I agree with Chayro in thoughtfully questioning where the investment should go. Your current Jelco-made Ortofon looks pretty good. The $5K level arms are certainly nicer, but your current platform seems solid. And don't underestimate the convenience of a removable head-shell, not to mention the tweaking you can achieve with shells of different mass & materials.
I haven't done too much arm swapping, but have had the following in my system:
Fidelity Research FR64fx
Graham Phantom Supreme
Clearaudio Clarify Carbon (temporary w/ Ortofon Cadenza Bronze)
I did a lot of cartridge swapping on the FR64, between various Benz/Ortofon/Koetsu. They were each very distinct in their sonics. When I transferred my Koetsu carts from FR64 to Graham (quite different arm implementations), they each retained their distinct Koetsu sound plus their subtle individual nuances. When I heard the Ortofon/Clarify combo (on an Ovation), again it sounded like what I knew/expected from that particular Ortofon model (i.e. excellent sound in the case of the Cadenza Bronze). In other words, the Clarify was much cheaper (and it looked/felt cheaper) than my usual arm, and that 2-axis magnetic bearing is a pain in the ass, but I didn't get the impression it was holding the cart back too much. I've also played with the newer Clearaudio Magnify (1-axis magnetic bearing), and I like that arm a lot. Seems to occupy a good spot for its price vs. quality, even with Clearaudio's outrageous pricing.
That said, the Graham and FR64fx have a quality and substantiality above what you'll get from lower price rungs. The Graham's adjustability is particularly superb.
I haven't done too much arm swapping, but have had the following in my system:
Fidelity Research FR64fx
Graham Phantom Supreme
Clearaudio Clarify Carbon (temporary w/ Ortofon Cadenza Bronze)
I did a lot of cartridge swapping on the FR64, between various Benz/Ortofon/Koetsu. They were each very distinct in their sonics. When I transferred my Koetsu carts from FR64 to Graham (quite different arm implementations), they each retained their distinct Koetsu sound plus their subtle individual nuances. When I heard the Ortofon/Clarify combo (on an Ovation), again it sounded like what I knew/expected from that particular Ortofon model (i.e. excellent sound in the case of the Cadenza Bronze). In other words, the Clarify was much cheaper (and it looked/felt cheaper) than my usual arm, and that 2-axis magnetic bearing is a pain in the ass, but I didn't get the impression it was holding the cart back too much. I've also played with the newer Clearaudio Magnify (1-axis magnetic bearing), and I like that arm a lot. Seems to occupy a good spot for its price vs. quality, even with Clearaudio's outrageous pricing.
That said, the Graham and FR64fx have a quality and substantiality above what you'll get from lower price rungs. The Graham's adjustability is particularly superb.