upgrading systemdek iix worth it?....

@dover, thank you very much for the info on Audiomods.  The classic looks very much like what I want in that I'll be able to upgrade my IIX to the level of turntable that I want to get for much less $$.  The money I save will turn into more LP's!

@dlewkor

Your welcome. I put an older model Audiomods on a $15k Platine Verdier TT that I sold to a friend and it was excellent - fantastic value for money and punches well above its weight. The classic will be even better with the updated bearings - I'm sure you will be very happy.

I will say that Jeff at Audiomods is one of the best folks out there in this hobby. What you get is worth every dollar, pound, or euro you give him. Actually Jeff just agreed to build me a 10.5 inch arm for my MC2000 cartridge that will be in the single digits of mass. A one off build from his inventory of parts and his fabrication skills. No one else will do this. 

I would say the Classic is a great choice for an affordable arm, and the Systemdeck is a better table than its given cedit for. If I recall Audionote bought the rights to the Systemdeck and was their first table offering. The following excerpt is from an Audionote dealer site. 

The Audio Note TT1 is based on the award winning Dunlop Systemdeck IIX. Audio Note have taken its basic design and improved on it in a number of areas.

The Audio Note TT1 has a fully floating, three point, level-adjustable suspended sub-chassis that isolates the platter and arm from the outer chassis, motor, and shelf or support.

The Audio Note TT1 platter and sub-platter are individually machined from a single block of acrylic. The platter has a label-sized recess on its top to accommodate the record’s label and a wider recess on the bottom, providing clearance for the pulley system. One of the reasons that acrylic is used is that it has some similar properties to vinyl itself so that when a record is placed on top of it, it acts like a mechanical extension of the record. Therefore, with this kind of platter, no mat should be used.

I have two of the Audiomods arms on my turntable. A 9 inch and the 10 inch.

Both arms are very good. Jeff is excellent to work with. 

@dover, I have one question about the Classic III.  Is the VTA adjusted via a threaded ring and fixed with the set screw we see in the photos?  How is the VTA adjusted and also where is the azimuth adjusted?