VPI Scout and Scout 1.1 Question


I know they went from acrylic platter to the aluminum platter on the Scout 1.1 My question is, is there really a difference in sound quality in music by upgrading from acrylic platter to the aluminum platter?
miketuason
Harry will tell you yes, I will tell you yes. The acrylic age for Harry was nothing but adding to profits. You would think by now that 'the' material would have surfaced. But no, Harry will be playing this game on your pocket book forever. Don't get me wrong, Harry does make good products, value is another story.
"Upgrading" is subjective here. I believe the change was done for profit and not performance. VPI makes "improvements" like this and then raises their prices while cutting manufacturing costs. The acrylic platter and isolated motor can still be found on their top of the line decks. That speaks volumes to me as far as upgrades go.
In a word...YES!! It sounds like the whole top end of the orchestra was missing with the acrylic when you compare them.
I just spoke to Jack from VPI, he also said that the aluminum platter will also give you more bass. It's hard to believe that the material of the platter makes a different.
One person says the new platter gives you
more top end, another suggest the new platter gives you more at the low end. If it does both then does it really do anything?
If I remember correctly, there were production issues with the acrylic and the cost was going up. The aluminum was less expensive to manufacturer to the desired specs, I believe.
Dtc, the vpi platter manufacturing problem was mainly attributed to the Delrin and stainless steel sandwiched VPI Super platter, not their acrylic platters.
I had both, and the aluminum one is far superior...bass, midrange, and highs. I now have the ceramic coated one that is actually the same as the aluminum, but better looking (no hand/finger prints)
Brf - I may be wrong, but I remember discussions about VPI having trouble maintaining the tolerances in manufacturing the acrylic one at a reasonable price. That discussion was separate from the super platter. May be wrong, as I am sure there was never such a statement from VPI.
Dtc, you could be right, although I never heard anything about manufacturing problems with the 100% acrylic platter.

From the VPI website - The Super Platter is no longer being produced by VPI. It was excessively difficult to make, had issues with stability of the three layers, and could never be machined as accurately as the Classic Aluminum Platter. The Classic Aluminum Platter replaced it and is a better running design.
I see VPI does not offer the acrylic platter on any of their current production models.