Questions to ask as I shop for a tonearm?

@williewonka Thanks for that post. I just bought an Audiomods V, which is at Sota to be mounted on the new Series Six Nova they are building for me now. My hunt (discussed in another thread) came down to the Audiomods or the new Jelco 850, 950s.  I am one who adjusts VTA for every LP played. An aftermarket VTA adjustment base made specifically for the Jelcos ~$200, kept it under consideration. The Audiomods has their own built-in micrometer as an option. A great deal on a pre-owned Audiomods w/micrometer from a fellow 'Goner made it an easy decision for me.

The Trans-Fi Terminator was something else I considered. Having spent plenty of time with a friends' TFT, I just couldn't get comfortable with its tweakiness and apparent fragility. The delicate exposed wiring scared me a bit. Had more than one visit where "TFT down again, let's listen to digital". Lately he's worked through his issues and is very pleased. While the micrometer VTA has some appeal, the digital display reminded of a $5 tool from Harbor Freight. The large dial was also more awkward adjusting than you'd expect and inferior to the dials on other VTA adjusters like those on VPIs or the terrific one on the Technics EPA series that I used to own.   

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought I read that the Michell arm mentioned is made for them by Jelco, as are a number of other companies' arms. If so, that would make me think that a Jelco branded arm might be a better value...conjecture sure, but perhaps worth consideration. Cheers,
Spencer

Another Japanese arm to consider is the Fidelity Research FR 64 FX. On the heavy side, not really suitable for high-compliance carts, but a really great arm at the price.

Seconded on the FR64fx, if you're interested in moving to medium compliance MC carts. It's a phenomenal match for low-compliance carts like all Koetsus and the Red/Blue/Bronze in the Ortofon Cadenza line. It can also be a great match for many medium-compliance carts, which is most MC's. Great build quality and bearings. 

I like the FR64fx, but the price is way over $1500 budget considered by the OP 

That’s not my impression of 64fx pricing, given some patience. Now if you’re looking for a super-clean/mint example with box and all accessories and don’t want to wait for a hot deal, then sure it’s going to be north of 1500. These are quite old arms, and even though they hold up very well, the typical example shouldn’t be costing a fortune.

If you find a nice example without a headshell, then go for it. That's one premium you don't need to be paying; the FR headshells aren’t great anyways. Silver or copper wiring - both sound fine.