Seeking Opinions on Clearaudio and VPI Turntables

I would describe the sound of the VPI turntables as tending toward the warm and full, but not "dark" or lacking in detail. I say this based on many years of owning a VPI TT, and having heard almost everything in their line except the TNT-HR.

The ClearAudio TT's that I have heard do tend a bit toward the more lively, but I don't think it is necessarily more detailed than the VPI.

It may be stretching the analogy, but if VPI's were amplifiers, I think they'd be tube units rather than solid state. Another way to compare their sound is comparable to where you sit in a concert hall: seats further away from the stage gives you a warmer, more integrated sound (the VPI), whereas sitting closer to the front tends to yield a more detailed (and perhaps analytical) sound. Ultimately, the only way to decide which TT best suits your needs is to audition both of them in your home system.

Both of these turntable lines are of sufficiently high quality that the choice of tonearm and cartridge will have at least as much influence on the sound quality, and maybe more, than the turntable itself.

It would be helpful to know more about the rest of the equipment in your system, since those components will also affect the perceived sound quality of the TT.

Hello, I will not attempt to add to the audio knowledge on this forum, as I have very little compared to many here. But from a practical point, I like to be able to pickup a phone and talk to the guys who build and design stuff. I have a VPI HW-19, and it is nice to talk to some of the main people who design and troubleshoot the product, which I have done several times. Clearaudio, you have to deal with the Distributor, whom I have seen mixed reactions on getting much help from them. I suppose you could call or email Germany(I believe). My point being practical(this is probably a stupid point, as what is practical in audio) is VPI builds a quality product, obviously Audiophile accepted, right in New Jersey, and you can pickup the phone or email and talk to the owner and main design guys for help, and they are very nice about it, and helpful.
Oddly, I have a Clearaudio cartridge on my VPI, that I eneded up with in a odd way. But none of what I wrote above is meant to indicate anything wrong with the Clearaudio TT.

To be specific, anyone here have heard of the Aries 3 or the scoutmasters ? for $3000-$4000 for arm and table, which of the vpi series presents a good bang for buck value?

thanks for inputs.

dont count a SOTA out in that range you can get an amazing table.