VPI HW-19 MkII Vs. MkIII, how are they different?

I believe the mkIII went to an acrylic platter, which most believe was a downgrade. The MkIV used the lead/alloy platter from the TNT and is considered the best of the series by a great margin. those platters come up for sale every so often for about $200 or 300 so you could modify an earlier model. You should be able to pick up a IV for your budget.

Another thing to look for it that the HW-19 series is so interchangable that it is sometimes hard to determine exactly what model is what.

Do some searching here and on the Asylum and Vinyl Engine to get a sense of the HW-19.

I bought one (Mk IV) just because if could upgrade and modified it by myself and b/c it sounds great.

the HW-19 Jr had an acrylic platter. The III platter is a 10pd lead/acrylic affair.

I believe the difference between the Mark II and Mark III is the material (mdf vs acrylic) used in the subchassis and plinth.
http://audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=357890

Wrong, the first version MK-IV Platter is a 16 lb affair, I know, I got one. And as I understand it, the later version of the MK-IV/TNT Platter, with Lead Ring was 18, or 20 lbs.

Then there's the Super Platter, which for the HW-19, and all other Tables other than the HR-X, was 25 lbs.

The HR-X Super Platter, at 30 lbs could probably have been retrofitted somehow to the HW-19. Probably a little bit of machinist work is all, to make such fit.

There's a lot of empty space under a HW-19.

I could probably contact Galibier, and have them send me a 42 lb Stelvio Platter, and I could make it fit. Problem is, how much does a person wish to invest?

As I have found, the Platter is a huge influence to the sound. Any Scout, Scoutmaster, and Classic Platter will fit the HW-19.

One could buy the Junior model, and take it from there.

That's what I did. My modded HW-19 weighs more than the Classic, and probably sounds every bit as good, if not better. And it didn;t cost as much. Mark