Choice Rega P5 or VPI Scout?

Neither.

Aw, come on, Alex! You can't just say "Neither"! If you're gonna shoot down his choices, isn't it only fair to offer him some other choices?

I've heard Rega, Music Hall, and VPI turntables. They are all excellent, but VPI is in another league, IMHO. If you can afford the ScoutMaster, you will have a hard time beating its performance without spending an additional 3-4 grand. The Music Hall MMF-7 is also a very good turntable and hard to beat at its price point. I think the MMF-9 is at a price point where you begin to have better options elsewhere. Rega tables are all excellent performers and good value for the money.

You will have a very good table, whichever you decide.

Here's my price point: $1500 new or 9/10 used. It's gotta work well with my DV20XH. I don't mind the opportunity to do some upgrades in a few years: if you spread out the cost, it always seems more affordable. I want a table that'll last at least as long as my 12 year old Project 1.2 has, from a company that'll be around for support (should the world continue to demand vinyl for that long).

Music Hall tops out at the MMF-9, so nowhere to go on that one. I do think it's beautiful, though, and I'd love to hear one. Same with Project, although their lower price tables are a great value.

Leading candidates: Rega P5, VPI Scout. Other possibilities: Clearaudio Emotion, Michell Technodec. Am I missing any others? Can I get a used LP12 for that price in any kind of usable shape?

Hope I'm not jacking the thread, jturnock; I think our goals are mostly overlapping.

I went with the Scout. Bought the one listed last night here on Audiogon. The thing that sucks about turntable shopping, or for that matter, any audio shopping these days, is that you don't get to hear all the choices on your own system. So, I don't know if it's the best choice, but I really couldn't hear any of the tables. Since I was buying a used system, I didn't think it was right to go to a store and listen to a new one and then not buy it. I have heard an Aries, and a Planar 3, but not in my own system. The bottom line is: I got a good price, and it'll be a substantial improvement over existing. If I don't like it, I can recoup most if not all of the money. I just don't think I'll have to.

Tfkaudio, he did not ask for a suggestion, he gave two names and asked - which one. I had both and I don't care for either. Thus my (normally too short) answer.
I actually think that P5 is a major step down from P25, I've no idea why Rega did this and I don't care. VPI is a whole separate issue. In my opinion, these guys have serious problems with quality control and I have no idea how they manage to do this if they indeed manufacture all components in the US (according to their claims).
If I had to buy a table in this price range I would either go with used, or, if I did not care for opinions of fellow a-goners - Technics.