thread and appreciate everyone's input. So far, after a bit of research and reading, the SDS, outer clamp, and upgraded platter all seem to get almost unanimous thumbs up. I am still not sure about the advantages of the HRX motor compared to the regular Scoutmaster motor. and the 10.5i arm compared to the 9+sig arm. It was interesting to read Stringreen's opinion that the 10.5i arm is a minor improvement over the the 9+sig. Does anyone else have opinions about this?

I like my 10.5i considerably better than the 9 sig. The flexibility in being able to accurately and reproducably raise and lower the arm makes something as simple as accurate VTF measurement much easier even if you don't mess with VTA much. There's obviously less tracking error with a longer arm too. Audibly, I agree it's one of the more subtle upgrades I've made but worthwhile. If you plan on doing many of these upgrades you might want to compare the cost of just selling and buying the SSM ref.

>>There's obviously less tracking error with a longer arm too<<

Theoretically but that's not the real world.

Some of the finest arms in the world are 9" and will embarrass the 10.5i.

It's all about design, build quality, and implementation.

Not questioning your opinion,just curious,name some of these better arms.Thanks.