Tonearm upgrade

[Xace]

Sorry for such a lame second post.

My bearings are gone so some action is required.
I not sure what to think! Some ppl say the stock arm is good, others say it's better to upgrade it.
I've been advised that if upgrading I should look for dampening.

I did like the Jelco SA-750D. It's got all the featured you could want including dampening at an unbeatable price. But all the talk of incorrect dimensions and mounting distance has made me hesitant.

I've been thinking about the Funk Firm F5, I really like the idea of an uncoloured accurate representation of the grooves but, It's way over my initial budget and there's no dampening.

And the final option is a rewired stock arm with the Kab TD-1200 damping system. The cheapest option of the three. Many people have followed this path and reported great results.

Any help and advice you can offer would be greatly appreciated.

[CageyH]

I have the Funk FX1200, with no dampening, and it sounds superb.
The Funk F5 is supposed to be pretty good as well.
There are also lots of happy Jelco 750D owners here.

For me, the tonearm is one of the biggest improvements you can make to the deck.

[Ammonite Audio]

The Jelco SA-750D will fit perfectly well on a Technics - all you need is a suitable armboard and there are a variety of options, ranging from this excellent and relatively inexpensive one from eBay seller f1sport http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Jelco-SA-750D-SA-250-Armboard-Plate-Technics-SL-1200-1210-MK2-MK3-MK4-MK5-M5G-/152292437425?hash=item2375562db1:m:mvTZTHiLgU2ZK3o JNXQ4iXQ to Speedy Steve's lovely ebony boards. As long as the arm is mounted at the correct distance, there are no problems and either of these arm boards will ensure that correct distance.

For what it's worth, my own experience suggests that the Jelco SA-750D is quite a bit more 'grown up' in sound compared to the Technics arm. The Jelco will take most cartridges with ease and it's a well-made, nice to handle thing. You do need to budget for an arm cable, but that need not cost the earth (Sound HiFi do one for £50 which really is excellent). Just avoid Jelco's own pink cable, which, to my ears, is a pretty miserable sounding thing as well as not being particularly cheap.

My improved mounting collar for Jelco arms is popular and many on here will hopefully confirm that it really does make the SA-750D easier to set up with accuracy and confidence, smoother to adjust, and because of that better sounding. My full explanation is at https://ammonite-audio.co.uk/home/ammonite-audio/