Rega P3-24 Vs VPI Scout.

Bill Gibson at House of Stereo in south Jacksonville off Butler Road has a VPI Scout hooked up. He is a super vinyl guy. About an hour and forty five minutes from Gainesville.

vpi is the way to go. no one does it better. maybe the new 'classic' vpi would be a better choice in that you will be buying for the future. If it disappoints, the vpi has great re sale value.

I went from a rega P25, to a scoutmaster, and I really like the change. I don't like how you can't adjust VTA on Rega arms. The VPI also has much more mass, it's a much more solid table. Also comes with a special 1 point alignment tool that makes alignment pretty easy.

The sound? They both sound good as far as I'm concerned. The Rega may be a hair faster and airier, with the scout being more dynamic with a blacker background.

Frankly, I would just pick the one you think looks cooler.

Too bad that you can't hear them both, so I will give you some broad observations. The Rega has great pace and a sense of the music moving forward, what the Brits call PRaT. The leading edges of notes are handled very well with a sense of attack and purpose. Most turntables sound a bit slow and lazy in comparison. Mid bass had great slam and bite, with the low bass being somewhat down in level.

The VPI tables have a greater sense of body to the tone. The chest cavity of male singers and the foundational sounds in the lower midrange are more prominent. The lower to central midrange is a focus, where with the Rega the focus tilts a bit to the upper midrange. There is a pleasing warmth and naturalness to the tone. Decay of notes is more defined and that leads to a greater sense of hall ambiance. Backgrounds seem a bit darker. Bass goes deeper with less sense of ultimate slam but more rewarding weight.

It is quite easy to set the VTA on Rega tables, either by getting the shim set from Rega or one of the after market continuous VTA adjusters.

I don't think it matters much which I prefer.

Goatwuss...I too have a VPI and consider it a mistake to use the VPI single point alignment guage. It get you close, but no cigar. I really encourage everyone to get the MINT protractor. The difference between a very careful setup with anything that I know, and a MINT setup is dramatic. I was once a doubter but am not now since I heard the difference.