Turntable upgrade, tweaks, or stay put?

Agree with Stringreen.

Also, if you haven't lubed the main platter bearing and motor bearing, that's a simple tweak. Be sure to use the right lubricants. A center clamp and periphery ring clamp are also reasonably priced tweaks and will help a lot. You can pick up preowned clamps on eBay or A'gon for a fair price. And for goodness sake, don't puncture a finger on the spindle needle.

As far as cartridges are concerned, I've tried the Dynavector 20X2 (HO), Soundsmith VPI Zephyr and the Ortofon 2M Black. Yes they do sound different from each other. In the end I settled on the Lyra Kleos. IMO, I like the Lyra the best. Here again, look for preowned. New MSRP will put your wallet on oxygen. No comment about the Benz. Never owned one.

Btw, I used to own the Lyra Delos. It's a very nice cartridge too, but I ultimately settled on its bigger brother, the Kleos.

Couple of points about the Ortofon 2M Black. I seem to recall that it's a high compliance cartridge -- having a 22 compliance factor. I think the VPI JMW arm does better with medium or low compliance cartridges. I suspect the 2M may have had tracking issues and/or the 2M's output voltage may (??) have been a little "hot" for my phono pre. In any case, I returned it. I just couldn't get it to work well.

Similar comments about the Clearaudio Virtuoso and Maestro. They are high compliance cartridges. I had bass ringing issues that Mike (VPI Service) and I couldn't quite get our arms around.

Last point about output voltage. Be sure that whatever cartridge you settle on, its output voltage meshes with your phono pre. My phono pre's does 58 db of gain and the linestage does 12 db of gain. The bottom line is that the Kleos is the lowest output cartidge (.5 mV) my system can handle, unless I start talking a SUT which I am not inclined to do. Just another artifact.

Just sharing. Let us know how you make out.

Check the VPI web site. You can access the Scout's manual there. It will tell you, or just call Jack or Mike. I seem to recall a teeny tiny drop of 40W motor oil, or something like that. VPI may even sell a little stick of it.

Arsh ... the Zephyr is my back-up cartridge. It's a very nice cartridge and was supposedly jointly designed by Peter Ledermann of S-S and Harry W of VPI fame. I think you are doing quite well.

Arsh: you asked, "I have a couple of questions about the Zephyr:

1) how long does it take to break in ..."

Not long. Maybe 50+ hours.

"2) do you have any suggestions on setting the arm height on the scoutmaster with the Zephyr?"

Follow the instruction. I would set VTA so the arm is horizontal with the platter. Then adjust by ear. Set VTF within the recommended range. Harry Weisfeld does not believe in using anti-skating (AS). Peter does. Frankly, making adjustments to the JMW arm is a PITA. I use just a little AS and only to minimize uneven wear. Send the Zephyr to Peter for a check up after 1500 or so hours of use. Not only will Peter clean the cartridge, but he can check on wear patterns. That's how I settled on the AS adjustment for my arm.

Cheers,