i had been using what I would called "mid fi" turntables for a long time. When I decided it was time to go "audiophile" grade on a turntable, I was willing to spend about $2K on a TT/Arm combo. I purchased a VPI scoutmaster / JMW9 arm combo for $2K used. This was my first experience with a unipivot arm. After doing much research on the internet and asking questions here I was able to set it properly using the correct tools. The great plus to VPI turntables is the upgrades that are available. You can start off with the "base" model and upgrade things like tone arm, platter, add on things like the SDS speed controller, rim drive, periphery ring.
Steve
Steve