Anyone NOT like the sound of VPI?

Madfloyd, MDF does not make a very good platform, though I doubt it would suck the bass out of the system. It will make for an uninvolving sound however. Maple makes for a good platform. I use a maple platform on a sandbox with a separate platform for the motor. I agree that the platform material makes a difference in sound.
I do not agree that the upgrades are necessary to get good sound from the ScoutMaster. Mine is relatively stripped down except for the signature arm and I have never had the bass problems you are having. AAMOF, the bass response with the Dyna 20xl was superior to that of my cdp which is known for its bass qualities. This is what makes your problem hard to diagnose.
There are those who do not like the VPI sound. But it is usually a PRAT issue rather than bass or midbass. AAMOF, I think that VPI is somewhat known for its bass response.

I've had my Sota Cosmos on a few different platforms....ALL affected the sound differently.

The MDF was quite poor,in that the sound was rather "MDF'Y"-:)It was sort of deadened,and diffuse compared to my second move,which was a pricey air bladder design.

I have my table mounted on a superb wall shelf,mounted into two by six beams.I am talking of the actual shelving material,and how it clearly affected the sonic spectrum,in my set-up only.

The air bladder design,allowed me to disengage the Cosmos' sprung suspension.I was quite happy with this configuration until Sota did a complete redo of the springs.My friend got "these" new suspension springs first,and they were quite different from what folks knew the older Sotas to be like.Formerly they were way too springy,but now they were quite stiff,with almost NO bounce.

I still seemed happy, the old air bladder way,until I decided to get the new sprung suspension,and "this" made me try it with a Symposium Ultra Shelf,instead of the air bladder.Of course I now disengaged the locked up springs,and went the normal way of using "this" new suspension.

The difference,to me,with my usual LP suspects was absolutely dramatic!!Now it appeared I had a "serious" and well tuned suspension,that did not bounce around,and allowed for the Ultra Shelf to do it's job.The Ultra Shelf is a fabulous support,and significantly outperformed the air bladder(both not cheap,btw)in this new configuration.I had a significant increase in bass performance,and focus.

One thing(my opinion) about all this business of "perceived differences",whether they be material choices in products,or set up choices made by the hobbyist.....

You'd be very well off to make a serious attempt to hear/listen carefully to your "best" LP's on a multitude of top systems(not really hard if you make the attempt to bring them along to the "few' better dealers,trade shows,and especially fellow hobbyists' homes)in an effort to absolutely know how "music' is presented with such a plethora of sonic viewpoints,from different components.

Now you'll have a better idea of how the different instrument combinations should sound,and if a future component is not up to snoff,it will be very obvious.

You'll know for sure,without having to post a question on an audio forum.

Viridian...Hope this makes some sense -:)

Best

Wow... thanks for all the responses, guys. I feel disappointed that I ordered the Target shelf (it was suggested in another thread).

What is SDS?

Someone asked about speakers, I auditioned a couple Verity models, a Rockport Mira and, for fun, the Magico V3s (which is what I heard the other VPI with).

I liked the Rockports; next step is to audition them in my home.

I am considering purchasing a Rega P5/Exact to see if I can get better bass without sacrificing detail (which is what happened with the P3/Elys II), but I realize that I'd be taking a chance...

That's weird. I auditioned a Rega P3/24 with Elys II going into an all-Rega chain--Brio driving the R5 floorstanders, and I thought the detail was unnatural and overdone. Maybe the Brio was clipping or there was feedback or the system was overloading the room, but it sounded sort of phasey and unnaturally detailed, sort of like it was underwater. Drowning in detail at the expense of the fundamentals and melody lines. Maybe the VTA and azimuth (Rega tonearm vulnerabilities) were off.

I smell asystem-matching and setup issues.

Say what you want about my "DJ" table, but when I got home and spun the same LP on my Technics SL1210 M5G with fluid damper and AT150MLX cartridge, it sounded so much more musical, clean, and balanced. There was plenty of detail, but it wasn't overwhelming the music.

I listened some more last night. I think the setup is fine - It all sounds good except for the lack of bass. I guess another thing to to consider is getting a non-signature tonearm with a Dynavector cartridge.