Bryan (Bhoage), from my experience with the Scoutmaster in a friend's system, you can go a long ways upmarket before you will materially improve on it's strengths. It's a good, well balanced table design and the arm is better than many detractors give it credit. Of course, my listening priorities match to many of those things the Scoutmaster does well.
My friend ultimately moved on to a Walker Audio turntable (muttering under his breath that it was all my fault, of course :-) ), and that was a WOW! difference for his system. A Galibrier or a Teres or a VPI TNT will bring a very noticeable improvement over the Scoutmaster, but at a higher price point than you've set for yourself.
The point is that the Scoutmaster is a great overachiever and can be even better with a motor controller (VPI SDS or, better, Walker) and it will comfortably complement an even better cartridge. For the budget range you've set, you might get more enjoyment out of a cartridge upgrade and a motor controller. On the flip side, wait another year and try to increase the budget you're working with in order to make a really impactful improvement.
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My friend ultimately moved on to a Walker Audio turntable (muttering under his breath that it was all my fault, of course :-) ), and that was a WOW! difference for his system. A Galibrier or a Teres or a VPI TNT will bring a very noticeable improvement over the Scoutmaster, but at a higher price point than you've set for yourself.
The point is that the Scoutmaster is a great overachiever and can be even better with a motor controller (VPI SDS or, better, Walker) and it will comfortably complement an even better cartridge. For the budget range you've set, you might get more enjoyment out of a cartridge upgrade and a motor controller. On the flip side, wait another year and try to increase the budget you're working with in order to make a really impactful improvement.
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