Turntable Decision
Gareents, Donna Bodinet just sent me this very recent review on a Nova which is very similar to the Sapphire. http://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazine/equipment/0321/SOTA_Nova_VI_Vinyl_LP_Turntable_Review.htm The Jelco was a great tonearm for the money. It is quite serviceable and I can not think of a better arm in that price range. But, I is not an arm I would buy. Why? I do not like removable head shells. I want one wire from cartridge to phono stage with two contacts only, one at each end. I prefer a straight vs "S" shaped arm. They are stiffer and have less inertia as a rule. The Jelco is a stable balance arm. I prefer a neutral balance arm as the VTF does not change with elevation. I like to see the vertical bearing at record surface level. This minimizes warp wow and results in more stable pitch. The 4 Point 9 is such an arm as long as you hardwire it's interconnect instead of using the DIN plug. It is quite a bit more expensive than the Jelco but over $1000 less expensive than the Schroder CB or Reed 2G. If you can absolutely not afford more than the Jelco I would give the Rega RB880 a good look. The Kuzma would make a noticeable improvement over either the Jelco or Rega arms. You can always install new arms in the future. You get a new arm board from Sota and start fresh. |
@gareents I know @mijostyn does not like removable headshell’s, but I prefer them as I can swap out easily for my mono cart when need be. I bought a Jelco 850 MKII from a recommendation by @noromance here on agon for my Sapphire. The 850 and 950 Jelco’s are much different than the earlier 750/550’s, etc. as they have a balanced ‘knife edge’ bearing. I like mine, and it was about $1,400 new. But, good luck finding an 850 or 950 now. Personally, I would search out a 850/950 before considering a 550/750/etc. arm. Alternatively, in that price range, there are now better and more available arms, like the Origin Live series, or the others @mijostyn mentioned. |
bkeske, I have heard to many stories of bad customer service from Origin Live. I tend to steer people towards Rega arms for that reason. The Jelco 850 is a great arm for the money but the company is out of business. If you have to have removable head shells I think the Kuzma 4 Point 9 offers the best compromise but at a significantly higher price point. I think it is worth the stretch. I just collected a movie from Sota showing my table set up at the test station and the read out of it's speed accuracy which was 33.333 +- .0002 |
