Celebration Cartridge w/VPI table & arm?

I've not tried either cart/arm, just FYI, you should be just fine with that combination.

Celebration compliance is 12cu with cart mass of 7g
JMW9 tonearm effective mass is 8.7g
The system resonant freq would be 11.6hz, just in the 8-12hz ideal.

Dear Tom: One of the very hard task that we have is to find the best match tonearm for our cartidge. Many of us think that the tonearm/cartridge that we have is a very good couple but the fact is that almost any can be sure about because almost any of us does not have the opportunity to test that cartridge with several tonearms.

If you own the Celebration then you have the rare opportunity to match ( for sure ) it with the tonearm where was voiced and that that tonearm is the very best match for the Celebration: SME V/IV. If I be you I will change the VPI tonearm for the SME, you will be very happy to do that.

Regards and enjoy the music.
Raul.

I would agree with Raul that the SME is a better match for the Celebration. Does the Superscoutmaster allow you to swap armboards? This option would be costly.

Raul, just a side question: with the many arms you use, how do you swap between the arms? Do you plug/unplug the tonearm cables each time?

Dear Cmk: No, each tonearm has its own cable.

Regards and enjoy the music.
Raul.

With my Celebration, it sounds best - by far - loaded at 1k. 47k sounds nice and fine; 100 ohms sounds decent too; but 1k is special. (My previous XONO and current Joule OPS I can choose almost any value, and have......)

The cart also seems to send the arm a little mechanical feedback. I had to add a dash more fluid to my Basis Vector's tray to settle it down. I only heard this feedback on HIGHLY modulated grooves (think big symphonic climaxes, crescendo's). Now, regardless of inner vs outer groves, loud or quiet, BIG ensemble vs solo voice, it just sings delivering the goods bigtime (the Basis tt, with Vector arm has a little to do with it too :)

The reason I mention all this, as the SME V/IV can take that mechanical energy. I am not sure about something that isn't super rigid, and undamped, say like a unipovot Graham (or your VPI 9" unipivot perhaps). Undamped unipivot's might not make the best platform for this MC cart. Now, I do not know how the VPI works first hand with the Celebration, which is what you asked!, but a previous Graham didn't fair so well...... you may want to think about a SME, or Vector arm if things don't work out. (if I were you, I think I would give the Celebration/JMW combo a go, just out of stubborness and maybe hoping to get lucky, as the sound and presentation of the Celebration is that unique - just knowing the JMW/MC might not play nice and easy together)

Thanks for all the help. I will probably hold off for awhile, or just save the Celebration money and put it towards a dynavector upgrade cartridge when the time comes. Thanks again for the help.

Raul, I am aware that each tonearm has its own cable, but unless your phono has multiple inputs, you would have to plug/unplug these cables, no?

My phono has only one mc input, so I would have no choice but to do it that way should I get a 2nd arm.

Dear Cmk: In the past my phonolinepreamp had 5 phono inputs, so I can choose with a switch between five different cartridges but that switch degrade the quality sound reproduction and I change it for a better design phonolinepreamp and today I have to plug/unplug the cables if I want to hear more than two cartridges ( the Essential 3150 has two independent phono stages ).

Regards and enjoy the music.
Raul.