replacing tonearm question?

@simao

I don’t understand the choice to replace the Sumiko with a similar apparent tonearm always produced by Jelco.
If you need an upgrade to be such, the leap in quality and cost must be proportional and substantial, otherwise it is better to keep what you have with you.
The other way around, if you want to replace the tonearm for incompatibility with the cartridge or the cartridges that you have then the switch with the Jelco can have logic.

@simao

20 years? Little thing, the arms are not changed for so little, everything can be repaired if you have a pinch of DIY.
See here if the lifter drops too quickly you can disassemble it and insert new silicone grease to put it back into operation.

I have tonearms of 40 years and over (Technics Epa 100/Epa 500, Denon 305/309, Sony PUA7, Acos Lustre, Victor UA 7045 and others .... but I would never dream of changing them for simple problems.
A good maintenance or a revision is sufficient and the tonearms return as new for another 40 years. LOL

@noromance

The friction of the bearings, which is very important, in current Jelco has never dropped below 20/25 mg. indeed, to be precise, the tonearm 850 has even worse values than 30mg. (values equal to or similar to bearings from 30/40 years ago) while bearing technology has made great strides.

I think Jelco has lain too far and is resting on the fame it has deservedly built; the manufacturer is lazy and does not want to commit himself to making innovative arms but they always appear the same for many years identical to those built for other brands.
So why is the 850 better than the Sumiko FT3?

@simao 

the photo is of a standard lifter that I have restored (it is not a Sumiko or Jelco that is exactly the same) but they are practically all the same and simple to disassemble.

@noromance 

If what you say is true, then the manufacturers could use stone bearing balls carved by Fred Flinstones himself if friction isn't important.
The friction heavily affects the suspension of the head, the cantilever, the tracking, going to compromise several elements.
Every detail of an arm is important, but the bearings and clutches they possess must be taken seriously.