Have a traveler-considering a scout.
 

Last year, I bought my first ever table, a VPI Traveler that I got a nice price on from a dealer who had used it as a floor demo unit. The table has worked great for me; but, unfortunately, the traveler is sort of an "all inclusive" package. I can upgrade the cartridge, of course, but everything else, per my understanding, is pretty well set in stone. Aside from the good price, I wasn't sure how I'd feel about vinyl; I'd been a digital guy as long as I could remember and the only experience I really had with vinyl was listening to record with my Dad in the early 80s.

Fast-Forward a year: 90% or more of my listening is vinyl and I'm starting to consider upgrading my table. I'd like something that's reasonably configurable and, in addition to being pretty happy with my Traveler, the styling of most of the VPI tables works really well in our home (keeping the wife happy!)

I suppose my question is: is the Scout enough of an upgrade? Is it a solid platform on which to continue to upgrade (perhaps from the JMW9 to JMW10 or a 3D printed tonearm) or should I be looking at something like the Classic or Prime (both of which would take me a lot longer to acquire initially).

Or, to be frank, should I stick with my Traveler, upgrade the cartridge, and just enjoy?

I'd be interested to hear what VPI owners say on this as well. I've been eyeing the Prime for a while now myself. I like the VTA adjustability on the fly.

I just bought a used Oracle Delphi MkII. Got me back into vinyl. Deciding whether to upgrade the Oracle or move to the Prime.

What cartridge do you have?

Nalthien, since you now listen to 90% of your music on vinyl. I would think you would appreciate the Prime or the Classic and then not worry about upgrading again. A better cartridge will also provide an improved listening experience. I am a fan of VPI. I wish I wasn't as lazy as I am. I tend to leave my VTA set in the middle between 180gr and 140/150gr records, instead of making constant adjustments, and it still sounds great.

Right now, I'm using the Ortofon 2M Red that came with my Traveler. My first order of business, regardless of the table, is to change that out. My top runner at the moment is the Sumiko Blue Point EVO LOMC. I know that'll make a huge difference on its own.

I would get the new cart, and see what you think. As for turntable upgrades, I would jump to a Prime. A scout would be a nice upgrade but after that you would probably be looking at moving up anyways.

If you don't have a good record cleaning machine I would recommend getting one. It is a great bang for the buck upgrade to SQ.

You could keep an eye on Audiogon or the forums, there are always people trading up. A used Prime can be had for around 3K.

Yup. As I said, I bought my Traveler used; I'd almost certainly do the same with a Scout or a Prime. I very much doubt that I'd buy a new table.

As to the cartridge; yes, that's literally the first item on my list. I will almost certainly order it in the next few weeks.

My 'go to ' MM cartridge is the 2M Black and it is an excellent cartridge and I highly recommend. Just behind it is the AT150MLX. Talk to Ivan (Masterlu) about a cartridge. He is an Ortofon dealer as well as a few others. He will definitely have something good for you.

The nice thing about the Scout (I would look for a Scoutmaster or other upgraded model) is the 9" arm-wands come up on the used market quite often. Is a relatively inexpensive way to do some cartridge swapping in the future. I agree with Mikey (Michael Fremer) that the stiffness of a 9" arm is more important than the slight tracking error improvement of longer arms. The 9" arms are much 'handier' in use, as well.

I've considered the 2M black which, as I understand it, is a pretty hefty upgrade over the 2M red (a modest, entry-level cartridge at best). But since my C2300 will allow me to go MC, I really wanted to try the new cart with MC. I haven't read great things about the Ortofon Quintet line; but, I've listened to a setup using the Sumiko and loved it.