Project Xtension 12 or VPI Classic 3

Zd542 i heard both tt in same system, but sadly not in same time. At most 1 month distance between demos. System was ; yg anat professional speaker, ar ref 5(maybe se), ar ref 610, transperent ref cables(mm or mm2 not sure), ar ref 2 phono. Both tt had ortofon jubilee and benz lp cartridges. Inmho Vpi classic was better in every way, again imho benz had a better chemistry with vpi and ar phono. Also i used Extension, i cant say anything bad for the price/performance or building quality, but simply classic 3 is better. Of course i am doing this comparing with an assumption that extension has the project 12" tone arm. If you mount an ikeda 407 things may change, i do not know.

12-26-13: Jperry
When someone says one is better than the other they need to also be able to say they have heard both in the same system.

While I do agree with this, personal tastes are also critical as to what is "better". I have seen many times when several audiophiles were listening to the same comparison in the same room at the same time yet had different perspectives of the "winner". Better is in the ear of the beholder. So any opinions expressed should be taken with a very large grain of salt.

Taking into account everything you and the other posters have said, my take is that you would be happy with either system. Just make sure the phono preamp is up to the task.

12-27-13: Jmcgrogan2
"While I do agree with this, personal tastes are also critical as to what is "better". ...So any opinions expressed should be taken with a very large grain of salt."

I agree with you completely. My comment was addressed at "brand campaigners" who like to say that whatever they own, or would like to own, is better than everything else, even though they have made no comparison.

You have a lot of great, insightful advice and I always like to see your posts.

"While I do agree with this, personal tastes are also critical as to what is "better"."

Another good point. I think I can put this into "better" context.

"When someone says one is better than the other they need to also be able to say they have heard both in the same system."

To me, that statement implies "better" will be a subjective judgement by one person listening to both TT setups in the same system. So if 2 or more people listen to the same setup listed above, each person gets to say what is "better"; for them. And having the 2 TT's in one system allows you to eliminate many variables in the sound that is not related to the gear you are trying to evaluate. Its a better "better".