Has anyone directed compared the sound of the Audiomods V vs. the new Jelco or even vs.the 750 series? Cheers,
Spencer
Spencer
Does anything better Jelco arm ~$1000
Been reading about the Jelco 850L and the other newer models as I look for arm with budget of ~ $1000 (new or used) to go with a Sota Star and Dynavector XX2mkII. Not a ton of user comments, but just about every one I've read (here, VA, vinylengine, and a few smaller boards) all imply thrilled owners and not a one who regrets the purchase. Sound quality performance value for its price is reportedly high and that has been my experience when I've heard the older 750 series and even their lower priced arms. Another arm under consideration is the Audiomods Series V.
My take so far:
Jelco: pro - longstanding reputation for quality, demonstrated by so many OEM arms provided to turntable manufacturers, good fit & finish, compatibility w/many carts of varying compliance, flexibility of changing headshells(including w/azimuth adjustment), high likelihood of parts/service if ever needed, likely decent resale value if I ever choose to go in another direction.
cons: extra electrical connection points @ armtube and headshell, lack of precise repeatable VTA adjustment (although EasyVTA aftermarket product can address this), knife edge bearings theoretically an improvement, but my impression is that in practice they often aren't ideal.
To use a car analogy is this the Toyota Camry of tonearms?
The Audiomods Series V:
pros: keeps the best aspect of the new Rega arm and replaces almost everything else with better design and quality parts, precise micrometer VTA adjustment, silver wire one piece loom from pins to plugs
cons: one man company uncertainties on parts/service if ever needed, relatively little user base or resale market, no opportunity to listen before buying, a bit more costly than the Jelco.
Hoping it's not a Saab 900; really cool when they were around but at some point a quirky performer from days gone by that might not be a keeper.
So anybody care to chime in on these or others that fit the bill in the same price range? If you're curious, the rest of the system is here: Austin City Within Limits. Cheers,
Spencer
My take so far:
Jelco: pro - longstanding reputation for quality, demonstrated by so many OEM arms provided to turntable manufacturers, good fit & finish, compatibility w/many carts of varying compliance, flexibility of changing headshells(including w/azimuth adjustment), high likelihood of parts/service if ever needed, likely decent resale value if I ever choose to go in another direction.
cons: extra electrical connection points @ armtube and headshell, lack of precise repeatable VTA adjustment (although EasyVTA aftermarket product can address this), knife edge bearings theoretically an improvement, but my impression is that in practice they often aren't ideal.
To use a car analogy is this the Toyota Camry of tonearms?
The Audiomods Series V:
pros: keeps the best aspect of the new Rega arm and replaces almost everything else with better design and quality parts, precise micrometer VTA adjustment, silver wire one piece loom from pins to plugs
cons: one man company uncertainties on parts/service if ever needed, relatively little user base or resale market, no opportunity to listen before buying, a bit more costly than the Jelco.
Hoping it's not a Saab 900; really cool when they were around but at some point a quirky performer from days gone by that might not be a keeper.
So anybody care to chime in on these or others that fit the bill in the same price range? If you're curious, the rest of the system is here: Austin City Within Limits. Cheers,
Spencer
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- 46 posts total
My point was that a slight sag of the CW on a Victor UA7045 (I agree with you; only a few degrees) confers an advantage vs a sample with a perfectly straight rear end, in that the sag places the center of mass of the CW closer to or in the plane of the LP, which minimizes the changes in VTF that occur when the LP is warped. But, like parts of the rest of me, my own UA7045 is sagging a bit too far. Do you know anyone who has repaired this problem? It may be simple to do; I will have to take mine apart in order to investigate. |
@sbank - re... So does anybody else have a suggestion besides those already mentioned?Take a look at this one... http://www.michell-engineering.co.uk/tonearms/ I do not believe the Michell is the same league as the Audiomods, but it is much better than a stock Rega and Michell is a large company - so parts/support should not be an issue To be quite honest - your concerns about support from Jeff and resale value should be minimal - it's a hifg quality build and probably the last arm you will ever buy - Jeff is also very responsive to emails (at least to my emails) From what I have seen they are generally snapped up pretty quick - Here is one that was sold on the same day as posted http://audioabattoir.com/t/for-sale-audiomods-series-v-tonearm/1666 One review i read, when I was looking placed the Series II, placed at the same level of quality as arms costing between $5k- 6K USD - the Series 5 is apparaently even better I would read jeff's comments about what is better with the series 5, because from my listening chair the Series II is a top notch buy. Also take a look at this thread - it has some suggestions https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/drop-in-replacement-for-rega-rb300 Regards - Steve |
I echo Steve's comments above. Jeff is wonderful to work with and I've never had a problem with either my Series II or Series V arms. I even had one of his original arms for many years and it performed perfectly. I've owned and setup hundreds of the Jelco, ( and Jelco equivalent) arms over the years and they are very good for the money. Again, I haven't had the chance to setup/use one of the new Jelco 850/950 arms, but have no doubt they are extremely good. IMHO, the AudioMod arms are a few steps above the the Jelco 750 series, albeit at a higher price. I also think they are a "best buy" of most of the arms out there. |
I own both a Jelco 750D and an Audiomods Series V. They are both excellent arms for a reasonable prices. I tend to use lower compliance cartridges on the Jelco. The Jelco also has the headshell factor to account for. In my system the Audiomods did a better job with treble extension and the Jelco had better bass extesion. So it may depend on your tastes, desire for headshell and the type of carts you want to use. |
- 46 posts total