Rega P9

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Originally Posted by John72953

From seeing your 2 choices I can surmize that you are aesthetically attracted the wood-look finish both the Rega P9 and VPI Classic offer. And that's a fair point, because aesthetics are and should definately be a consideration.

I don't know enough about the Rega's, but the VPI's are attractive in my opinion because of their upgradeability. I'm not sure though if the new VPI Classic fits that pattern. My initial thought is that is not nearly as upgradeable as the Scout, Scoutmaster and Aries TT's from VPI. As such, and if it were me, I'd opt for either a Scout or a Scoutmaster. The Aries is a bit more expensive.

I can tell you for fact that both the Rega and VPI with the right cartridge will sound far superior than your Pro-Ject XpressionIII. And that's not a knock, as Pro-Ject also makes wonderful TT's. Sometimes however, as with eveything, that realization only sets in after a while.

I don't know if I've added anything constructive to your post and I hope that Rich and Rich add to this as their setups far outweigh anything you and I have.

John

John,

I suspect that neither Rich nor I can really provide very much additional information regarding the choices of the 5 turntable suggestions (4 VPI and the Rega P9). I admit that both Rich and I have exceedingly expensive analog rigs. For myself, I just made this tremendous journey and moving from my 35 year old modified Thorens to my present turntable. When I auditioned the big brother of my turntable 11 months ago I had never auditioned or heard an analog system of this quality before. When my turntable was installed and assembled now only 3 weeks ago both the designer and I were in awe of the performance of my new Turntable particularly once we placed the Marigo Labs TR Mystery feet under the Teres Certus control box. The turntable designer concluded that with my set-up and rack system my turntable sounded better than the more expensive version of my turntable that would cost an additional $5,000 with the standard feet under the control box.

So, you may ask what am I saying and what does this mean? First when you get to a certain point in equipment the rest of your components have to be able to perform adequately or equal to the other components or you will not realize what is possible. You can have components that are antagonistic, synergistic, or something in between.

So, if you are willing to make a substantial economic investment, make sure that the rest of the system can live up to the components or be prepared to make the appropriate changes later.

As to the turntables in question the VPI Scout,Scoutmaster, and Classic, these are all in the $2100 to $3000 price range. Once we get to the VPI Aries and the Rega P9 we are getting into the $4,800 to $5,000 range. I would most definitely expect that there will be a noticeable improvement going from the $2100 to $3,000 range to the $4,800 to $5,000 range. You will have to decide for yourself if the difference is worth it and you can afford the cost difference especially considering the need for a cartridge and phono preamp.

For most people certainly when getting into that $5,000 range that is a serious investment especially when you have yet to include a very good cartridge and phono preamp that will undoubtedly add at least another $1,500 to $3,000 or more to the final cost to be able to perform to these tables abilities.

I know that appearance may be important. But, before I were to spend $2,000 to $5,000 on a turntable I would most definitely want to have an audition of the equipment. I would also like to have an opportunity to hear different cartridges and phono preamps to get an idea of their "sound" and do they project the kind of sound for the music that I prefer.

Another thing to consider is once you get your equipment to this level, you may well need to consider your system components, wiring, power cords, racks, and tweaks. These will all substantially affect the audio performance.