VPI HW-19 Jr. Upgrade

sell the jr and buy a scout.
i went with a mk III platter/bearing and like it well enough to not advance any further at this point.

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?