OL silver vs. Clearaudio Unify

Joel,
Nothing lame about aesthetics. We both fell for the Teres 265 and I'm certainly not ashamed of that! A Moerch DP6 or Basis Vector might answer all our concerns, but not at a price you or I could stomach.

I agree the OL arms look pretty humble, even humbler with Twl's goofy-lookin' HIFI Mod stickin' outta the sides. (Just kidding Tom, I post referrals every week.)

Here's how to get around the look: cue up a good record and watch your friends faces. Trust me, they won't care or even notice what anything looks like. The normal response is closer to that of the great Art Dudley, "Holy mother of crap!"

Doug (?),

You certainly have a point with respect to exposing bad matches. I have, actually, a collection of test records which were issued over the years, including a couple of Shures. The music on most of these is quite good! But though I should know better, I usually just stick whatever new cartridge I have onto an arm and "suck it and see," as the Brits say. Call me curious George, an inveterate tinkerer.

I can see that there's a lot of experience with the Shelter/OL tonearm, and it seems like the best bet for Joel. But a liking for aesthetics enhances one's enjoyment of a particular piece, pride of ownership and all that, and I'd hate to see Joel give up on it without giving it a chance...is there a mismatch in terms of mass/compliance?

The Shelter cartridges actually sound quite interesting: I'm always attracted to controversy, which why I bought my first Rega arm in the '80s. It seems to me that controversy is a sure sign of something good. Which is why I own a Decca as well. Perhaps I should buy a Shelter for the collection. If I do, I can thank Joel for introducing the idea.

Good luck to everyone in their search for audio nirvana and good old-fashioned fun, let's not forget...

Doug,

Hmmmm...This Shelter sounds more and more like my Decca: I'll but a Shelter if you buy a Decca! Just kidding, anyway, as I wrote, whatever the rewards, the Decca is a bitch, but some would say that's half the fun!...no pain, no gain...I'll probably buy a Shelter anyway, though I have a list...Cheers.