Is it worth this tonearm?

My guess is that the arm/TT interface may be the most impt part of this equation, so that all comments from non-Amazon users (including myself) should be taken with a grain of salt. However, I am going to throw another arm into the mix- the Schroeder Model 2 is not that different in price from the Moerch and the Ref is not too much more than the Triplanar. If you are going to take advantage of adjusting VTA (and VTF) its hard to think that any arm can beat the Triplanar; just note the proper position and click, click, you are there. I have a Schroeder M2 on a Teres 255 and I have listened quite a bit to a Triplanar on a friend's 3XX series (its been through some upgrades) and I find both pretty darn good. I would say that the Triplanar excels on attack and dynamics; the Schroeder on musicality and even response across the entire spectrum (e.g., excellent bass and no harshness at the top end). I expect that at a similar price point, there would not be too much diff btwn the Schroeder Ref and the Tri-p. Of course, unless you get lucky like I did with a used Schroeder, you will have quite a wait. So in that respect, the Tri-P may be the way to go.
It is definitely a superb arm.

Peter- Great choice. I can't say anything about your table, but the rest of the set-up should be killer! Congrats. As you know, the Doshi/Tri-P/ZYX combo works very well (as does VAC/Schroeder/ZYX). The Schroeders also have dedicated phono leads and I think that there is a big advantage (at least theoretically) in removing any mechanical connections which must have a significant impact on that tiny signal from an LO MC cart. So given all that, I would have made the same choice as you did, if I'd thought that the $$ were worthwhile. For me, analog is still a secondary source, so I could not justify the $$ for a new Tri-P (and missed out on a few used ones). There was a very modest cost savings in buying a used Schroeder. The marketplace has determined that the time savings are more important. The M2 I bought was far and away the most expensive used purchase I have made as a percentage of new price. New SMEs are discounted much more! I have no complaints either; I listen to blues, folk, country, rock and pop mostly, with some jazz and an emphasis on smaller scale, simpler arrangements featuring vocals and acoustic instruments. For that kind of music, communicating emotion, true timber and subtle micro-dynamics are key and I think that the M2 does a fantastic job. But when I spin my discs on Doug and Paul's rig, they all sound great. Enjoy!!!

Hi Dan- Yeah the M2 is quite a step up; the music just flows. Still need to make some minor tweaks to deal with occasional mistracking on highs. For its price the Silver is a real over-achiever, but I also think the M2 falls into the same category. It was/is a bit finicky/scary to set up w/o an arm rest of fingerlift (ask Doug, he did the heavy lifting; I did the worrying.) I'm glad the ZYX does not have a nude cantiliver like my Benz did. That would be beyond scary.

Peter- I have had my VAC in Doug's system and as you can tell, he has listened to it at my place. Without having done any detailed long term comparison, I would say that the differences between it and the Doshi are small. The MC stage on the Doshi is an active gain stage; the VAC is a transformer stage. The implementation is quite good, but I happen to have an active pre-pre built by ZYX that is optomized for their carts and have never popped the hood on the VAC to optomize cart loading. So of course, the VAC with the SUT stage is not quite up to the Doshi, but very close. The VAC with the ZYX pre-pre is really quite outstanding, IMO. And yes, the Schroeder has integrated one piece phono leads. I think that this is a big advantage and perhaps partly explains the v. good performance of the M2 and the OL Silver in their price classes. Of course I have never been able to test this theory but as I said, given the VERY SMALL signals we are talking about with an LO MC (0.25 mv, about 1/1000th of line stage voltages). If any tone arm maker wants to help us out here with a pair of identical arms, one with integrated headshell to RCA leads, and another with a DIN connection, I would be happy to volunteer my home for a listening test ;~).