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Your Tone Arm History @ an arm which aesthetically you would love or have

Except for earlier integrated TTs with non-descript arms, I think I've had a grand total of three arms since 1985.

Rega RB-300 on an AR Turntable (1985-87)
Linn Ittok LV-II on LP12 (1987-2000)
Naim ARO (2000-now)

I don't feel great compulsion to change tonearms. In fact, I'm totally happy with the ARO.
Your doing better than me, same as you for the run of the mill Garrard and Technics stuff, then
RB300 on Plannar 2
Ittok LV-III on Lp12
 
Not many.

Linn Basik Plus (on a Syncro)
Rega RB300 (on a Gyro) - still have this arm since 1994 - now on a JVC DD turntable
Linn Basik Plus (Lenco GL75)
Audio Note V1 2 (Orbe)
SME V (Orbe)
Wooden 12 inch arm off ebay (SP-10)
12 inch Unipivot (SP-10)

So many other arms I would like to try in the future.......
 
Stock arms on miscilanious garbage from minisystems and car boot sales!
Stock arm on an old Garrard DD141
Rega RB250
Rega RB301
Linn Akito mk1
Linn Ittok LVII
KAB damped stock arm on my 1210 mk2 with Ortofon LH-2000 headshell (and heavy auxillery counterweight)

Will I get lynched for saying I like the Techie arm best so far? Including the aesthetic once you have a decent looking headshell on there. I know there are solid engineering arguments for chunky straight tonearms, but a shiny silver serpentine S looks so right! I was expecting to be keen to replace it quickly, but have been absolutely delighted with it. It is extremely flexible, I now have three different auxillary counterweights and a brace of headshells and it is so easy to set up correctly and use with virtually any cartridge. I resent the hours of smegging about with tools and set up tables and spacers I wasted, removing and refitting arms etc etc when I wanted to try different cartridges with the Linn and Rega arms; now I can do it without even moving the turntable! It might not be the be all and end all of anything, but Technics are a serious company and I reckon that arm is about as well engineered as was possible for its pricepoint. I have a Lyra Delos on it without any concern that it is wasted there! The only justification I can see for people taking them off for RB250s and the like are that wannabe DJs have knackered them... If I ever do change it it will be for something pretty serious, I love the DV 507ii but that might require a lottery win to justify :D:D:D
 
Apart from the fixed arms on early decks (Trio KD1033, Dual, Pioneer 512, Rega Planar 3 et al), I've owned these:

Linn LV-X (LP12)
Linn Ittok LVII (LP12)
Linn Ekos II (LP12)
Rega RB250 (Systemdek)
Origin Live Illustrious Mk II (Aurora Gold)
SME V
Trio TA-07J (Current: on L-07D)
Dynavector DV507 Mk II (Current: on L-07D)

I've borrowed many more to play about with, but the above stayed.

The Supatrac Blackbird would be nice to try at some point.
 
Arm that came with a PL12D
Arm that came with a Rega Planar 3
SME 3009 Mk II
Linn Ittok (Asak vintage)
Linn EkosSE Mk1
Aro

Many more cartridges MM/MC

Best looker for me was the Ekos. I could see me going back to an EkosSE II if I could kick the unipivot habit
 
SME3009 c/w firstLP12
Basik + on newer LP12
Ekos 1 put on above
SME V on PT Export GT
SME V moved onto Orbe + Ekos 2 on new LP12
SME V on SME 20/3A + Pro-ject 9c on LP12

No idea how the Project compared with other arms but sounds good on LP12- anyone any experience?

The SME V has the best user experience for adjustment and cartridge swapping and is the best looking. Aesthetically it’s like when the Fender Strat turned up in a world of Gibson semi acoustics
 
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Moth badged RB 250
Manticore badged RB 250 with Tecnoweight and AO rewire
Roksan Nima

I'd like to buy (or have made) a 12" armboard and try a SME 3012r with a SPU Royal, but I have other things to spend £4k on at the moment.
 
Grace 707

Grace 704

Infinity Black Widow

Dynavector 505

Linn Ittok

Syrinx PU-3

Rega RB300

SME V

SME iV.VI

Dynavector 507 Mk. II

Graham Phantom Supreme

Love to try:

Air Tangent

47 Labs Tsurbe

Simon Yorke Aeroarm

Vertere Reference

Supatrac Blackbird
 
ADC ALT1
Mission 774
Linn Basik LVX+
SME Series III
Syrinx PU2 Gold
Rega RB300 X2 on Planar 3s
Linn Ittok LVII Black
Micro MA707
SME 309
SME IV
Hadcock 242 (briefly)
Mission 774 (again) (still own)
Rega RB1000 on Planar 9
Rega RB600 on Planar 25
SME Series 2
Michell TecnoArm 2 (still own)
Rega RB3000 on Planar 10 (still own)

......and the winner is....the Mission 774.
Best arm ever outside of an integrated deck.
 
Grace 707

Grace 704

Infinity Black Widow

Dynavector 505

Linn Ittok

Syrinx PU-3

Rega RB300

SME V

SME iV.VI

Dynavector 507 Mk. II

Graham Phantom Supreme

Love to try:

Air Tangent

47 Labs Tsurbe

Simon Yorke Aeroarm

Vertere Reference

Supatrac Blackbird
Can you rank say the top three in your opinion Mark?
 
The one I wish I'd kept was the Fidelity Research FR12 made especially for the LP12 on top of a pre Cirkus, bonded sub chasis LP12 it sounded wonderful.
 
Dual 505 Deluxe arm
Linn Basik LVX
Linn Akito
Linn Ittok LVII
Origin Live OL1 (replaced the Ittok, BIG MISTAKE!)
Technics 1200 arm, fettled by Audio Origami and with a damper/fancy headshell/machined brass counterweight)
OEM Jelco arm on a LAD128
Audiomods IV on a Lenco
And in a curious circularity, Dual CS5000 arm

Wishes? Something by Funk, I'd love to live with a Well Tempered for a while, aesthetically I've always had a thing for SME Series IIIs, and the curved-wand Ortofons give me the horn.
 
Thorens TP16 (integrated, TD160)
Thorens TP16MkIII (integrated TD147)
Rega RB303 (integrated, RP6)
Roksan Nima (on a Thorens TD125, then Gyro)
Audionote 1 V2 (Gyro)
Funk Firm FXR (Gyro, then Orbe)
Mission 774 (Thorens TD125) - current
Funk Firm FX3

The Funk FXR was a revelation, completely different league to what I'd heard before. I got the FX3 mostly because I thought it would be easier to fit cartridges with a Dr Feickert, since the pivot is marked. Sounds the same, as far as I can tell.

The Mission 774 sounds enormous on the Thorens, with incredibly solid imaging. I've never got around to trying it on the Orbe. Must do some day. Both the Mission and the Funk are keepers, I think, and that's probably me done - although if a sensibly priced SME M2-9r ever showed up I'd be tempted, since it would look very right on the Thorens, and I'd like to hear a really 1st rate uni-pivot - I did like the Nima.
 
Surprised so few talk about the Nott An products. I've an Omega Point Silver, I prefer it to the Ittok I owned. Both on LP 12. I'm keeping it, it's one of the few end points in my system.
 


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