2. analog
  3. 137118-214

Does anything better Jelco arm ~$1000

Been reading about the Jelco 850L and the other newer models as I look for arm with budget of ~ $1000 (new or used) to go with a Sota Star and Dynavector XX2mkII. Not a ton of user comments, but just about every one I've read (here, VA, vinylengine, and a few smaller boards) all imply thrilled owners and not a one who regrets the purchase. Sound quality performance value for its price is reportedly high and that has been my experience when I've heard the older 750 series and even their lower priced arms. Another arm under consideration is the Audiomods Series V.

My take so far:
Jelco: pro - longstanding reputation for quality, demonstrated by so many OEM arms provided to turntable manufacturers, good fit & finish, compatibility w/many carts of varying compliance, flexibility of changing headshells(including w/azimuth adjustment), high likelihood of parts/service if ever needed, likely decent resale value if I ever choose to go in another direction.
cons: extra electrical connection points @ armtube and headshell, lack of precise repeatable VTA adjustment (although EasyVTA aftermarket product can address this), knife edge bearings theoretically an improvement, but my impression is that in practice they often aren't ideal. 

To use a car analogy is this the Toyota Camry of tonearms? 

The Audiomods Series V:
pros: keeps the best aspect of the new Rega arm and replaces almost everything else with better design and quality parts, precise micrometer VTA adjustment, silver wire one piece loom from pins to plugs
cons: one man company uncertainties on parts/service if ever needed, relatively little user base or resale market, no opportunity to listen before buying,  a bit more costly than the Jelco. 
Hoping it's not a Saab 900; really cool when they were around but at some point a quirky performer from days gone by that might not be a keeper.

So anybody care to chime in on these or others that fit the bill in the same price range? If you're curious, the rest of the system is here: Austin City Within Limits. Cheers,
Spencer 
128x128sbank
pryso
1,912 posts
 
chakster and lew, this goes back nearly a year, but I have a question on your counterweight stem discussion.

A few years ago I bought a MS-505S.  That has a similar design where the stem is separated by a rubber cushion aft of the pivot point.  Once I obtained the arm I discovered the stem was not in the same plane as the arm tube.  Searching online I found conflicting opinions as to whether this was "normal" or not.  At that time Jim Howard was still around so I consulted with him.  He said it was deteriorated suspension and not normal, so I had him rebuild mine.

To the point, I don't remember specifics from physics class, but it does not seem desirable for a counterweigh to be too flexible on one side of a fulcrum if we want the other end (stylus) to have a stable platform.  Isn't that the tail wagging the dog?
noromance's avatar
noromance
9,557 posts
 
The Micro Seiki sag. Caused by the rubber bending. Probably not the end of the world. But you know that from your research. Jelco and its OEM arms use rubber stems for the c/w. It may be for 2 reasons. 1. It's cheaper. 2. to absorb resonances. I replaced mine with an after-market brass one to good effect on a 750 once. Having the c/w on a different plane seems to have a superior sonic outcome, especially on unipivots.
gpdavis1
49 posts
 
noromance - am running a Stax UA-7/CF on a DP-80 in a DK-300 plinth. Carts are a Lyra Kleos, Cadenza Blk & Kontrpunkt-b, AT33R & AT150Ti. Plan to stay with an arm that handles a universal headshell as part of the fun for me is swapping carts, headshells & leads (does silver really sound better than 5-9s OFC Litz?). The Sorane SA-1.2 might be next as it will drop into the same armboard hole as the Stax, making a change a no-brainer.
chakster's avatar
chakster
6,144 posts
 
Currently listed my NOS (unused) complete set of Victor UA-7045 in original box for sale, rubber grommet is perfect (original), see how it looks. I will keep my longer version (UA-7082) for myself. Both are identical, except for the length. And to my surprice with provided subweight even Ortofon SPU can be attached to this arm! VTA on-the-fly and mane great features, love these arms.

The armtube is made of aluminum-magnesium-silicon alloy: Strength is three times that of conventional pure aluminum. This greatly reduces resonance.

The high-quality JVC UA-7045 gimbal support tonearm features high sensitivity and long lasting ruggedness. It permits low-mass, high-compliance cartridges to accurately track even the most complex groove undulations. The ultra-effective support system converges the effects of forces on both the horizontal and vertical planes on one point equidistant from both the horizontal and vertical bearings. Thus in principle the new gimbal support support of the UA-7045 works like a one-point support and is therefore very sensitive. However, its performance is far better than conventional gimbal or one-point types since it uses adjustment free bearing units.






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