Looking for Tonearm Advice/Suggestions

A SUT is a Step Up Transformer that is used in general to supply the LMOC Signal to a MM Phon' or MM Input of a MC/MM Phon'.

When used with the latter, think of it as a expansion of the sonic that can be produced.

I own both Types of Phon's referred to above and also have Two SUT's that are very regularly used with the MC/MM Phon'. Three variances to the sonic seasoning from one device.

@mulveling has put very good info on the forum about their experiences with SUT's in relation to the capability of delivering with a Rich Tone and Sonic Qualities that are preferred. 

Mullard E88CC's will be a wonderful experience, the early Late 50's - Early 60's will be even better, the -01 Affix is the Cream, but costly, the Vintage Valve Route demands Caveat Emptor as your friend. If acquired with a correct approach, the Phon' should be very capable of creating the Cheshire Cat Grin that will be permanent. 

Once the Vintage Valve is found, anxiety follows, as the want to secure a second set of Valves becomes quite controlling.  

@pindac 

Thank you. Very interesting. Much appreciated.

Dear @puppyt  : I can see that I'm late in your thread and you already pull the triger on the tonearm and seems to me that your first step should been to choose the new cartridge you want to own ( as the Umami Red. ) and then look for the tonearm that can match it the best inside your budget.

Anyway, maybe the Delos playing hours are to much or the cartridge/tonearm set up is not adequated yet.

You need to chek with a good protractor the cartridge/tonearm alignment and after that and trhough " test and error " process makes a fine tunning with the other cartridge set up parameters as: AZ, VTA/SRA,  VTF and the like In the other side the internal tonearm wiring is new and needs some time to settle down.

Regards and enjoy the MUSIC NOT DISTORTIONS,

R.

@pindac Yes, but the problem is we are all down the rabbit hole. Which cookie did you eat?

I agree with Raul in that you probably ought to have first selected a new cartridge and then a tonearm that best suited your choice of cartridge. However, you have chosen a very fine tonearm that should work well with almost anything, so not much can have been lost in the bargain.  To expand on the definition of a SUT, if you really did not know, a Step Up Transformer as used in conjunction with a low output MC cartridge is for the sole purpose of increasing voltage gain.  Transformers are passive devices; the product of voltage X current at the primary will always (nearly) equal the product of voltage X current on the secondary side of the transformer.  Most commercial SUTs will provide a voltage gain of at least 10X, In other words, the signal voltage on the secondary will be increased by 10 fold over the signal voltage measured at the primary.  So if the LOMC cartridge makes 0.5mV under the standard conditions, 5mV will appear on the secondary of the SUT.  The current seen at the secondary will be reduced by 10 fold, likewise.  But you don’t care about that because you are amplifying voltage.   That said, there is no way you need a SUT in your present system.  SUTs are typically used with phono stages that were designed only for high output MM cartridges.  Such stages typically make about 40db of signal gain between input and output. That amount of gain is inadequate for a typical LOMC cartridge. Your Chanook can amplify the cartridge output by 65db, which is adequate for any LOMC down to about 0.4mV output.  Especially since your linestage adds additional gain to the signal.  The consideration of how much phono gain you need is a bit more complex than I have described but suffice to say you are OK with what you’ve got.  No SUT needed.  As to why your system sounds harsh with the Kuzma tonearm added in is anyone’s guess, but it’s probably not per se the fault of the new tonearm.