[Photon46]

Just to get your nervosa going IMO a better phonstage would be the best choice over either, chew on that .
charles

Much wisdom in that sentiment as well IMO. After getting a really good phono stage myself, I was amazed at how much more information was revealed from products I already owned and thought I "knew."

[oracle309]

Here's a third for a phono stage. Seems lots of folks are willing to upgrade everything except the phono stage. And included in this is the need to load your cartridge for best sound, regardless if MC or MM types.

A cartridge may give you a larger difference, but is it actually better or more accurate? More musical? It depends on the quality of the stage. If you follow Linn's hierarchy table/arm/cartridge/phono stage....then you know the answer. But the 10x5 is not throw away cheap. It does seem that the transducers in a system can affect the sound to a greater extent than everything else, but it does beg the questions posed above.

[neobop]

Better phono stage, better than what? 

[Sonny]

Better phono stage, better than what?

You are so right...we have no idea what phono stage he has...plus, the question was table or cartridge, not tonearm, phono stage, etc...
Whats the purpose of having a nice highend table if you only have a $300 cart?  Also, if you have a $3000 cart, you wouldn't want that sitting on a $500 table either....

There are lots of variables, but given the current set up of a Scout and DV, I'd go with a cart first then the table if I feel the need to improve.

my 2 cents

[nrenter]

Whats the purpose of having a nice highend table if you only have a $300 cart?  Also, if you have a $3000 cart, you wouldn't want that sitting on a $500 table either....

A high-end table with a $300 cartridge isn't (necessarily) a bad thing. Actually, I find it better than many of the compromises of trying to find a price-point balance. A $3,000 cartridge on a $500 table will always be a waste.

[Photon46]

A high-end table with a $300 cartridge isn't (necessarily) a bad thing. Actually, I find it better than many of the compromises of trying to find a price-point balance. A $3,000 cartridge on a $500 table will always be a waste.

I'd agree that a low performance arm is not going to extract the maximum potential from any higher priced cartridge. After I upgraded from a stock Rega RB300 to the AudioMods arm, I listened again to all my cartridges I had at the time. All of them (Goldring 1042, Grado Master 1, Garrott Optim FGS) extracted noticeably more information with the newer arm built to higher tolerances. Putting a super high end cartridge on a lower end arm is like putting a set of ZR rated $1500 performance tires on a family sedan with a soft and comfortable suspension.

(Not to suggest that the VPI arm is a slouch, far from it. It's hard for me to make a direct comparison to the RB300 and VPI arm as they were on two different tables. My impressions were that the VPI was a better arm than the RB300.)

[orientalexpress]

Better phono stage, better than what?

Phono stage make a huge different,i went from cheap TC ,mini-max,Curicio,juicymusic,Tom Evans and finally settle on Edwan Yang Randall museum design with peerless 4722 step up.

lapsan

[cindy_leigh]

It's a challenging question, with variables and preferences.  Two or three years from now, which component will still be around?  In my case, it's the turntable that stays.  The cartridges might come and go.  Even the phono preamp might change.  So for the most long-term effect, my upgrade focus would be on the turntable and/or tonearm first.  But if my priority is immediate bang for my buck, it's the cartridge.  If I go up $1,000 from the Dynavector 10X5, I totally outclass that cartridge.  If I go up $1,000 from the VPI Scout, I'm doing better, but perhaps not totally outclassing it.

[TONEPUB]

It's all a system, so what you upgrade depends on where you are now, and what your future priorities are.

And, setup is critical.  Often there is more performance in your analog front end than you realize, and time spent really critically setting up your table might surprise you.

[decal]

WWMD?

[simoon]

I'd agree that a low performance arm is not going to extract the maximum potential from any higher priced cartridge. After I upgraded from a stock Rega RB300 to the AudioMods arm, I listened again to all my cartridges I had at the time. All of them (Goldring 1042, Grado Master 1, Garrott Optim FGS) extracted noticeably more information with the newer arm built to higher tolerances. Putting a super high end cartridge on a lower end arm is like putting a set of ZR rated $1500 performance tires on a family sedan with a soft and comfortable suspension.

(Not to suggest that the VPI arm is a slouch, far from it. It's hard for me to make a direct comparison to the RB300 and VPI arm as they were on two different tables. My impressions were that the VPI was a better arm than the RB300.)

Almost exactly what I said earlier. Even down to the tire analogy. Except I used motorcycles instead of cars.

I'm glad someone else agrees with me 

[termman]

Hi from berlin, germany

yes, its an older thread - but its the only trace (in the web) with pictures from a dismantled SOTA with "golden" ceramic platter. 

Neobob has made some pictures, but they are really small.

Ok, why do i register and jumping in this thread:

yesterday has arrived a nice (old) set of SOTA vacuum platter (+ bearing and controlbox) and i want to build from this a turntable (next week i will get a rabco sl-8e as arm for this project).

If neobob is already active, i would ask him to make a higher res picture from the sota platter with belt, because i want to now, in which height the belt must wrap the platter (on my platter i cannot find a trace of using the belt, maybe its "NOS").

Best regards,
Matthias