i have to admit that i only recently bought the scout. my first turntable in twenty years!! i still need to get a descent pair of interconnects!!! hence my query about the vpi ones... they seem like the natural choice.
as far as record cleaning machines go, i agree that that is an essential one! i don't have enough records yet to justify a nice one, so i just have a knosti anti stat for the moment. (the collection is however growing at an alarming rate.)
the scoutmaster upgrade interested me as vpi seem to do a deal where you can upgrade a scout to scoutmaster for just the difference in cost between the two models, and then it has included the new 300rpm motor and a heavier platter and improved bearing, all in the same upgrade as well as giving you the improved plinth.
basically i was wondering if different elements gave dispproportionate improvements and hence were better value for money???
as for VAC, i love there stuff. the only changes i would consider there, would be to move up the range. i have a hankering for a phi 30/30! however young family is preventing big upgrades for a while at least.
the minimax is great, again i am only really tempted by either a VAC pre or (and this would at least me much cheaper!!!) the mkII of the minimax, with beefed up power supply and reduced gain. the only criticism i have about the minimax is the gain. it has quite a lot and as a result i can only use half of the volume range, even with the turntable. if i want to use it as background music and have a conversation, i'm limited to nine o'clock on the volume. the new model apparently fixes this.
again good luck with the back. i have a good friend who has suffered chronic back problems, and i know how debilitating this can be.
