Bang for the Buck

I can go with an existing arm have two arms a SME 3009 or MA 505.
 Or can sell those and go with a completely different tonearm.
    I'm also trying to find an audio group here in North East O.hio

Hmmm vintage tubes and ESLs? Lenco L75 or Garrard 401.

When you get to the tipping point of bragging rights and inability to audibly be able to judge the sound. 

Ah - Quads. Me too.

With ESL’s one can hear subtle differences. I can hear bearing noise from the platter and the motor (yup, the motor), so I try to minimize both. Nottingham Analogue has done splendid work here - my Mentor with a Trans-Fi Terminator is close to my DIY air bearing TT, and that’s saying quite a lot. If you can stretch to (and find!) a used NA Dais (the updated Mentor), I doubt that you would ever want to change.

I stuck with the Mentor faithfully for 15 years before I tried the DIY route, with never a yearning for anything that cost less than a new Porsche.

The only caveat is that my TT bench rests on concrete on bedrock, far from industry, highway, or railway, so I don't need suspension. Your situation may be different.