Phantom Supreme to 4Point-14?

@sksos , thanks for your insights. I don’t think the 11" would be a good fit on my SP10R plinth. Because of the Technic’s motor housing, my 9" Graham, at 217.4 mounting distance, just *barely* fits, and its almost too far forward for safety when the arm is at rest. The Kuzma’s 212 mounting distance is even tighter, and would require the arm to be shifted even farther toward the front, if it would fit at all. (I’d have to drop in a new armboard and measure it out, using a template of the base, to make sure.) But even if it does fit, the 11’s offset pivot and much longer Eff length would hang the cartridge off front of the plinth. Yikes! Hence the 14-incher, which is the Kuzma of choice for my turntable.

I’ve read good things about the 9", including Fremer’s opinion that it is the best-sounding Kuzma that is not the Safir. And, as I outlined above, its 212 mounting distance just might fit without risking the cartridge. And it’s a relatively great deal. But I’m one of those people who feels the ability to change VTA frequently and repeatably is crucial for proper sound. Having listened to Grahams for 20 years, I’m spoiled there. I know the 9 has precisely adjustable VTA, but it is nowhere near as easy and repeatable as the Graham, or even the 11 or 14 Kuzmas, from what I can discern. I don’t absolutely need it on the fly, but I do need it to be quickly and easily set to predetermined levels for varying LP weights (140g, 180g, etc).

If it would fit, and if it could satisfy my VTA needs, and if I can sell a kidney on eBay without missing it, I’d love the Safir. Not sure it’s possible to satisfy all three criteria. :)

No, still haven’t bought the MSL. I’m thinking about the best order of purchase, arm or cartridge. Obviously, they’ll need to compliment each other but I’ll need to space them out.

@wrm57 now I understand, have not had the pleasure of using a SP10R so not aware of the best tonearms to use with it. But based on your description then the 4Point 14 does seem to meet your criteria. Since the Safir uses the same template as the 4POINT9 then even that isn't an option. As you correctly stated either the 4POINT9 or Safir, while you can adjust VTA it's no where as easy or repeatable as either of the other 2 kuzma arms. Myself this isn't as critical although many yrs ago I too would adjust VTA based on the vinyl thickness. 

Sorry still can't tell you the differences between the 2 arms from your original post.

FWIW, so far as I know, the SP10 mk3 and the SP10R have identical relationships between the platter location and that of the surrounding rectangular escutcheon, and I had no problem mounting a 10.5 inch Reed tonearm on my mk3. So I don’t know why you think the 11 inch Kuzma would not work.

Lewm, I'm not sure which Reed you have but the 10.5's I've looked at have mounting distances of around 231mm or 251mm. Both would be fine for the R. The 11" 4Point mounts at 212mm, however, which scoots it up next to the motor housing, maybe too close, and forces the pivot it to be at 3:00 or so to the spindle, maybe lower. This would put the cartridge, at the end of that long arm, a little beyond the front of the plinth when in the armrest. The salient point here is that although the 4Point is 11 inches long, it mounts like a rather short 9-inch arm, which is a challenge for the SP motor housing.

Thanks, I hadn’t been aware of that oddity about the 11" Kuzma. I guess I should have been alerted to it because you did mention the mounting distance in an earlier post. But if the distance from the pivot to the spindle (aka "mounting distance") is only 212mm, how does it end up being 11" in effective length? I will have to look at some photos.

OK, I did find photos.  When you quote mounting distance, are you referring to the necessary room needed to clear the very large diameter VTA tower, which is larger than those used by Triplanar or Reed?  So in your parlance, the mounting distance is not equal to the pivot to spindle distance, in that case.