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Scout Owners: How Much Cartridge?

Just curious how much you would invest in a cartridge for this table. At what price point does the table become a limiting factor in terms of what you can get out of a cartridge. I'm currently using a Dynavector 20XM but am thinking of an upgrade. Should I be considering a new table (perhaps further up the VPI line) or can the Scout (mine has the 300rpm motor upgrade) handle a much better cartridge and still get the most out of it? Thanks.
dodgealum
jloveys
226 posts
 
Total gain with ARC SP 16 is 54 dB, should be OK with MM or High output cartridge, I suggest Sumiko Blackbird with that amp. If you are ready to ad an additional phonopreamp, the choice is much wider. I suggest the Graham Slee Revelation+ Elevator (SS) because you can adjust cartridge loading and has many equalisation curves if in the future you ad a mono cart. It is a wonderful phonopreamp with wide band, also price effective. For the cartridge , the Lyra line is very accurate and dynamic, the Helicon is for me very very good for the price.
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sns
3,833 posts
 
I am in the same boat with a Scoutmaster with non-signature arm. The arm is the limiting factor here, this is a low mass, if not ultra low mass arm, most of the higher end cartridges have lower compliance than the Dyna 20x, this arm should not track well with those cartridges. You can add weights and/or Cartridge Man isolator. Still, my choice will be to go with the 10.5i arm prior to upgrading cartridges.
stringreen's avatar
stringreen
6,525 posts
 
Dodgealum...da better da cartridge, da better da sound. The VPI tables at any level are way overachievers. Don't be afraid to use the very best cartridge you can give it. Personally, I never had much luck with the Cartridge Man Isolator. Use the cartridge as the design team for it designed it. Regarding arms.. the 9 inch VPI is almost the same as the Sig, except that the Sig is wired with Valhalla. The 10.5 is wired with Valhalla as well. I updated the Sig for the 10.5. The sound difference, tracking ability, etc. was very minimumly better. The sound in both arms (after MUCH experimentation) is better with no anti-skate, and with yes some damping. The ability to dial in repeatable VTA is the big difference. If you don't play with VTA after initial setup, the upgrade may not be worth the expense.
islandmandan
1,260 posts
 
Another tweak I have found to make significant improvement is the Mapleshade Nanomount System. It really helps with clarity, and is only $95. You don't get much to look at for your 95 bucks, but it's what it does that matters. Highly recommended.

Dan
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