[Tuberoller]

I have been promising to offer some opinions and a full review of the Scout table since last September.Attendees of the Chicago fall meet got a good look at one of the very first Scouts produced.That unit held serial number 12.It has long since been sold to a happy owner somewhere on planet earth.I sold and set-up more than 30 Scouts while a dealer for VPI tables and was never let-down by poor Quality control or any other manufacturing variables and never have had one returned for any reason.I'm no longer a dealer but feel strongly that the Scout is deserving of the cult following it has developed in it's short lifespan.

When I first got news of the Scout from Harry Wesfeld (VPI's president and chief designer) I wasn't too thrilled.I wondered how good it could be for the low($1,500) asking price.I also wondered about the new JMW-9 arm.While the Scout and JMW-9 arm look similar to the Aries tables and other JMW series arms they differ significantly.The VPI Scout is the first VPI table to feature the new inverted platter bearing with improved materials and isolation.The JMW-9 arm is the first VPI arm to have a fully threaded VTA adjustment.These features have now been implemented on all the other Aries and TNT tables and JMW arms.It is very unusual for a manufacturer to first include the newest features on the least expensive model in a product series but such is the wisdom of Harry Wesfeld.I have to say that the improvements to the basic Aries design have resulted in a table with the most silent backround I have ever heard.The backround is carbon black and is dead silent.There is an absolute absence of noise.I have always felt that the best tables should offer the clean canvas of a perfectly silent backround on which to paint the perfect sonic picture.

The Scout is the very first table that I can honestly say does not seem to impact the sonic picture at all.It does'nt discolor the performance of the best cartridges and does'nt alter the sonics of your best LPs by pitch and platter-speed tricks.There is no anti-skating adjustment because anti-skating has never been proven to affect sound in any real way.The platter is heavy,thick and made of acrylic because acrylic is known to be "sonically dead".The chassis is thick MDF braced by 12 gauge steel which results in a stiff plinth on which the arm is solidly mounted.The included spindle clamp is a welcomed addition and one that I think all tables should include.

The unipivot arm has some neat features.least of which is easily switchable arm wands that allow very quick cartridge changes.It's cool to be able to swap rigs in a few minutes with only minor adjustments.The JMW arm is super easy to set-up and holds adjustments as well as any I have used.It is a very stiff arm and features most adjustments except for anti-skating.The VTA adustment is the best in the business.The included RCA Junction box makes interconnect swaps easy.My only dislikes of the JMW-9 arm are a cheesy lift mechanism and a downright dangerous arm rest/clamp.I have dropped the stylus to the plinth a few times by accident.The table features adjustable ball-bearing cone feet.They are very heavy duty aluminum pieces and work better than any aftermarket feet I have ever used.The feet are further isolated from the plinth by thick rubber washers.

Over the past year or so I have had listened to many Scouts and the performance is consistant.They all sound the same.I listened to most of my music on a Scout and it has never sounded better.I told Harry that I thought the Scout was his best sounding table and he didn't sound suprised at all.I sold a bunch of Aries and two TNT Hot Rods that were getting spanked by their little brother.I have installed cartridges ranging from the Grado Sonata to the entire Clearaudio and Dynavector lines and all have never sounded better than when installed on the Scout.The Scout makes the best rigs sound better.If I were to make a single improvement to the Scout it would be deeper belt grooves in the platter.There is a fair amount of belt wander that doesn't affect the speed but is annoying.A strobe check confirmed that speed was spot on on both 33rpm and 45 rpm speeds.

I gave my Dad a Scout for his B-day and he stuffed his "trusted" LP12 in the closet.I hope the New HRX I ordered is better than the Scout.It features all the improvements first implemented on the Scout with some other outstanding design features.It better be legendary to beat out the Scout.I have failed to offer opinions on any specific sonic characteristics of the Scout because there are none.The table is as neutral a component as I have heard.It is a near perfect table and garners a conditional "budget component alert" status from me.The conditional status is due to the higher than $1200 price.After owning and hearing nearly all of the so-called "budget" tables I can honestly say the Scout is one of the best tabels I have heard regardless of price.I still need to hear the Bluenote tables to fully confirm my feelings,so stay tuned.

Check out some pics of the last VPI Scout table I bought.This one came factory equipped with a Dynavector 10X4 cartridge that was actually perfectly set-up.I don't think this is the best cartridge for the Scout but It sounds no less amazing.

 

[zowie]

Well done!

 

[bozebuttons]

Nice Review Tuberoller.
I have been kicking the idea of getting back into Lps, even though I don't own any at this time. The scout looks like it will be my next audio buy. After that a phono stage for my hovland.

 

[ze-ant]

Quote:

Originally posted by Tuberoller I gave my Dad a Scout for his B-day and he stuffed his "trusted" LP12 in the closet.

Hi Tube,

Thanks for the great post.

BTW, did your Dad happen to mention the differences in sound between the Scout and the LP12 and why he preferred the former and/or have you compared the 2? Thanks again.

 

[TKSingh]

Thanks Tube ! Now what are your thoughts vs. the Clearaudio?

 

[TB1]

Great review on the Scout Tuberoller!

Do you have any thoughts of the Scout vs the MMF-7? Soundwise (assuming proper set up and similar carts) would we be splitting hairs or is there a big jump in performance?

I'm enjoying my MMF-7 very much but am "Scout curious"

 

[nebuchadnezzar]

Great review, Tuberoller, on what sounds like a great 'table!

I had been avoiding reading this thread, but couldn't resist any longer.....now I want one!

I'd like to know how the Scout stacks up against the Clearaudio as well.

Thanks for your impressions.

 

[sberger]

great review...i must say that i was drooling over the scout for the last few months. then, about a week ago, i broke the stylus on the goldring eroica on my mmf-7. brought it into the great analog room in san diego and owner brian slapped on a benz micro glider L2. this was 4 days ago. as i write this, it probably has 10 hours or so on it. it needs 40-50 hrs break in...but it is already blowing me away. brian , who sells vpi, said that the scout is overrated, not a particulary well built table, and that the mmf-7/glider combo is easily as good , if not better, than the scout/dynavector. all i can say, is that i can't imagine how much better the scout might be than what i have, but right now im in heaven. i'll check back in 2 weeks...

 

[sberger]

sorry, that's the analog room in san jose...

 

[Tuberoller]

I sold Musichall tables as well and I would refer you to at least two other Chicago dealers(Musicdirect and Decibel Audio) who would concur that the Scout,as a stand alone table/arm package is far superior to ANY Musichall table,wearing ANY cartridge.If you could ever get an MMF-7 to run at the correct speed then you'd have to deal with the motor runout.The MMF-5 is the best Musichall table and it is only slightly bested by the new MMF-9.I advise an audition of the Scout before you make you mind up that it's over rated.

 

[TimSchirmer]

Quote:

Originally posted by bozebuttons Nice Review Tuberoller. I have been kicking the idea of getting back into Lps, even though I don't own any at this time. The scout looks like it will be my next audio buy. After that a phono stage for my hovland.

That's one helluva way to get back into analog!

 

[aeberbach]

I'm just wondering whatyou guys do about dust - I notice the VPI Scout doesn't come with a dust cover and I suppose it's not the only one. Since the turntable usually sits on top of the stack it is in a position to get covered in dust - is there an aftermarket dust cover manufacturer that people use? Or maybe your houses are so clean that there is no dust, and it's just my place.

 

[drewski]

Quote:

Originally posted by aeberbach I'm just wondering whatyou guys do about dust - I notice the VPI Scout doesn't come with a dust cover and I suppose it's not the only one. Since the turntable usually sits on top of the stack it is in a position to get covered in dust - is there an aftermarket dust cover manufacturer that people use? Or maybe your houses are so clean that there is no dust, and it's just my place.

www.elusivedisc.com and www.amusicdirect.com both have after market dustcovers.

 

[Hirsch]

I've got the aftermarket dust cover with the Scout. With four cats in the place, a cover is absolutely necessary

The cover simply lifts completely off when you want to use the table.

 

[sberger]

my mmf-7 runs at pitch perfect speed(tested with, among other things, a vpi strobe). have had no motor problems, or problems of any type, with the 7 since i bought it a year ago from decibel audio in chicago. im not doubting the scout to be a great table, just relaying back thoughts that a very reputable dealer who sells vpi in the bay area expressed. but after listening to some other high end vpi tables, and comparing to the 7 with the glider, to say that the scout is "far superior" to it is to my ears a pretty subjective exageration...but, to each his own.








Quote:

Originally posted by Tuberoller I sold Musichall tables as well and I would refer you to at least two other Chicago dealers(Musicdirect and Decibel Audio) who would concur that the Scout,as a stand alone table/arm package is far superior to ANY Musichall table,wearing ANY cartridge.If you could ever get an MMF-7 to run at the correct speed then you'd have to deal with the motor runout.The MMF-5 is the best Musichall table and it is only slightly bested by the new MMF-9.I advise an audition of the Scout before you make you mind up that it's over rated.