Next step up from the Sumiko FT-3

I would not sell the FT3. pretty nice arm. I used to have both the FT3 and FT4.

For a kilo buck, you might look at what you can do with your phono stage. did not mention what you were running, but first thing would be to add some vishay foil resistors to the loading positions.

simao, took a look at your phono pre.

would still say the same, plus a few other upgrades.

1. replace load resistors with vishay VSR foils2. black cube appears to use a wall wart for power, replace with decent sized linear power supply.
3. replace all those red wima caps in the black cube with a better quality cap.

All of the above would cost much less than 1K, yet would give you a bigger bang for the buck.

if the unit runs on 12 or 15 volts, you can even buy a linear power supply from amazon for under 50 bucks that will make a world of difference.