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In The Near Corner, Tipping
the Scale at 48 Pounds and Hailing from the Great Garden State..
Is anyone really shocked by the
continuing improvement and success of analog playback equipment?
(Or as Robert Klein said, "If I wasn't trained for surprises,
I'd be surprised.") The only surprising fact? Just how
large a gulf still exists between the sound of analog and
digital components, given the massive capital outlay by the
digital manufacturers. To my ears, there's no arguing that
a properly designed and set-up analog front-end is more faithful
to the sound of live music in every way that matters, than
digital.
Progress sometimes comes about
in unexpected ways. In the case of VPI, the new Scoutmaster
was born of the effort by designer Harry Weisfeld to produce
a reasonably priced table/arm package. To bring the 'table
in at a $2400 price point, Weisfeld needed to reduce manufacturing
costs through simplying the table and arm's construction.
The result? VPI's Scoutmaster turntable is in every way, shape
and form, simply a stunning accomplishment. Don't be fooled
by the 'table's diminutive 19 x 14-inch footprint. Don't be
fooled by its lack of bells and whistles. Don't be fooled
by its price. This muscular and compact 48 lb. package is
a heavyweight contender in every sense of the word. The Scoutmaster
could be the ultimate-and even last turntable-for many analog
music lovers.
Let's Get Ready to Rumble
Many reviews would take a reductionist
(or bottoms-up) approach to understanding why the $2400 stripped
down or $3900 totally tricked out Scoutmaster turntable bears
comparison to a large cast (including VPI's own 'tables) of
considerably higher priced high-end 'tables. Sure, there are
the usual suspects: macro and micro-speed stability; vibration
isolation; preventing motor noise from reaching the platter;
and build quality, among many factors. Scientists and philosophers
among us realize, though, that dissecting this 'table into
its fundamental elements won't do the Scoutmaster justice;
there are often unpredictable synergies created among the
various basic elements that contribute to the product's sound.
That goes double when it comes to a product like the Scoutmaster,
where the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.
There are, however, two factors
contributing to the Scoutmaster's sonic signature that merit
further exploration. First is the choice of platter material.
Several years ago, Harry Weisfeld lent me an acrylic platter
to experiment with on my TNT VI-HR/12.5 table combination.
Substituting the acrylic for methacrylate platter totally
transformed the 'tables' sonic signature. Previous generations
of VPI 'tables based around the methacrylate platter were
characterized by a highly musical but mellow, rounded and
slightly opaque sound, exceptional soundstaging and extended
low frequencies. If anything, the VPIs were slightly forgiving.
The TNT VI-HR with acrylic platter was far more transparent,
livelier and capable of greater low-level resolution and upper
octave extension.
All was not quite right. The low-end
extension of the acrylic platter (and maybe true also for
the Scoutmaster to a lesser extent) mounted on the TNT didn't
match the methacrylate. My first thought was here's another
mutually exclusive, high-end audio tradeoff. Little did I
know at the time that Weisfeld was hard at work on another
turntable design based around the acrylic platter.
Next, and just as important an
addition to the VPI Scoutmaster, is the record clamping system.
Consisting of a periphery clamping ring and metal record clamp,
the 7-pound, stainless steel ring fits snugly over the edge
of the record and record platter, and in concert with the
1.6-pound metal record clamp, firmly presses the LP against
the platter. (Do use the ring with the metal record clamp,
not the stock plastic clamp!) So how does solidly clamping
the LP to the platter translate into better sound? Students
of the analog art realize the importance of holding the cartridge
motionless above the record groove. Any extraneous movement,
whether it's traceable to record warps (having their greatest
affect at the outside edge of the LP), vibrations, loose or
poorly constructed tonearm bearings, prevent the stylus from
accurately retrieving the tiniest bits of information embedded
in those record grooves.
Unwanted cartridge motion also
affects sonics in unique ways. According to Weisfeld (and
this can be verified using an oscilloscope), low frequency
cartridge movement can sap an amplifier's power. So it's no
surprise that many people report that clamping results in
greater system dynamics.
Now keeping that cartridge platform
stable while playing an LP is far easier said than done. Enter
the Scoutmaster's peripheral clamping ring and clamp. While
not exactly a new concept, this clamping system elevates the
Scoutmaster turntable to a true heavyweight division contender.
Transparency is dramatically improved. Instruments are more
focused and three-dimensional. Macrodynamics hook you. Most
of all, the 'table's noise floor hits the canvas.
Yet, there was a chink in the
table's armor. No matter what LP was spun, the microdynamics,
otherwise known to musicians as dynamic accents, were not
right. The music was just a touch too laid back. Was this
another case of ridding some colorations and producing an
overdamped sound? Could readjusting the cartridge's VTA restore
the missing microdynamics? After all, it's very easy to use
VTA as a tone control. First, the VTA was dropped with no
luck. Next, the VTA was raised. Bingo! The missing microdynamics
were restored.
As more and more records hit the
Scoutmaster's platter, it became clear that the Scoutmaster's
sense of liveliness, the precision at which notes are rendered
(a combination of the initial attack and internote silence),
the lowered noise floor and resultant transparency, are in
large part traceable to the new platter material and clamping
system. Gone is the traditional VPI sound; in its stead is
a far more neutral and accurate sound (in the positive sense),
particularly from the upper bass through the upper frequencies.
No better example exists in my record library of this sonic
change than a little known gem entitled The Art of the
Koto (Elektra EKS-7234) and featuring renowned Japanese
koto player Kimio Eto. The koto possesses a dexterity, agility,
deftness lacking when played back via the TNT. Notes start
and stop on a dime; at the same time, the instrument is awash
in reverberant sound field. Take special note when Eto slides
his hands to the texture of the strings.
The Gloves Come Off
It's certainly more informative
in the case of the Scoutmaster, however, to take the top-down
approach to reviewing the Scoutmaster. Here, without question,
the sound of the 'table is greater than the sum of the parts.
As I said in Positive Feedback
Online's "2004 Writers' Choice Product of the Year"
nominations, the Scoutmaster just exudes resolution and transparency.
The Scoutmaster allows the listener to peer into the deepest
recesses, into the corners of the stage, especially on orchestral
music. None of that would have been possible without the able
assistance of the accompanying components, including AudioQuest's
top-of-the-line Everest speaker and Sky interconnect cables
(that received a undeservedly bad rap in a recent review),
conrad-johnson's newest spell casting Premier 140 amplifiers
and the M-L Prodigy speakers-which just sound better and better
with every upstream improvement.
The 'table is resolving to a fault.
(In contrast to old days, this increased resolution won't
force the listener to play only audiophile approved LPs) Every
record, every A- and B-side, every track, every solo, sounds
remarkably different. It's obvious when some tracks are recorded
at different times, in different studios, with different mikes,
etc. As I intimated in my PFO 2004 Product of Year
selection, the Scoutmaster is so resolving that classical
music lovers will give pause to reevaluate the sonic ranking
of the all-time best record labels and records. While RCAs
Living Stereo and Mercury's Living Presence series have captured
many an audiophile's attention, the Scoutmaster helps the
Deccas from the other side of the big pond get the judge's
nod.
I know the esteemed Sid Marks
will point to RCA's glorious string sound and natural hall
perspective, but through the new Scoutmaster, the Living Stereos
are no match for the best recordings from the Decca catalog
such as Verdi's Four Sacred Pieces (Decca Set 464),
Mahler's Symphony No. 3 (Decca Set 385-6), Britten's
Cantata Misericordium (Decca SXL 6175), or Resphigi's
Feste Romane (Decca SXL 6822).
For some hard hitting action,
try on Varese's Integrales and Ionisation (Decca SXL
6550) for size. Here the Decca recording team bested the best
their American colleagues could offer: an ability to capture
a limitless sense of hall acoustical space and realistic hall
perspective. The 'table's transparency gives the same degree
of illumination to instruments residing on the front and back
of the stage. Drums on the Varese have the low-end, and percussion,
the upper octave extension that the RCAs never had. But, the
Varese also shows that lower octave extension is one area
that the Scoutmaster falls short of ideal. Here, the 'table
doesn't quite maintain the purity of the sound, extension
or dynamics found elsewhere in the musical spectrum. Also,
there's also probably even more acoustical information present
on the disc. This is probably the result of several things,
most notably some of the compromises inherent in the design
of the 9-inch arm.
What really separates the Scoutmaster
plus clamp from other 'tables is how faithfully it recreates
that elusive sense of space between the edge of the orchestra
and the side-walls of the hall on the Varese. With many 'tables,
including my old TNT, the soundstage ends with the last instrument,
creating an incongruity between the orchestra and the shell
of the hall. Because of the 'table's low noise floor and lack
of grunge, this intervening space is now revealed and adds
to the reality of the recording and sense of spaciousness.
Hall boundaries, reflections, all indicative of greater low-level
resolution, just seem to have a greater sense of solidity
and depth. The feeling is akin to the difference between a
wood shaving and a solid ¾-inch piece of oak.
Give 'em the Old One-Two!
The second label flying beneath
most audiophile's analog radar screen is Nonesuch's American
Music series. Produced by the late Teresa Sterne and the recording
team of Mark Aubort and late Joanna Nickrenz, these are very
special recordings. Aubort and Nickrenz were pioneers in high-end
recording techniques: minimal miking, tube microphones and
30-ips tape machines. There's rarely a clunker among them
(assuming one's musical taste includes modern American composers).
Among my favorites are Stefan Wolpe's Quartet for trumpet,
tenor saxophone, percussion and piano (Nonesuch 71302)
and Percussion Music (Nonesuch 71291).
The Nonesuchs are to some extent
the sonic opposite of the RCA and Mercurys. While not quite
as rich as the RCAs, the Nonesuch's are free of many of the
frequency limitations and colorations of the earlier pioneering
stereo releases. Compared the RCAs and Mercurys, and to a
lesser extent the Deccas, the Nonesuch recordings also possess
an amazing sense of transparency and hall acoustics. Played
back through the Scoutmaster, listeners can hear the Nonesuch's
extended upper octaves. On the Wolpe, the trumpet is full
and brassy without any accompanying brightness, spittiness,
or distortion. Take for instance the tenor sax. Most 'tables
either thin this instrument out or overly romanticize it.
Not with the Scoutmaster. Here, the 'table's neutrality comes
across shines in its reproduction of sax's reedy quality.
Delivering the Knockout Blow
No single record label has a monopoly
on good sound. One hidden gem from the Musical Heritage Society
catalog is the recording Songs from the Fayrfax Manuscripts
(MHS 4649) featuring Edgar Fleet and the Pro Cantione Antiqua.
This 1982 Tony Faulkner recording, and one of his all-time
best efforts, sets the gold standard for capturing the realism
of a live, early music performance. Because of the Scoutmaster's
low noise floor and lack of grunge, it's easy to appreciate
the careful balance struck between the reflected and the direct
sound. One is seated in the fourth row at the concert (that
happens to be my favorite seat, given the scale of early music).
The wide range of both male (countertenor and bass) and female
voices (soprano) is faithfully captured and reproduced by
the Scoutmaster. One can easily close their eyes and imagine
a three dimensional palpable body behind each voice-yet hear
the wonderful limitless church acoustics. About the only down-side
to this recording is the typical MHS-quality vinyl that limits
the recording's transparency.
The Scoutmaster's exceptional
transparency is sometimes a double-edged sword. Specifically,
choose your record cleaning fluid carefully. Almost 15 years
have elapsed since my record cleaning fluid survey appeared
(Sounds Like., No. 8, May 1990), but the message remains
the same. What cleaning fluids leave behind is just as important
as how well they clean! Skipping ahead to 2004, the sonic
differences between fluids are even more apparent with the
Scoutmaster. Though by no means an exhaustive survey, I did
compare RRL's Super Vinyl Wash to Nitty Gritty's Pure 2. The
Nitty Gritty definitely colored the sound. Upper octaves were
attenuated, transparency was reduced; as one progressed to
the rear of the hall, images were unfocussed. (And yes, I
tried adjusting VTA). On the other hand, the RRL didn't seem
to have any negative effects on the sound and only improved
the records' sonics.
The Referee's Announcement
Your attention please! The winner
by knockout in the first round and still undisputed, heavyweight
champion: analog!
Another winner, this one by sonic
knockout, is VPI's Scoutmaster turntable. The newest effort
from VPI designer Harry Weisfeld brings the listener ever
closer to the elusive goal of recreating the master tape's
dynamics, neutrality, soundstaging and imaging. Where the
Scoutmaster really breaks new ground is in its neutrality.
Not only does one hear the aforementioned master tape qualities,
but the dramatic differences between recordings. For the first
time, I really appreciate exactly what many of the leading
recording engineers and labels were trying to accomplish with
their different microphoning techniques.
Tech Talk
The Scoutmaster covered in this
review consisted of the basic 'table and 9-inch arm package,
the latest 300-rpm motor plus the SDS (Synchronous drive system)
motor drive and platter periphery clamping ring and metal
record clamp. Lyra's Parnassus DCt moving coil cartridge traced
the record grooves. (One hasn't heard this cartridge until
it's been mounted in the VPI 9 or 12-inch arms). The 'table
resided atop a Silent Running Audio platform that was placed
on a Sound Anchors equipment stand.
The simplicity in design carries
over to 'table assembly. There's no suspension to adjust.
All the owner needs to do is position the 'table on a level
turntable stand, install the platter and arm, adjust the turntable
speed and mount the cartridge. Setting the 'table up was roughly
a 10-minute job; installing the cartridge (luckily, I still
have an old AT cartridge analyzer to align the cartridge)
is no more than a 20-minute job. So, most dedicated analog
people should have the 'table up and playing tunes in around
30 or so minutes.
Turntable Plinth
There's nothing particularly exotic
here other than solid construction. The plinth consists of
a bottom 1¼-inch piece of MDF, a middle 11 gauge piece of
stainless steel and a second 1¼-inch pieces of MDF. The three
pieces are bonded together using GE Silicone sealant. The
plinth rests on four tiptoes with 60 Rockwell hardness balls
set into bottom of each cone. A rubber washer sits between
the cones and the plinth to allow for turntable leveling.
Word of warning! Don't use the feet for leveling except under
extraordinary circumstances! Otherwise, transparency, low
level resolution and three-dimensional instrumental solidity
are compromised.
Platter and Bearing Assembly
LPs rotate on a 10-pound "VPI
HR-X-type," 1¾-inch, all acrylic platter. The periphery
clamping ring weighs in at 7 pounds, and the center metal
record clamp adds another 1.6-pounds (the first time I recall
this sort of clamping arrangement was the old Kenwood 'table
that populated a few high end systems about the time I first
became involved in high-end audio in 1976), bringing the grand
to 18.6-pounds; according to Weisfeld, this gives the combination
the inertia of a 31 pound acrylic platter (without some of
the associated drawbacks).
How the turntable designer deals
with energy generated at the stylus/LP interface has profound
implications on the turntable's sound. (Think of what happens
when light passes through material with different refractive
indices.) In the case of the turntable platter, there's the
mechanical effect of absorption, reflection and transmission
of energy from stylus/groove interface. For instance, out-of-phase,
reflected energy can among other things, decrease dynamic
range. Acrylic, as opposed to methacrylate platters, are lower
density and consequently less prone to energy storage
In contrast to older VPI designs,
the Scoutmaster's platter sits atop an inverted bearing assembly.
This bearing design was primarily selected on the basis of
its simplicity and lower cost; its resultant sound was side
benefit. For the non-technical analog lovers, the advantage
of the inverted bearing is that belt pulls through the center
bearing assembly and doesn't cause a sideways pull on the
platter. The bearing uses a 60 Rockwell hardness ball in bronze/delrin
bushing for greater quietness.
A 300-rpm motor specifically selected
for its 3Hz resonance point drives the acrylic platter. This
places the motor's resonant point far below the cartridge/arm
resonance response. The newest version of the Scoutmaster
uses a black, one piece belt.
JMW-9 Arm
Relatively speaking, the arm is
probably the weak point of the Scoutmaster combo. (Remember,
the 'table was built to a price point.) That's not to say
the arm is poorly designed. All it means is that the 9-inch
arm suffers from a geometrical compromise, and several others,
compared to the longer and more expensive VPI arms. One area
this really shows up is in the opening track of an LP (yes,
the outside of the LP is one area where warps make their presence
most known-but it's more than this). Now here's another example
where the combo's resolution is a double edged sword. The
'table is so resolving that the listener can not help but
notice the change in sound as the cartridge approaches the
optimal tangency point on the LP-especially if one is used
to listening to well-designed linear tracking arms or the
longer 12-inch VPI arm. The most noticeable sonic effects
one hears as the cartridge begins to approach optimal tangency
are increased ambient resolution and instrumental focus, and
low-frequency weight.
The 9-inch Aluminum arm is internally
damped with a crazy-glue like compound. Like previous VPI
arms, there is no provision for setting antiskating since
Weisfeld feels antiskating settings are at best a compromise.
Unlike most unipivot designs, VPI's 9-inch arm does not use
damping fluid. Basically, damping is used to prevent extraneous
arm motion. Damping, unfortunately, is not without is drawbacks,
including an overly smooth and rolled off sound. Since the
Scoutmaster bearing basically doesn't have any vertical motion,
damping is rendered unnecessary according to Harry Weisfeld,
and the top-end response of the arm opens up.
The unipivot bearing is fashioned
from extremely hard tungsten carbide; this material will shatter
but won't break. Because of the unipivot design, the arm wand
is easily replaced, and an owner can, if desired, have different
cartridges mounted in different wands. Also, because there's
no damping fluid necessary, the arm, in contrast to the older
damping VPI arms, is truly interchangeable.
Like all VPI arms, VTA adjustment
is relatively easy to adjust even while the turntable is playing.
After settling on the correct VTA, the arm can be locked down
via two screws, one located on the arms side and one to the
rear, to ensure maximal arm rigidity. With the 9-inch arm,
16 turns equals 1 inch (or 0.0625-inches per turn). I do wish
that VPI had added a directional arrow to show which way to
turn the knob to raise or lower the arm. Maybe it's premature
senility setting in, but I always forget which way to turn
to adjust the height. In addition, it would be nice if the
knob had some notches on the side so one can have a frame
of reference for reproducibly adjusting VTA.
The arm's mass allows it to work
optimally with cartridges weighing between 9 to 12 grams.
Thus the 9-inch arm makes an excellent platform for the world's
leading cartridges, such as the Lyras, Clearaudios, Benzs
and Dynavectors.
There was one area-namely setting
the VPI arm's azimuth and vertical tracking force-which left
me cold. Like the Wilson-Benesch arm I had the opportunity
to play with years ago, you slide the counterweight back and
forth to set VTF, and rotate the counterweight around the
arm's axis to set azimuth. Consequently, it's extremely difficult
to adjust VTF without changing azimuth and vice versa.
One final, though annoying nitpick
with the 9-inch arm (and other VPI arms), is misalignment
of the arm rest assembly. The arm rest never seems to be set
so the arm can be picked up at the end of the record. Luckily,
the fix is easy using the Allen screwdriver provided: loosen
the set screw located on the side of the arm rest and then
rotate the assembly so the arm can be picked up at the end
of the record.
Record Clamping System
The ring generally works as advertised;
I did manage to find two LPs that didn't work with the clamp.
In addition, most records were flattened and made good contact
with the platter; there were a few difficult warps that even
this clamping (or probably any system) didn't help. A word
of caution when using this clamping system: keep the
platter meticulously clean; otherwise, dirt trapped between
the platter and LP could be pressed into the record grooves
leading to increased surface noise.
Before receiving the clamping
ring, I was convinced that the Scoutmaster upgrade route entailed
first adding the SDS (synchronous drive system), then the
clamping ring. For those not familiar with the SDS, its role
is to provide greater speed stability by reducing microspeed
fluctuation. After receiving the ring and listening, my mind
changed. Clearly, the clamping ring is the accessory (really
a necessity) that should be first in line. The ring, by virtue
of increasing platter inertia, smoothes out speed fluctuations.
Myles B. Astor
Drive system: 300-rpm AC synchronous
motor with belt drive
Tonearm: 9-inch, undamped, VTA adjustable, unipivot
Turntable dimensions (w x d): 19 x 14 inches
Weight: 48 pounds
VPI Scoutmaster Turntable
Retail: $2400 with 9-inch arm; add $1000 for SDS; add
$500 for periphery ring clamp
VPI Industries Inc.
77 Cliffwood Ave #3B
Cliffwood, NJ. 07721
Telephone: (732) 583-6895
web addess: www.vpiindustries.com
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