VPI HW-19 Jr. Upgrade

I also have a HW-19 Jr. and have considered similar paths (it was the reason I bought the VPI instead of Rega). I would additionally be interested in the sonic difference (i.e. improvement) these upgrades would provide, because the current Hw-19 jr. is a really solid table (mine is equipped with a sumiko blue point cartridge) and I can't believe these upgrades (all of which would be expensive) could be justified by the increase you would get in performance/sound. Can someone with expertise disagree with me and tell me that I'm missing out on a whole new level of performance here??

Additionally, I have been interested in what kind of performance increases you get with the VPI SMS (stand alone motor system).

Great thread...

About 12 years ago, I bought the VPI HW-19 Mk2, and then upgraded to the Mk3, and finally the Mk4 version (with a Rega RB900 arm and Grado Reference cartridge). I had a chance recently to do some extensive listening to the Scout with the JMW 9 arm. Based on my personal experiences, I would recommend either the Scout/JMW9 arm (first choice), or upgrading all the way to the HW-19 Mk4 version (which has been consistently acknowledged as one of the best high-end turntables at its price). I would not bother to upgrade to the Mk3 version.

The HW-19 Mk4 table is good enough that it will benefit from a very good tonearm and cartridge, so if you decide to go for this ugrade, you should be prepared to get a high quality tonearm and cartridge at some point if you expect to get the full performance that this table is capable of.

Sdcampbell, what are the difference between a MkII and a MkIII?

You'll hear a notable improvement going from the Jr. to the MkIV. For all the hype over the Scout, I haven't heard one up close, but the Mk IV sounds great, and would be worth putting a very nice arm and cart on.

Bear in mind the Scout is an entirely different design from the MkIV, so if you like the HW sound and want "more of it", so to speak, then that's the way to go...I can't tell you what you want ;)

John Zurket at positive-feedback.com recently reviewed my pandafeet sorbothane footers with his VPI 19 Jr. and raved about the results:

http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue13/pandafeet.htm

I'm sure plenty of other products would work as well, but it does seem that vibration control helps the performance of these tables.

(mods, feel free to delete this post if you feel it inappropriate)

Gary