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VPI Scout with Grado Master - but what next?

I've got an old original VPI Scout with a wood body Grado Master HO MM cartridge on it. I'm using the phono stage in my McIntosh C2200 tube preamp, and pushing the whole thing with a McIntosh MC402 solid state amp. I listen to Jazz mostly.

The Grado Master is about eight years old now, so I'm starting to shop around for a replacement. I had a Grado Sonata in it originally but it was pretty thin and boring sounding and didn't track very well - the Master has been a really wonderful cartridge. However it's a lot better with Jazz than it is with Rock. Rock, even excellent 1/2 speed master recordings, sound forward and lack slam.

So I'd like my Rock to...well rock, but jazz is my main thing, and I'm worried that if I buy a Dynavector or Soundsmith based on recommendations from folks who listen to Rock exclusively, I'll wind up with my Steely Dan bringing down the house, but Leroy Vinnegar sounding like Jack Bruce and a stack of Marshalls. This would be bad. Anyone
lemoco
stringreen's avatar
stringreen
6,468 posts
 
Photon is right....VPI tables need a solid connection to the center of the Earth...the better the connection, the better the sound....however....I agree with your evaluation of the Grado .
stereo5's avatar
stereo5
6,384 posts
 
I had a Dynavector DV 20X cartridge on my Scout and loved it both for Rock and Jazz. It worked very well with the JMW arm. I had bought mine used and the suspension started to collapse so I only had it in my system for a couple of months. I used it a lot in those couple of months and really enjoyed the sound. Due to cost constraints, I bought a ZU/Denon DL103 cartridge and although I like the sound, it wasn't anywhere as engaging as the Dynavector. I do not play very many records now.

You will love the Dynavector on both rock and jazz, your music will really come alive.
lemoco OP
7 posts
 
Thanks everyone. I'll look into some mass or a shelf to isolate the TT first, and then have another listen. Any specific recommendations would be much appreciated. I actually had a Graham Slee Era Gold phono stage, but opted for the tube stage in the McIntosh as it has a much blacker background and is much more laid back.

One of the reasons I chose the Grado Master was the high 5Mv output. Looking at the Dynavector MC and the Soundsmith MI cartridges I worry about 2.5mv output requiring too much gain. To be honest I rarely turn the thing up past 4 but I like a lot of reserve power so I came keep the gain down low. Does the difference in output - 2.5mv vs 5mv - really impact the gain?

Thanks Again
lemoco OP
7 posts
 
Thanks, I appreciate it.
photon46
1,082 posts
 
Just to be clear, it is more than isolation that impacts the sound of the Scout. The mass and the resonant quality or resonant frequency of whatever the Scout is sitting on impacts the sound greatly. Wall mount shelves I've seen use thin MDF which is not going to help your problem. Now if you integrate a thick wood plinth into the wall mount shelf, you're on the right track. Although I've not heard one myself, another option that some Scout owners have reported good results with is the Ginko Audio Cloud 9 isolation base.
https://www.gcaudio.com/cgi-bin/store/showProduct.cgi?id=494
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