Best arm for a Nottingham Spacedeck?

(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).

This thread is a wee bit dated, but I had the opportunity to audition a Basis Vector on the Spacedeck this week and thought I'd relay my impressions. Flat out excellent. Super dynamic, incredibily taught, involving bass, but still articulate in the highs, especially cymbal work. Sweet midrange with vocals right wher ethey should be. I said earlier that I would buy an OL Illustrious with a Spacedeck if I wasn't going to spend mega-bucks on an arm. I've changed my mind. I look forward to hearing this arm on other tables.