best value current production tonearm

The Jelco 750 Series are indeed a huge bang for the buck-I own a 750D.

Replacing the stock Jelco mounting base should be mandatory, however, for anyone running any kind of more exotic stylus profile like line contacts or microridge. The stock base just has too much slop in it which allows the arm to tilt over and wreaks havoc with proper azimuth adjustment.

Both TTWeights in North America and Ammonite Acoustics in the UK manufacture an aftermarket base which eliminates this problem. For around $100 the Ammonite base is a no brainer in my experience.

Pricing on the TTWeights base is not as clear to me-it looks like you can purchase a base unit separately or that unit with VTA on the fly. Not really sure but I would expect it to offer a similar advantage to the Ammonite base which I can attest to working very well.

Oh, and for 799 pounds you get on-the-fly SRA/VTA adjustment via a built-in precision micrometer!

Super easy set up on the TransFI. I helped someone set one up on a refurbed Technics SP10 MKII with one of those crazy nice wooden plinths.

It took less than an hour. Much less time then mounting a new cartridge on a "normal" tonearm.

I love VPI Classic, but I've seriously considered buying the TransFi Savlation, it's just so freaking simple, and that arm is fantastic.

The Trans-fi arm looks intriguing if you are a masochistic tinkerer who can't help tinkering all the time - like me. My first 'Big Boy' turntable was a vacuum-platter SOTA with an ET2 arm. It drove me nuts for several years until I traded the SOTA in on a new TNT that I bought with a rock-solid TNT stand. The TNT/ET2 combo was made in Heaven for many years. I got so I could level the arm by turning the knobs over the TNT feet and never needed a level.

I have nice VPI table now with a very nice arm - the JMW 10.5i. It goes for months without needing any adjustment - except for on-the-fly VTA, but I really miss the stunning improvements an air bearing arm brings to the game and would like to look into the feasibility of mating it to my existing SSM, particularly in the Z axis (height re. the platter top). Their web-site is a fright. I can't find any American distributors. I would also like to know the air pressure specs so that I can put something together in the good ol' USA instead of paying a fortune to ship theirs.

Any help finding out more about this arm would be appreciated.

I haven't used one myself, but, there has been some good press about the 12" Thomas Schick tonearm. I believe it accomodates the detachable SPU headshell like your Ortofon arm.

By the way, your Ortofon arm is a terrific arm.