Does anything better Jelco arm ~$1000

@sbank - I cannot offer an opinion on the Jelco arm, but I do own an Audiomods Classic II arm with the bead-blast finish - since 2013.

I have the version with the micrometer VTA - which allows for precise resetting of the VTA back to a pre-defined "norm", something very handy to have if you like to change cartridges frequently. I also have the Silver litz wiring loom with KLE Absolute Harmony RCAs

The quality is more like a "Bentley" and Jeff is very good at what he does. Fitting and setup was a doddle and the features on the arm allows for very precise adjustments.

I had the Rega RB250 arm with the Cardas loom prior to the Audiomods and right off the bat you could feel the difference in the bearings between the two arms when placing the stylus over the album - the Audiomods was much smoother.

The counter-weight, although it looks normal, is "loaded" towards the bottom, which lowers the centre of gravity and there is an additional very small weight that allows for extremely fine tuning.

If you place an order, jeff will email you to ascertain what TT/cartridge you will be using - he will telll you if it is a good match to the arm. He will even make a mounting plate if required

I doubt I will change the arm in my lifetime and other owners that I have conversed with feel the same.

Here is a review I conducted of my arm
http://image99.net/blog/files/f233eea773cbc47d311b80d32702da48-40.html

I’m currently using it with a Soundsmith modified Denon 103 caridge with their ruby cantilever and Optimized Contour Contact line stylus

The sound is extremely detailed and the cartridge tracks very well

One incident occured in transit - something had fallen onto the package with some force and put a dent in the wooden box the arm came in - even through the exterior packaging. I contacted Jeff anf after explaining the damage he assured me the arm would not have suffered any damage - in his words " The arm and bearings are much stronger than they look"

It has been on my TT ever since and has operated flawlessly.

A good friend has the Series Five on an SL1200 with a Van den Hul cartridge and is extremely happy with it

Only thing left to say - It’s no "Saab" :-)

Regards - Steve

@bpoletti thanks I saw those. If the length isn't too long, it's an option. Having most recently owned another great vintage arm, the Technics EPA-250, I do like the on-the-fly VTA. The fact that this one was refurbished recently is clearly a bonus.

@williewonka Thanks for the comments. I enjoyed reading your review too. It's great to hear that Jeff is so in tune with his customers' specific situations. The details matter; for example my Nagra BPS has RCA inputs pretty close together, so larger RCA plugs might have a tough time fitting. In that spirit I confirmed via Jeff's manual online that S2P distance of 222mm would fit. I also saw one user mention using a Series V on a Sota table. Cheers,
Spencer

@sbank - I just took a look at the Nagra BPS and it looks as though the KLE RCA will fit OK, 

The minimum distance beween centres for KLE Innovations RCA's to be connected with ease is around 15mm (i.e. with a 1-2mm gap between the RCA housing)

Regards - Steve

Chakster, In your post above, you wrote: "If the counterweight is in line with the armwand then you’re fine (on the bad samples the counterweight is bent down)."  I am surprised that someone who is such a consistent champion of the Victor UA tonearms in any discussion of tonearms could possibly get it so wrong. (Indeed, most of the regulars would probably never have heard of the Victor tonearms, were it not for your adoration of them.)  The slight "sag" of the counter-weight is a designed in feature of the tonearm, not a sign of abuse.  The joint between the pivot and the CW is made to be flexible so as to de-couple the mass of the CW from the downstream parts of the tonearm, and also to place the center of mass of the CW in the plane of the LP, which minimizes variation of VTF when the stylus traverses a warped LP.  (Nearly all the best modern tonearms are also built this way.) Evidence for this is to be found in the UA7045 owners manual, where there is a side view of the tonearm (see Fig 5) showing a slight sag of the CW aft of the pivot, although I admit that there are other drawings in the manual that seem to show a straight CW.  This treatment of the CW is one of the reasons why I agree with you that the UA7045 and 7082 are under-rated and overlooked by connoisseurs of vintage tonearms (but therefore also under-priced, which is good).  One problem that does arise is that over time, the sag gets worse, apparently due to stresses on the rubber grommet or joint between the pivot point and the CW.  My own UA7045 has that problem, but it is fixable.  So, I would say a very slight sag is to be expected.  I've never seen a UA7045 that did not exhibit it; is yours perfectly straight?

@lewm yes, my two sample of Victor UA-7045 were perfect and never refurbished (just perfect condition), there are samples without problems with the counterweight and rubber grommet (the original). I think it depends how it was stored and used by the previous owner. However, the problem can be fixed (rubber grommet replaced) even with the bad samples.  

I am talking about "not a slight sag" of a few degree, but a complete sag or 20-30 degree. What i am calling straight in line with the armwand is "a perfect sample" in my opinion. 

Our member Don Griffith posted about Victor arms way before me on audiogon, he's the one who compared UA-7045 to Lustre GST-801 and was going to sell his Graham tonearm.