Detachable head shells are very convenient particularly if you like to swap cartridges or have to such as to play 78s. But, the signal is weak and contacts always seem to have issues, gold less so. It might just be me being neurotic but I prefer one wire head to tail. For 78s a separate table and arm are the ideal solution such as an inexpensive Audio Technica. My tendency is to always listen to the cartridge I like best. The others just sit in a box. The best solution would be two tonearms or two Turntables but that gets expensive.
@goofyfoot , The TA-1 looks like a very nicely made arm and is certainly a good value. I like the spring loaded anti skate mechanism as it is frictionless. It has a great bearing system. It is not neutral balance, VTF will change with elevation and the vertical bearing is lot at the level of the record so warp wow may be a problem with records that are no flat.
In that price range I would prefer the Origin Live Encounter arm. It is a one wire arm and the vertical bearing is at the level of the record. The anti skate device in the TA-1 is better but I do not think that overcomes it's other deficiencies. The origin live arm also has a much lower polar moment of inertia so it will track records better.
@goofyfoot , The TA-1 looks like a very nicely made arm and is certainly a good value. I like the spring loaded anti skate mechanism as it is frictionless. It has a great bearing system. It is not neutral balance, VTF will change with elevation and the vertical bearing is lot at the level of the record so warp wow may be a problem with records that are no flat.
In that price range I would prefer the Origin Live Encounter arm. It is a one wire arm and the vertical bearing is at the level of the record. The anti skate device in the TA-1 is better but I do not think that overcomes it's other deficiencies. The origin live arm also has a much lower polar moment of inertia so it will track records better.