I am so far based on your responses leaning towards a spacedeck.
Should I get a ace-space arm or are there better tone-arms for this TT?
Should I get a ace-space arm or are there better tone-arms for this TT?
Nottingham Spacedeck vs Rega Planar 8 vs Technics SL1200G
Nottingham's tonearms are widely regarded as not being on the same level as their turntables. Personally I don't particularly like them and chose a Jelco SA-750E instead. The old line of Jelco arms are excellent performers and still easily available online (eBay seller 2juki is an excellent source), or there's the new line at roughly twice the price. The (old) Jelcos will perform very well with a large span of cartridge weights and compliances and represent by far the best bang for the buck where tonearms are concerned. I've not yet heard a new one, so I can't comment on those. |
There are many more amazing tonearms on the market, do not limit yourself with a brand new tonearms like Jelco. They are OK, but nothing special. Look and read more about Japanese High-End tonearms from the past, all of them in the list below have VTA on the fly, unique features, special materials, precision bearings. Those arms are absolutely amazing and much better not only compared to Jelco, but also compared to some $5k tonearms made today. They are all in $700-1500 price range . Lustre GST-801 Victor UA-7045 and 7082 Technics EPA-100 and EPA-100 mkII SONY PUA-7 Don’t forget about Fidelity-Research FR-64s and FR64fx but they are normally $1500-2500 depends on condition When it comes to a brand new High-End tonearm with precision adjustement of everything including azimuth on the fly and vta on the fly i would recommend Reed 3P series if the budget is up to $5k |
I have owned a Spacedeck w/heavy kit and Ace Space arm for 15+ years now. I have never given a thought to upgrading the arm or turntable and can't speak to how other arms compare to the Ace, but here is an older thread that may be of interest to you. https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/best-arm-for-a-nottingham-spacedeck?highlight=arm%2Bfor%2Bspa... |