$7K to spend on new turntable + arm

TW Raven One Ortofon tonearm great recommendation.

The Raven is a terrific table. So are Basis tables. With all the choices available, I would never spend $7K on any VPI product.

What is the OPs phono stage? That's where money needs to be spent. I would second the WT Simplex because that's what I have. If it were my $7k I'd go Simplex/EMT TSD15/Allnic h1201. It'd be hard to beat that combo without spending twice that and even then you'd be getting something that sounds different but not necessarily better.

Angioccio.....It doesn't matter to me what you regard as good, bad, or indifferent, but to badmouth a product with misinformation does readers of these pages a disservice, and casts a shadow on you. The VPI arm is not at all unstable unless you set it up improperly. It is a very good arm that can compete with any tonearm. For some reason, VPI suffers the injustice of people like you, but takes away success in the industry. VPI offers performance and customer service like few others.

Stringreen, it may not matter to you but I was just stating my experience.

I lived with the VPI Scoutmaster for about 3 years and although it did sound good, I could never get used to the VPI unipivot tonearm (absolutley hated the feeling of handling that tonearm). Then I traded in my Scoutmaster for a Rega RP6 (using the same cart - Dynavector DV-20X2 low MC) and for about 1/3 of the money (Rega vs. VPI), I couldn't hear any differences but did not have to deal with that wobbly tonearm anymore.

Now I'm using a Brinkmann Bardo direct-drive turntable with Origin Live Encounter tonearm and this combo beats out both the VPI and the Rega, hands down. It's in a completely different league!

Just my 2 cents & experience.