Ortofon SPU Synergy

I just bought a TA-110 about three months ago and can say it is one of the best arms I've ever heard. I have it on a Thorens 124. Like reviews have said, it holds it's own against the new high end of arms; Kusma, Tri Planer, B-44 Phantom. I have a Graham Phantom Supreme that is going on the block because I like the TA-110 better. The damping makes it a very neutral arm. Another benefit is it is family friendly (not unipivot). I've decided to stay away from the Ortofon Replicate 100 tip because it is very sensitive to VTA and I just don't fool with it; set and forget. I'm not going to reset VTA for 150, 180, 200 gram LPs! The A90 is going on the block as well (with only five hours on it). The elliptical on the SPU Synergy is much more forgiving one VTA and quieter in the grove. It can be argued that quiet in the grove makes a better listening experience; that depends on your tolerance for grove noise and the theory that the grove noise drowns out detail. I buy most of my LPs used as I have a preference for all tube recordings that are analogue from start to finish; especially in Classical.

Hey! Just one more thing on the TA-110 etc. . . . 9" vs. the 12" arms. 12" improves alignment across the LP but has the drawback of less stiffness and requires a larger footprint and larger counter weight or it placed further back. If you use a higher quality elliptical tip (vs. the super duper Replicant 100 et-all) this tangential alignment is not as critical and I believe you actually get a better reproduction out of the stiffer 9" arm. The Ortofon TA comes in 110-9" and 210-12". I opted for the 9".