Should I buy a VPI SCOUTMASTER. I OWN 25 RECORDS.

One disadvantage of MM is that stylus assemblies tend to have a rather loose mating with their cartridge housings. Any slight bit of tolerance there will result in some amount of signal distortion vs the fixed assemblies of an MC. Further, MCs have the well-known advantage of a lower moving mass - similar to the advantage of Soundsmiths MI carts. Lower moving mass is a big advantage according to PL of SS, and it applies to MCs as well as MIs.

@helomech Most of the well designed MM/MI have a stylus assembly that screwed to the cartridge body (ADC TRX, Sony XL-50, Technics P100 and P205 series ... ), but even without that screw pulling a stylus away from a Grado cartridge is a challenge, did you ever tried ?

Some of the best MM cartridge have extremely low moving mass too, read about Audio-Technica AT-ML180 OCC or Technics P100c mk4 just to name a few with the lowest possible moving mass.

MC cartridge replacement is typically about 80% cost of new. I don’t consider it very inconvenient. It’s simply a a matter of mailing the old cart to the dealer and receiving a brand-new one in return.

I do. It’s not that simple if your LOMC cartridge cost $4500 and to replace it (when the stylus is worn) you will have to pay 60% of the new cart again. It not always 80%, but even 60% from $4500 is $2700 ! In the MC world even $4500 is not the highest price and i had those cartridges before (never again).

That’s where Excel stepped in and changed the game with their relatively affordable Hana series.

The Excel stepped into the game in the 70’s with wide range of cartridges, they made cartridges for others like SAEC and Argent long time ago. WHy do you think their new design is any better ? Here is my thread about earlier Excel Sound work for American brand Argent in the 80’s

Totally forgot about the stylus!!! Ok, so if I get a Hana SL how long will it last vs say a 500 dollar moving magnet? 

Jeff, Jeff, Jeff ... go big or go home! Audiophilia is not about rationality, it is about passion for the music and the joy of conjuring that emotion from your own equipment, built by people whose work is to distill their own passion into their products. People like Harry Weisfeld and his family.

Buy the VPI and stick with the Memorial arm. VPI unipivot is excellent. I have one on my Classic 3 and would not trade it for a gimballed arm. (I would like to try the new 3D printed arm, however!)

Buy the best cartridge you can afford. It should match the tone arm. Lyra and Dynavector are good choices, but so are many others. I have a Dynavector TKR and love it. Very balanced, very dynamic. But as with any low output MC, be sure to get a phono stage with enough gain. Your preamp will do fine for now.

Vinyl records provide joy beyond the music. There is tactile satisfaction and the zen of ceremony in playing them. As others have stated, a record in pristine condition will have no discernible background noise and very few tics and pops. If you collect old classics that may be scratched or otherwise abused, buy a Sugar Cube and they will sound as clean as a CD. An occasional tic or pop from static electricity is no more annoying than the sound of a zipper at a rock concert.

One more thing ...  

As for old records vs. new … just go for it! There are no rules. Some remasters sound better than the originals, some do not. The sport is in the listening. I have thousands of LP’s, some sixty-year-old originals (the first record I ever bought brand new is now 58 years old!), some remasters and some new releases. If have not found the sound quality of these to be a function of their age, but rather of their pedigree.

There is one category in which vinyl has a monopoly, direct-to-disc. The best of these are simply stupendous and cannot be equaled by any digital means. Look for titles from M&K, Sheffield Lab and Chasing The Dragon.

As for remasters, I must give homage to one man who should be canonized for his amazing contributions to lovers of music, Chad Kassem.  He has been remastering albums of many genres with an attention to detail and commitment to quality that in most cases surpasses the original by a wide margin. I have many hundred of his remasters, mostly on the Classic Records and Analogue Productions labels. The worst of them is fully equal to its original and most are far better. Do yourself a favor and buy them all (I’m still working on it!) Or buy them from him in person at AXPONA (he is Acoustic Sounds) in April and tell him Dave sent you.

Another source of inspiration, who should be canonized as well, is Michael Fremer. Check out his blog Analog Planet, sponsored by Stereophile magazine, for inspiring reviews of both technology and recordings

I am so pumped up about VINYL!!! I am driven to do this!!! It's the old VPI SCOUTMASTER  VS REGA RP8. Which one would you goners get?