Hi Blake,

I was about to spring for one for my Gyrodec until I discovered it will only take a 9" arm and am now seriously considering the 750D. Does anyone know anything about the bearings on the 750D. Are they upgraded over the 250S and 250 ST?
As far as I know the bearings are the same. I doubt that Jelco would supply different types for two arms in roughly the same price bracket. Also, Jelco make their own bearings, which is somewhat of a rarity amongst tonearm manufacturers, so you can rest assured that the bearings in either the 250 or the 750 will be of the highest quality.

I'm assuming they would be based on the price difference. Perhaps someone can shed some light on what the actual differences are with respect to the 250S and the 750D beyond the fluid damping capability of the 750?
I doubt that the price difference is anything to do with the bearings - it is to do with the fit and finish of both arms (the 750 being just that bit better finished overall) and the fact that S-shaped detachable headshell arms are more expensive to manufacture. 'Straight' one-piece tonearms, such as the 250, are easier to manufacture off the production run, but that doesn't necessarily mean they're inferior.

The 250 and 750 are both superb quality tonearms at quite frankly bargain prices due to the refinement of Jelco's production techniques and lower overhead costs in Japan compared to here in the UK. I would chose between them mainly as far what type of cartridge is going to be used. If it's something such as a DL-103 which needs plenty of mass, particularly at the headshell end, then I'd go for the 750 (and if you prefer S-shaped arms), otherwise for most other cartridges either the 250 or the 750 would do.

Also, any thoughts from anyone on using a heavier aftermarket headshell than the stock Jelco and if the standard counterweight that comes with the 750 would be capable of balancing out a heavy cartridge (an 11 gram 103R in a wood body) with a heavier headshell?
The stock headshell on the 750 is of good quality, being very similar to the Sumiko which is popular at the moment. However it's not quite heavy enough for a DL-103, so if you're planning on using one of those I would invest in a super high-mass headshell such as the Audio-Technica LH-18, which is available from Dave at Sound Hi-fi. There's no problem either with the stock c/w balancing out heavier headshells and cartridges. It can do so with my 20g Fidelity research headshell and a DL-103SA, so it would have no problem doing so with a DL-103R in an 11g headshell.

However, I would stress that 11g is not really enough headshell mass for a 103 - you need the minimum of 18, or preferably 20g for the cartridge to 'sing'.

Marco.