Cartridge upgrade for VPI Scoutmaster

Stringreen
Do you think the JMW 10.5 is worth the upgrade cost(1-2K)?I'm starting to look into what may make upgrade sense to me. New TT? New arm?

Thanks Mariasplunge-
Sorry that I did not think to mention my arm. It is a JMW9.
The Pass pre has user choice 4 or 14 db of gain and the phonostage has 0,4, or 14. I am currently using 4 db for the pre and 0 for the phonostage. My amps are the 600's and the VSA Senior IV's are pretty efficient so the volume knob usually does not go past 8 (out of 31!), and this is running single ended. I want to run it with XLR's which doubles (or almost doubles) the gain from the TT. Truly the lowest volume can be to much at times, which is one reason I wanted to go to low or medium output.

Thanks Raytheprinter-
I have read a bit about ZYX carts. What do you like about it compared to the Clearaudio Arum Beta S. Was it worth the price differance to you? How did installing it go?
Thanks again-
Steve

Thank you for your input. I have decided to get an Zyx Airy 3. It is on its way and should be here by 12-3-08! I bought used from a reputable 'Goner. Will post after set-up.

Thanks for all the input.
I am sure that my "entry" level arm won't do the new cart justice, though I'll be very interested to hear what happens. (the carts' list is more than my TT/arm combo)Maybe my next step will be a new arm or perhaps even a new TT. Seems to me for $2700 my rig should have less background noise. I have heard the Airy is pretty quiet, but I don't know if the bulk of my noise is coming from my TT or the cart, though I suspect mainly the TT.
Even with the noise vinyl is awsome!

Madfloyd-
I'd buy the cart if you want it. Listen and see what you think. Add a new arm later. Or don't add one if your happy. Generaly you should only make one change at a time, then listen for a while. Then decide the next step. It's an enlightening.

BTW- I got the cart yesterday and spent the afternoon setting it up (JOY JOY-my kind of afternoon!). Intial happiness, but am still tweaking and thinking and re-setting. Sounds really good as of yet. I'll post more specifics soon. Owner forgot to send the owners manual. Other than that am pretty well pleased. Saved $1400 buying used. Kinda.

Sonofjim-
Do you find you hear a substantial and cost-effective upgrade going from the JMW9 to the 10.5i? Or is the improvement MAINLY in ease of set-up/use.

I'm pretty impressed with the Airy 3. The dynamics are incredible. This is a very enjoyable cart. Very spacious, clean, and defined. Well rounded, though I am still getting it set up "right". I set the VTF at 2 grams as per the original owners suggestion (same TT and arm) after some experimenting. I am running it single ended into a Pass Labs Xono phono stage (the only way INTO the Xono), and balanced out to the X-1 pre. Cables are HT Magic. Cart loading I set to 199.36 ohms initial as per my last cart. I'll tweak this after I get the cart set up physically correct, and post what settings seem to work best in my rig to my ear. I’m also working on setting the Azimuth. I have some voltmeters ordered online to help me out with this. I set the VTA almost level (a little bit negative) for 180-gram vinyl.

Dmccombs
Thanks for your input. Only a Xono owner understands the unusual load settings for this phono pre. I will try your settings after I get my cart tweaked more properly. I am using the loading I set up for my Dynavector 20X-H. I use HT Magic in and out (balanced out), and throughout my system. What cables are you using? Are you running balanced or single-ended out? What pre-amp are you using?

Sonofjim-
I THINK I’ve got that handled. I made two sets of jumpers that I will be hooking up to a stereo pair of VSA subs’ speaker level out. I can roll off everything below 40-200 Hz. depending on what I set it to. The track I’ll be playing is a pure 1000hz tone off a test record. The noise from the TT should be rolled off the signal going to the two voltmeters I have on order. I ordered these because they have settings for low voltage AC. The not-so-optimized voltmeter I have now showed me that my azimuth is off by about 5% or so. I am hoping this will work well. I got the idea from Fremers TT set up DVD. I’ll post results later.
After I get the azimuth correct I’ll most likely get a Mint LP protractor.

My voltmeters (Mastech DT9205 from Amazon) came Tuesday. They were easy to use, and the process was pretty straightforward. I got the general idea from the Michael Fremer's Practical Guide to Turntable Set-up DVD. It took me 1 1/2 to 2 hours to get the Azimuth "just right". I think it would take less time the next time now that I have a little more understanding of the finer details. The cross-talk was reduced and the imaging seems much more precise. I am very happy with the results.
I am still working to set optimum VTA and cartridge loading.

Dmccombs
I got my cartridge loading set to 76.31 (switches 4,6,8 on) after days of evaluation, and many adjustments. This loading made me want to dance naked in the street. I reframed, but shouted out with utter joy more than once. I have NEVER heard my TT sound anywhere close to this fidelity. Between the Airy III, the loading, and the tweaking, the sound is REALLY moving!