Scoutmaster to Super Scoutmaster?

There are many posts on VA from Scout/Scoutmaster owners who got improved performance by adding the SDS, a Walker controller or a Teres motor/contoller. I don't remember anyone who failed to notice a significant improvement.

I have an aftermarket peripheral ring clamp for my Teres. It also makes a substantial improvement. It's not so much about flattening warps, though it does that of course, as it is about deadening resonances that disturb the stylus/groove interface. With those resonances reduced overhang on every note is reduced too. Everything gets cleaner and clearer. It was a very worthwhile addition in my system.

I have the Walker Motor Controller mated to my Scoutmaster, which sits on a maple Machina Dynamica Promethean Base on a rock maple and brass rack.

I had a chance to compare the SDS to the Walker, and the Walker won hands down. It's true that I am close to the cost of the Super Scoutmaster with this setup, but I am also willing to bet I am only a hair shy of the SS performance (if that).

If I was thinking of moving in another direction given the choices, I would be moving toward the Teres. Only as I can't see how I would achieve better performance by making a more "lateral" move to the Super Scoutmaster. That's not to say I think a Teres is better or worse than my present setup, only perhaps different. For me to move to the SS, it would be MOTS (more of the same). YMMV...

Slipknot,

What were the most audible performance differences beween the Walker and the SDS in your opinion?

Thank you.

In my situation, with my setup, and my listening biases, I felt the background was much blacker with the Walker. The silences between the notes was deeper. The music seems to leap off the grooves from absolute silence. Don't get me wrong, I think the SDS is a wonderful product, but the Walker provides a certain rightness and zen for me that I didn't feel with the SDS. I was ready to pull the trigger on the SDS because the Walker is quite a bit more money, but I found myself not being able to take the Walker out of the system.