Turntable Upgrade Suggestions

MANY THANKS TO ALL WHO RESPONDED!!! I will look for some of the suggested TT for a listen and plan to attend the CES at the Venetian in Jan where I hope to have many to demo however, I'm thinking maybe for now I save and upgrade the speakers...lol - this hobby is neverending!!! But I love chasing that last 5-10%...don't we all...

Many thanks again, AC

I went from a scout to an aries 3 extended with the outer ring and flywheel.
The primary reason for my switch was to get an arm with an adjustable VTA and the ability to handle more cartridge choices. (10.5 i arm) The ring clamp is great if you have a large collection (many records are not flat but play fine with encouragement) Go to an audio show and hear the classic 3 and you will be impressed. There are endless choices for great tables but the arm is the key for adjusting the play for various cartridges.

My first question would be. What phono pre amp are you do you use? I also have a VPI Scout and I use a Lyra Dorian cart. This combo is not bad but not better then my CEC TL51x CD transport with a Wadia 12 DAC. I think I know the reason for this. I use the phono stage of my integrated amp. Now IMHO my turntable + cart combo could perform a lot better with a proper phono pre amp.

Now compared to most people here I have a very modest audio system not some mega $$$$ system and I do not have years and years of listening experience. But what I did learn a few years ago that the phono stage might be more importand then the turntable and cart.

Some time ago we had a shoot-out between a "cheap turntable +cart" with an expensive phono amp and a more balanced set. Total worth of both sets was about 5000€. The Thorens 160 special + decent cart and a very good phono amp was better then the set with the expensive turntable + cart and a cheaper phono amp.

@Mordante, Jasmine 2.0LP mkII

If you are willing to step out of the box check out the Transfi Salvation TT and Terminator arm. There are several good posts here on Agon and www.trans-fi.com. I moved from a Michell Gyro SE with fully modded RB300 to the Transfi and have been thrilled.