Advice and recommendations needed for a turntable rig...

US Audio Mart

Luxman 441. Acos 801 arm, asking $2,300.

ad says ’air bearing’. it is not, it uses the magnetic field of the Direct Drive motor to raise/reduce the bearing force. 1/4" thick iron plate within.

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I helped my friend get the wider PD-444 (two tonearms), this one on eBay, $1,990. delivered, 60 day returns. Add one arm now, 2nd arm later if desired.

LUXMAN PD444 record player Quartz lock direct drive Arm USED Japan #4903

We put two Micro-Seiki 505s on it (one long). Removable headshell and adjustable fitting for azimuth.

Had I known about it, I would have chosen it over my JVC Plinth, which is deeper rather than wider: I had a deeper 2nd glass top hanging over the back made

The Luxman fits anywhere there is enough width.

I squeezed a 3rd arm on my JVC, couldn’t do that with the Luxman

Luxman has hinged (removable) dust cover (you can play with it raised. My JVC, I lift the big factory dust cover off, and have a nearby spot for it, you need to plan for that to be easy and avoid scuffs with removable ones.

@elliottbnewcombjr … Oh! Haha… Yes, that oval ‘table looks really cool! So, regarding the cartridge swapping: I am not one to swap cartridges once I settle on one that pleases me. Now, “comparing” cartridges to choose a winner IS a real pain! But, I only do that a couple times per decade, so I put up with it. Some who have my arm choose to buy spare arm wands, which can be set up with alternative cartridges and just swapped in and out. The problem is the cost. A VPI JMW arm wand is, for me, too much to spend for an option I would rarely use. But thank you (again) for a thoughtful, informative response! 

lewm

I am being blocked when trying to post a link,

it's on ebay, item # 266622682282

krelldreams

I live 35 minutes away from VAS, have become friends with Steve Leung and his son Ray, both terrific people. Steve's TT is a big VPI with the uni-pivot removable arm wands, he has several arm wands with pre-mounted cartridges, and when you buy a cartridge or have him build you a cartridge, if you pick it up, he demo's it on that TT.

I can change a cartridge and set up the replacement in twenty minutes. If I change the headshell on the one tonearm I have that uses interchangeable headshells, it takes about 10-15 minutes including the set-up of the new cartridge (the SME 309 headshells don't allow for individual overhang: that must be set by moving the arm, which is pretty simple on an SME mount). It isn't that big a deal, either way. What does matter, is that even if I achieve a 10 minute change and set-up, I cannot compare the before and after: my auditory memory is not that long.

So I approve of your two tonearm advice, with one arm capable of holding multiple headshells. When my custom Acoustand panels arrive, I'll be using four fixed headshell tonearms, and two interchangeable headshell tonearms.