Originally Posted by
montesquieu
The Alphason is a truly superb arm, but like any other arm it depends hugely what cartridge you want to run with it. It's in the low-medium mass sort of area so you are looking at medium-high compliance cartridges - actually similar ballpark to both the OL and the Mission though the Mission is more flexible with its damping allowing a greater range of cartridges to be used (if still some way short of being a sensible option with lower compliance cartridges).
My preference across all three would be the Alphason, in part because I have a thoroughly irrational prejudice against Rega-based arms, partly because it looks so cool. I used one on an LP12 years ago and later on a Townshend Rock, with Lyras and Dynavectors it was tremendous, less so with a SPU Royal N and Koetsu Red Sig (as you'd expect, as both are lower compliance, I'd expect a Denon 103 to be similarly compromised) which is why I changed to heavier arms.
Having said all that, if your 774 is set up well I wouldn't expect you to hear a great deal of difference with the same cartridge (the ZXY I assume which is a nice match for either), they are both gimballed, medium compliance arms of similar sort of capability.
FWIW the OL guy was talking bollocks, the cheapest OL is NOT anywhere close to the Alphason (or the Mission) and for that reason alone I would give them a big fat raspberry. There are good reasons for him to justify why you might want a brand new arm - confidence it's not damaged as vintage kit can be, warranty and availability of servicing etc etc - but claiming his cheapest Rega-derived arm is 'better' than an all-time classic just tells me he either knows nothing, or is lying/talking out of his arse - both reasons to avoid IMHO.