A few years ago I got out of audio and sold off my entire system. At that time I had a VPI Aries 1, JMW 10.5 arm and a Benz Ruby H cartridge. A few months ago I got back in ( missed my music) and put together a more modest system. I now have the Avid Diva II and noticed the same thing. My records just seem much quieter than with the VPI. I thought it may have been the arm (Jelco SA-250ST) or the cartridge (Clearaudio Maestro). It never occurred to me that it may have been the TT. Interesting.
VPI vs Avid
My entry level TT was the VPI Scout with JM9 tonearm and after several carts, an Ortofon, Windfield sounded best to me in my system. I found that to get the best sound from this combination, extensive tweeking was necessary but it is and was a great sounding rig. The audiofile upgrade bug visited me and I then purchased an Avid, Volvere turntable with an Origin, Illustrious arm and installed the same Windfield cart. OMG! the sound difference is incredable. Completely more involving,wider soundstage,more musical right out of the box. Something that puzzels me though is that Vinyl that I played on the Scout that had the normal pops and cracks that we all know are somewhat inherent to vinyl even after RCM cleaning are gone when I play them on the Volvere. I am revisiting all the vinyl that I considered boarderline with the Scout. I'm really not sure why this is happening but thought I'd share my experience.
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