That's a really open-ended question, Boofer! The answers (there are quite a few) really depend on vinyl condition, the table you're mounting the arm on, what kind of cartridge you prefer and how much adjustability you want. Oh, and your budget, too. Personally, I prefer arms that can adjust VTA on the fly; that one feature makes a huge difference to my ears simply because no two records are the same thickness. An arm designed for cartridge alignment via some sort of fixture is also a feature I prize. My eyes aren't so good anymore, and the old-school protractors are just too hard to for me to see clearly. As you know, proper alignment is the be-all and end-all of getting the most out of your rig. The third important feature to me is a unipivot bearing; the ability to track the groove at whatever odd combination of angles is necessary just seems to make a lot of sense.
Rega arms have none of those features. That does't make them bad, just different. Some of the best TT performance I ever experienced was with a Planar 2 with the original arm and a Dynavector MR23 back in the day. The current crop of Rega, Pro-Ject, Music Hall and VPI tables are all wonderful products at their various price points. With any of them, give thought to SME, Tri-Planar, Graham, Clearaudio, Ortofon and Dynavector. They all make great arms that, depending on your particular system combination, can return awesome performance. Each one has advantages and disadvantages, so make sure you read up on them, because none of them are cheap. Good luck!
Good luck!
Rega arms have none of those features. That does't make them bad, just different. Some of the best TT performance I ever experienced was with a Planar 2 with the original arm and a Dynavector MR23 back in the day. The current crop of Rega, Pro-Ject, Music Hall and VPI tables are all wonderful products at their various price points. With any of them, give thought to SME, Tri-Planar, Graham, Clearaudio, Ortofon and Dynavector. They all make great arms that, depending on your particular system combination, can return awesome performance. Each one has advantages and disadvantages, so make sure you read up on them, because none of them are cheap. Good luck!
Good luck!