Turntable Decision

the key question is the budget……

Yes the Kuzma is and should be a darling, $$$$$

@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

@mijostyn

The Jelco 850 is a great arm for the money but the company is out of business.

Yep, unfortunately. They were out of business when I bought mine just last year too. Did not deter me. I was lucky to get mine when I did. When I’ve seen them (rarely) for sale now, many are nearer to $2,000. I found mine to be pretty easy to set up, and just so happened to fit my SOTA premium arm board that was predrilled by the previous owner.

Again, I’m very pleased with my 850 MKII, and snagged a Jelco VTA adjustable base a couple months ago while I still could. A bit quirky, but it works, and makes VTA adjustments easier than manually unscrewing the stock set screw and hoping for the best in a ‘trial and error’ method.

SOTA.  And don't skimp on the arm.  The Jelco TK-850 series of arms is excellent, but I think Jelco might have closed up shop. 

Use the Herron system.  The other system can't make up for the superiority of the Herron phono stage.