Cartridge upgrade for VPI Scoutmaster

Agree with Stringreen. I enjoy the Benz LP on the 10.5i very much. Whether or not anyone else beleives it's optimal is superfluous. Realistically, no other true audiophile will ever hear my system so why should any other opinion matter? Recent comparisons confirm to me that the LP blows away the Shelter 90x and that a VPI arm is more than worthy of a top level cartridge whoever makes it.

I upgraded to the 10.5i from the 9 sig and have never been sorry I did. I don't have a problem with VPI arms myself at all and in fact enjoyed the 9 sig also. My favorite part of the 10.5i is how much easier set up is with the VTA knob. I level the arm when measuring VTF which makes the measurement much more accurate and this is much harder with the 9 sig's set screws vs the knob. I use it with the Benz LP and think I have it set up pretty well. I play vinyl nearly every day for several hours and the majority of the time this combination is mesmerizing. If you want to change tables you MAY find a better performing combination but would likely be much more costly than trying the 10.5i. If you're reasonably happy with the 9 on the Scoutmaster that's not a bad place to be for the money.

This is all to true. The lure of new hardware is often very strong. It's easy to forget that, even in the face of brand loyalty and bias, (as we see here commonly) implementation of the equipment is far more important than what it is. As long as you have competent equipment(and you do no matter what anyone says) you'll acheive amazingly satisfying results with a little experimentation and patience. I don't think I have to tell you that you don't have the best turntable/tonearm in the world but neither does anyone else and most have a lot more invested in their pursuit.

Srwooten,
The 10.5i is an excellent arm from a functional and sonic standpoint. Sonically, I also enjoyed the 9 sig and with enough patience I think it can provide very comparable results. Whether it's cost effective for you is a personal decision. It was for me. Considering the importance of diligent set up and tweaking, anything that makes that easier and more appealing is cost effective to me. Another cheaper item that makes accurate setup easier is the Mint LP tractor. Try one of these for $99 and you may stop thinking about the 10.5i, at least for a while.

The voltmeter azimuth adjustment really seems to be a crap shoot without a filter ("low pass" I believe) to eliminate the bounce in the DMM reading. Others have mentioned that this is easily built from Radio Shack parts but I haven't come accross instructions on how this is done. Does anyone know where to access information on how to construct one of these. Without it, it's really a guess as to which numbers to go with for calculating cross talk. For this reason, I currently start with the azimuth level and adjust by ear if it seems necessary. Wooten, you may want to have a filter ready before you try the DMM method.