Which: VPI HW19 Jr. or III vs. REGA P3 and P25


I've seen a lot of positive threads on the VPI HW19 series of turntables and have been considering this or a Rega P3 or P25 turntable. Anyone have an opinion on which of these machines is the best?? Obviously these 4 turntables are at slightly different price points, so to be fair lets compare them as follows:

P25 vs. HW19 III
P3 vs. HW19 Jr.
whyt_rabbit
Hi Timwat,

I apologize - specifically to Whyt_rabbit, that this is not related to this message thread or his original question. But, I'm new to analog (coming back to it) and I have another message thread on AudiogoN, "Beginner" audiophile Turntable for $200-$300?.

You stated that you upgraded from a Technics BD-20 to the VPI. Since I'm just getting started in this "game", I'm wondering if you would be willing to "recommend" the Technics SL-BD22 to a "newbie" just getting started (with a budget and not sure yet if I would be interested in "tweaking"...more interested in "plug & play" at this point)? This would allow me to enjoy my long-time not listened to album collection sooner than waiting to purchase say a Music Hall MMF-2.1 or especially the NAD 533 - both inferior to the MUCH more upgradeable VPI HW-19 Jr.! All of which are much more expensive than the Technics SL-BD22. But I still want a decent (or better) turntable.

Based on what I've seen of the VPI HW-19 Jr. (specifically), I feel it's the best step into audiophilia with it's upgrade path (stretching out the dollars for several paychecks ;-). So, I could - like you - focus my budget more wisely by upgrading straight to the VPI HW-19 Jr. or a similar VPI model, if I find that I am ready to jump more deeply into this "game" and "tweaking".

Sorry for being a bit long-winded!

Feel free to post the answer on my message thread that I gave a link for above.

Thanks,

Wes