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Anyone NOT like the sound of VPI?

I'm wondering if I'm just not a VPI guy. Bought a Scoutmaster with signature JMW arm and a Shelter 501 MKII cartridge. This was after buying a Rega P3-24 with an Elys II cartridge. Thought the Rega was very dark sounding (at least with that cartridge).

The VPI sounded unnatural to me (no midbass whatsoever). Thought it was a bad cartridge, but recently heard a Scout (with signature arm) equipped with a Dynavector cartridge. This was on a system at a retailer where I was auditioning speakers and I didn't think it sounded much different from what I have at home.

While I hate overdone midbass, I certainly miss it if it's absent. I'm wondering if I'm just not a VPI guy and should try something else - maybe a Rega (P5?) with a different cartridge...

madfloyd
jaybo
4,478 posts
 
i'm not a vpi 'cheerleader', but the 501 cartridge can be outdone by lots of mm's. especially on warmth and dynamics....before you go chasing other tt's, try a different cartridge.
photon46
1,076 posts
 
First thing I'd be suspicious of is the obvious, you are comparing a moving coil cartridge to a very high output moving magnet. Are you sure the phono preamplification chain is optimized for the new cartridge? Or perhaps, you just don't care for the sound of these particular cartridges or inexpensive moving coils in general. I'm using a moving magnet Garrott Optim FGS and have used several other moving magnet designs. None suffer from any hint of lean midbass.
stevecham
3,340 posts
 
What is your phono stage and the rest of your system? There's not enough information here to help without knowing the system context.
goatwuss
877 posts
 
Hi Madfloyd

Something like "no midbass whatsoever" means you've got a problem somewhere. This would also be very clearly measurable. Have you tried taking RTA measurements of the turntable? Pink noise on a test LP works for this.

I upgrade from a tweaked Rega P25 (used Dynavector carts and Denon 103 / 103R) to a Scoutmaster (Shelter 901), and it was a substantial improvement in every way. Bass in particular (low bass and mid bass) was more tight and dynamic than the Rega. The table is more musical than the Rega was in general.
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