VPI Scoutmaster or Aries????

Harry Weisfeld does a great job of continually improving his turntable designs, with each generation showing better performance that its predecessors.

The Scoutmaster is the newer design, so presumably it should offer better sound quality (particularly if you get the Signature 9 arm). It also offers the peripheral ring clamp, which is a great device. If it were me, I'd buy the Scoutmaster, not the original Aries.

However, if the comparison was between the Scoutmaster and the Aries 3 with the longer arm, then I'd choose the Aries 3.

With due respect to Sberger, he is incorrect when he states that the Scoutmaster does not offer the peripheral ring clamp. The ring clamp most certainly IS available with the Scoutmaster. My local VPI dealer sells it, and it is shown on the VPI web site -- see this link for more info:
http://www.vpiindustries.com/master.htm
Note the wording at the bottom of the ad: available with periphery ring clamp and SDS power supply.