Best arm for a Nottingham Spacedeck?


I like the Spacedeck, but I'm not that crazy about the Spacearm. The headshell wiring is very fragile and the whole thing looks more like a machinists' prototype than a production version. The table is a bargain at $1500, but the arm doesn't seem like it's worth $1000 to me.

What other arms have y'all found to work well? The OL Silver looks interesting. Anybody use it with a Spacedeck? Are there any issues with mounting Rega variants?

I'd like whatever arm I get to work well with a Dynavector 17D2 cartridge.
nighthawk
I can't see that the headshell wiring on the Spacearm is any different from most arms, I have compared it to the Graham 2.2, and the Triplanar, and the Morch, and Rega 1000, thought it was better than those, why second guess the designer. Tom Fletcher at NA has spent a life time listening to music on analouge, seems to me the arm and table have great synergy. I guess audiophiles need to mix and mismatch.
(Thanks TWL.)Now I would to hear from those YOU who have hear the BLuenote BORROMEO arms or the Bluenote BELLARIA arms comment Please.
Oh Ozzy was HAPPY last night. Thank You
Thanks for all of your responses.

TWL, thanks for pointing out the need for a larger mounting hole for the VTA collar. This will factor into my decision. Also, I think I speak for a lot of people here, thanks very much for your contributions to this board. After 20 years of absence from analog, your posts were instrumental in getting me up to speed with the current state of things. I bet your Teres setup sounds magnificent.

4yanx, Wow, you outdid yourself, man. An incredibly informative (and useful) post. I will take your advice to heart. Glad to hear the leads aren't as fragile as they look. I guess I shouldn't care about the look of the arm, but, in my experience when you can't see the inside of a piece of gear, the fit and finish usually gives a good indicator of how carefully it is put together. However, if the arm is a competent performer, I won't write it off so quickly. I did hear it at my dealer, and was impressed, but I figured any $1000 arm ought to sound good. Perhaps I should have phrased my question differently... such as can the Spacearm be beaten for $1000 or less. I prefer a warm instead of a cool presentation as you do.

Blcube, I agree with you, this is no lightweight table. I am very impressed with it. Especially for the price.
First of all, let me thank Blcube for the kind words. It means a lot from such a purveyor of fine jazz as himself. And he has a superb system that has seen many changes as of late, all for the better.

And Twl, my respect goes out to you. I did go through a rather expensive learning curve after selling my original Benz L2, buying two different cartridges, and finally coming back to a new Benz. And it is a great match for the Bluenote arm and more of the rich yet detailed sound that is to my liking. There is no substitute for system synergy, something that is often overlooked.

Nighthawk, you have several excellent choices of arms that will drop right in your mounting pod. I had the Silver for a while and thought it was a great match on the Spacedeck. I didn't opt for the VTA collar, as I didn't need it with the sleeve supplied with the pod as it comes. VTA was easily adjustable.

Like I said, the Silver is a great arm, and Twl's mod probably makes it even more of a bargain. However, the Borghese and the Borromeo sounded better to my ears than the stock Silver, but you are more limited to cartridges, as my situation proved. But when all is well, it's REALLY well done. Good luck, and I think you will really enjoy the table no matter what arm you choose.

Oz
I have a spacedeck with the OL silver arm. I upgraded from the standard RB300, and never tried the spacearm, so can't compare with that. You don't need a VTA adjuster with the Rega pod on the spacedeck as VTA is adjustable with the collet screw. I am running the OL with a Benz glider and am very happy with the sound. Pinpoint imaging with a lot of weight to the sound, nice bass extension and a warm midrange (although this may be due more to the cartridge).