Avid Volvare - SME IV arm or Tri-planar VII ???

What would make you point me in the direction of the Super Scoutmaster if you are an Avid owner?

My primary reason for leaning towards the Avid is that everyone I have heard from says the VPI gear is a bit tweaky and needs constant fine tuning; while the Avid is truly set it up once and play. I'm not a fidget around with the table kinda guy (not enough time to fidget and listen and I'd rather be listening). I've also heard the Avid is VERY dynamic with great lower frequency extension. I have never heard anyting bad about the Super S.M. but I have heard that the VPI tables can be a bit flat sounding compared to a suspended table...

Is the Triplanar as easy to set up and use as the SME IV?

Thank you Khrys and Dougdeacon!

That article was great and VERY helpful. I can certainly see how if you are a VTA adjuster then the Triplanar is a no-brainer. I can guarantee you that I am not going to be a VTA adjuster. I will be listening to about 30% analog and over time (as my free time increases - some day) I may get more into the fine tunning, But for now I am honestly looking for an arm that is VERY easy to set-up and will sound great with a minimum of fuss.

It sounds to me like both arms are so good that changing cables, cartridges and phono stages will have a MUCH greater impact on the sound then the arms themselves. Which leaves me with two great choices and I obviously can't go wrong with either.

I did find it interesting to finally hear, specifically, the difference between the IV and the V as far as counterweight adjustment and VTA adjustment. I had a Roksan Radius V for a while and the two biggest complaints I had with it set-up wise were that I hated the simple sliding counterweight (it just seamed to me that a better, micrometer style counterweight, would be more effective and reliable) and the VTA was similar in it's lack of any fine control - just slide it up or down and hope it stays until you tighten that screw.

In that regard, and after reading that article, I actually think going with the SME V is propbably the smartest move on my part as it will make set-up and long term maintanence the easiest and least tweaky. With that said, you both made comment as to the SME's "assumption" that the cartridge is perfect and I am a bit concerned as to cartridge matching... How significant an issue is this?

What cartridges (or manufacturers) would you describe as "perfectly built" lending themselves to being well suited and matched to the SME IV or V?

I was initially seriously considering the Benz or the Dynavector. I may start out at a lower price point as my budget will be chewed up by the table and arm - maybe a Karat or Glider 2 and upgrade as I can. I figure since the cartridge is clearly the easiest to change (especially with the SME arm) it makes more sense to go that route... Any suggestions?

-Brie

I have been told by many that unipivot arms are basically a huge mistake with the Avid suspended tables as they don't provide a direct line for vibration to be channeled through the arm into the suspension, or something like that. I think I'll stick with the SME arm for now, but thank you for your suggestion... And I will look into the Denon Cart.

-Brie