VPI Scout "tweaks"

I had a BIG improvement when I upgraded the VPI IC's to Cardas Phono IC (I think golden reference - not sure. They're $600 so easy to identify if you are looking them up. Really BIG improvement over the VPI's. If anyone wants the VPI's, I'd be glad to give a VERY fair price. They're maybe two years old.

Remove the foam collars from the top of your cone footers. Screw cones tight to the bottom of the plinth. Don't unscrew the cones to level the tt-use a combination of nickels/dimes/quarters to achieve level (coin combos may be epoxied together). Cost-free. Well, yeah, there's the coins...

Agree with 'Ptmconsulting'-if you like the DV sound, your best bang for buck will be moving up the line to whatever you can afford-even the DV20L is a big jump over the 10X5. It would be the acme of foolishness to buy 600 dollar ICs with an entry-level cart.

Thanks everyone. I truly appreciate the feedback.

One that is cheap but that makes a considerable difference I just discovered tonight. Put Star Sound coupling disks under the feet. I had my Scoutmaster on the TNT stand resting on top of which was a 3" maple platform supported by Star Sound cones. I thought that this would make anything else unnecessary but the disks really tightened up the bass and made the top end better. They are brass and cost $8.69 each. They also have replacement feet for the tables but not sure which ones they fit. Going to check on this.

One major improvement is making sure the Cloud 9 is mass loaded for the numbered of balls you are using. For example on my scout I use 4 balls and 10lb dive weights on the plinth. It was like a componenet upgrade.