Stating the obvious (and agreeing with you Lew), tonearm/cartridge auditions are the most difficult comparisons to make, and small differences in setup can dramatically influence the results of a comparison.
Your best bet is the experience of an audio buddy whom you can trust, and whose taste doesn't necessarily have to line up with yours as long as you can reliably map their feedback/comments into something that's meaningful to you.
In the interest of full disclosure, I am a dealer for most of the arms referenced (Durand, Kuzma, Tri-Planar) so I will recuse myself from public comments about any of these fine tonearms, as well as the others which I don't represent.
Cheers,
Thom
Your best bet is the experience of an audio buddy whom you can trust, and whose taste doesn't necessarily have to line up with yours as long as you can reliably map their feedback/comments into something that's meaningful to you.
In the interest of full disclosure, I am a dealer for most of the arms referenced (Durand, Kuzma, Tri-Planar) so I will recuse myself from public comments about any of these fine tonearms, as well as the others which I don't represent.
Cheers,
Thom