The Scout is a real nice turntable for the money and can be upgraded all the way to the Super Scoutmaster, but at a price. The Scout would not be a bad decision and you could save some money buying a used one. The Aries 2 was essentially a little better and prettier ScoutMaster. It used the same bearing and platter with the slightly better JMW 10 or 12 (for extended Aries 2) arm. The chassis/plinth is a little better made and a much nicer finish (at least for me). I bought a used Aries 1 extended that had been updated with the new bearing and platter mainly because of the hot rod mounted 12" arm. I had planned on buying a ScoutMaster but there was something about a 9" arm that didn't seem right, but I can't back that statement up so leave it at that. An Aries 2 is a good choice too, at least used. I don't think it would be a good economic choice to buy a new left over, too much depreciation because of the new model. I think the new Aries 3 will separate the Aries from the Scout but I have not heard and don't know anyone who has. Harry Weisfeld likes to tweak his designs and he probably realized the Aries was losing ground to the Scout so he did the right thing and improved it based on his experience with the HRX. The extra cost of the Aries 3 is a tough call, but at least you won't feel the need to upgrade so soon!
