Anyone NOT like the sound of VPI?

That's weird. I auditioned a Rega P3/24 with Elys II going into an all-Rega chain--Brio driving the R5 floorstanders, and I thought the detail was unnatural and overdone. Maybe the Brio was clipping or there was feedback or the system was overloading the room, but it sounded sort of phasey and unnaturally detailed, sort of like it was underwater. Drowning in detail at the expense of the fundamentals and melody lines. Maybe the VTA and azimuth (Rega tonearm vulnerabilities) were off.

I smell asystem-matching and setup issues.

Say what you want about my "DJ" table, but when I got home and spun the same LP on my Technics SL1210 M5G with fluid damper and AT150MLX cartridge, it sounded so much more musical, clean, and balanced. There was plenty of detail, but it wasn't overwhelming the music.

I listened some more last night. I think the setup is fine - It all sounds good except for the lack of bass. I guess another thing to to consider is getting a non-signature tonearm with a Dynavector cartridge.

..actually the Signature has better bass (midrange, highs, dynamics, etc) than the regular 9...and its just "wrong" to go backwards.

I have a "budget buster" set-up, with a Scoutmaster as my turntable. I don't have SDS, I don't have the periphial ring, I don't have the super platter and I don't have any measuring gadgets to analyze the sound spectrum, save for my ears. I run the tt through a Sonic Frontiers SFP 1 that I had a techie adjust to match my Benz Glider medium output cart. It feeds an Adcom GFP 750 pre-amp, to a Krell KAV 250A amp, to a pair of Dunlavy SC 3's. The tt is sitting on a 35 dollar boos butcher block.

My ass falls off every time I spin vinyl: plenty of bass, slam, seperation, midrange, and nice sweet highs. I even set the cart up myself, which is a miracle because I can barely change a light bulb.

This Scoutmaster owner is very happy.

Judsauce,

Nice job!