They are both great turntables. It is like driking a Latour or a Lafitte Rothschild. Would you neessarily say one is better than the other? I would not, it depends on the food pairing and the care those bottles have had. The turntable is somewhat similar. Without going to extremes in price, Rockport $70,000, either of these turntables is great. You need to wory more about the condition and selection of your records, cables, phono pre, and last but not least, your cartridge and its setup.
I like the looks of the Oracle better, my wife even likes it. Either turntable arm combination can be a final purchase.
As far as the Aries, I agree that the JMW 12 arm is better than the 10. If you have the money the .5 is also an improvement but not as much. With the Oracle he Graham 2.2 is worth it.
With a good base it is hard to go wrong with either. They do sound a little different. Who is to say one is better than the other. The Aries is a little sweeter, but cartridge selection will make the difference.
I now use a Lyra Helicon. I am going to try an unknown cartridge, to me, at the recommendation of someone I trust, a Shelter 901. I will not know for about two months since I have to do the breaking after I get it. That is another thread.
Trust your ears. Go listen to as many turntables as you can. Reviewers have interests. You have your system as your top priority.
Even an MMF-5,($500.00 table, arn and cartrige combo), well set upped can sound better than some megabuks CD players. I now, I did a direct comparison. Are records still a pain, yes. Do I still listen to CDs, yes.
Remember the music, and your ejoyment is what counts.
Hope this helps,
