Dear Chakster, I would not disagree for a moment that the Reed 3P is more beautiful than the Triplanar. What's more, you can order one in different wood and metal finishes to suit your taste, like a car. In my opinion, the Reed toneams are sonically competitive as well. My only point was to challenge the notion that the Reed 3Ps azimuth adjuster was "the best". It's very good, I'm sure, and does the job adequately. Comparing my Reed 2A to my own Triplanar, built by Herb Papier nearly 30 years ago, I would have to say that the quality of the adjuster on the TP, taken as a tool only, is a bit higher than the one on the 2A. The TP adjuster has a better "feel" and allows for finer movements up and down. Tri, the current maker of the TP, has improved the adjuster on current manufacture TPs even above mine. By comparison, the 2A is a bit coarse feeling. The 3P may be a different animal for all I know.
Mike L, Do you know what prompted Durand to switch from wood arm wands, the use of wood for which were at the heart of the company philosophy once upon a time, to other materials? I have heard the Talea, Talea2, and the Telos on a neighbor's system. My too brief listening impressions suggested to me that the Telos was not much of a sonic upgrade on the Talea 2. In fact, I might have preferred the latter. The Talea 2 with a UNIverse cartridge was memorable. (Same turntable, phono, amps, and speakers in both cases.) Of course, the cartridge mating is key.