Elliot, smart man. Measure twice cut once. My contractor had that stenciled on his truck.
The Pioneer arm is in the same ball park as the JVC arm which I like better but I have to admit my preference is instinctive. Most tonearms with removable head shells have higher effective masses. That relatively heavy mechanism is right at the end of the tonearm and adds directly to the effective mass. If you want to use a high compliance cartridge 20u/mN or higher you have to use an arm with a fixed head shell or a novel system like the Kuzma 4 point 9. Look at the Pro-Ject Evo 12. That is a relatively light 12 inch arm. The SME V 12 is another but that one is very pricey. A used Kuzma Stogi Ref 313 might fit in nicely.
Mike
The Pioneer arm is in the same ball park as the JVC arm which I like better but I have to admit my preference is instinctive. Most tonearms with removable head shells have higher effective masses. That relatively heavy mechanism is right at the end of the tonearm and adds directly to the effective mass. If you want to use a high compliance cartridge 20u/mN or higher you have to use an arm with a fixed head shell or a novel system like the Kuzma 4 point 9. Look at the Pro-Ject Evo 12. That is a relatively light 12 inch arm. The SME V 12 is another but that one is very pricey. A used Kuzma Stogi Ref 313 might fit in nicely.
Mike