Your choice between a Delphi V vs a VPI Scoutmaster really boils down to whether or not you prefer the sound of sprung vs unsprung turntables. They are each superb excecutions of both design philosophies. Sprung tables tend to emphasize midrange presence and soundstage at the expense of diminished frequency extremes and detail. Unsprung tables tend to be more dynamic, neutral, detailed and unforgiving. Certain arms tend to work much better on unsprung than sprung tables as well. If aesthetics matter then there is no contest, Oracle's timeless elegance trumping VPI's more industrial presentation.
I went back and forth between various VPI tables and iterations of the Oracle for years searching for the optimal balance until Brooks Berdan himself saved the day by introducing me to a table that he believes is the first to effectively split the difference: a very lightly sprung but massively anchored tripod table.
My advice: you cannot go wrong either way. However if your record collecton spans decades of indiscriminate but memorable performances, buy the Oracle. But if your collection consists mainly of meticuluosly maintained "audiophile" pressings buy the VPI.
Either setup will likely embarass your digital source.
I went back and forth between various VPI tables and iterations of the Oracle for years searching for the optimal balance until Brooks Berdan himself saved the day by introducing me to a table that he believes is the first to effectively split the difference: a very lightly sprung but massively anchored tripod table.
My advice: you cannot go wrong either way. However if your record collecton spans decades of indiscriminate but memorable performances, buy the Oracle. But if your collection consists mainly of meticuluosly maintained "audiophile" pressings buy the VPI.
Either setup will likely embarass your digital source.