Turntable upgrade or not ?

Upgrade to a Lenco. You'll save money AND enjoy the music more.

Any VPI model will give you double the value of an AVID at the same price point. Remember Music Direct imports these. They decide retail. At wholesale they make 40%!

kinda, sorta, possibly a downgrade....though the vpi 'continuousupgradefortherestofyourlifephilosophy' can be a frustrating distraction when you want to do is just spin tunes, i will admit its better than a lot of esoteric imports.

I think a fairly lateral move, from a strictly financial viewpoint. I think Avid's Volvere would be a big step up, but the price jump is pretty crazy. I think the VPI upgrades will maybe give you more bang for your buck, if you're already invested in the VPI. Sonic benefits also depend on what else is in your system and what you feel is missing, etc.

Well, the Scoutmaster is a great turntable and reasonably priced. I think you might have to go quite a bit higher in price to substantially upgrade the table. You might consider sticking with the Scoutmaster and buying a Graham or Schroeder tonearm, or upgrading your cartridge, or buying some alignment tools and see if you can get more out of what you already have.
Otherwise, I would guess that you'll get more table for your money if you buy American, because of the exchange rate these days. There are some other excellent TT makers in America besides VPI. Galibier, Immedia, etc.

Cheers.

Tom