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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 
128x128sbank
mofimadness's avatar
mofimadness
5,291 posts
 
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.
karl_desch's avatar
karl_desch
446 posts
 
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.
 
noromance's avatar
noromance
10,043 posts
 
^ I have two 12" 750 arms and find the highs fine. However, noting what @karl_desch says about the Audiomods having better treble extension, the new Jelco 850 has excellent highs - an order of magnitude better than the 750. Overall the 850 is a far better arm.
sbank's avatar
sbank OP
3,381 posts
 
Interesting comments, guys!

@williewonka I agree that from the details I found on the Technoarm that the Audiomods is probably a better modded rendition of the Rega. With the Audiomods being a mod of the RB-300 and the Michell a variant of the OEM1(RB-250), with a silver wire loom and more precise VTA adjuster, the Michell while nothing wrong with it, probably isn't my cup of tea. Here's some info on Rega variants that some might find useful: https://www.vinylengine.com/a-guide-rega-tonearms.shtml

@karl_desch & @noromance , good to see a few with some direct comparison experience. Sounds like both the Jelco 850 and the Audiomods V both beat the Jelco 750 series. 
Guess I'm back to where I started except I now know that both have a bigger number of very happy users and I'll probably be pleased with either option.

So right now it looks like I'm considering the Audiomods V with optional VTA micrometer and silver loom(795GBP = $1045 plus international shipping) or the Jelco TK-850S($825) + the EasyVTA(89GBP+Intl. shipping or $200 from US distributor) + a DIN/RCA phono cable(DH Labs or something used like a Harmonic Technology Crystal Silver Phono($350/BO or similar). So total cost would be similar with a slight advantage to the Audiomods. It's a close call...Cheers,
Spencer
noromance's avatar
noromance
10,043 posts
 
@sbank The Jelco phono cable is more than fine. I would get it and not worry for a while about spending more. I have tried others 2 or 3 times the price and went back to the Jelco one.
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