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What tonearm will better mine?

I have been running a 12" Jelco SA750L with an upgraded Decca Super Gold on a Garrard 401 for a few years. I'm happy with the sound and happy with my pre, power and speakers. (Croft 25R, EICO HF35s, -good tubes, Quad 57).
I keep hearing that my tonearm is a weak link even though it sounds pretty awesome to me. What would it take to replace the Jelco and make a significant improvement? What should I expect to hear better? Would I have to drill the massive plinth? Thanks.
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Showing 13 responses by noromance

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noromance OP
9,393 posts
 
Thanks again. What improvements did you experience?
I imagine improved tonal color and bass definition with an increase in dimensionality...
noromance's avatar
noromance OP
9,393 posts
 
Thanks both. So I can spend $4000 on an EMT or tweak what I have!
Would there be no decernable difference between the Jelco and say a Schick or a Phanthom2? 
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noromance OP
9,393 posts
 
Chakster, nice set-up. Thanks for tge info. What improvements would there be over the Jelco with my Decca SG-P?
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noromance OP
9,393 posts
 
Thanks all. No one has actually explained what sort of specific improvements one should expect from a new (expensive) arm. I think I'll order the low-slung counterweight and carbon fiber headshell for the Jelco for the moment and spend the difference on more records. 
noromance's avatar
noromance OP
9,393 posts
 
Thanks cjaronica. It looks like it means dismantling the arm off the table. Interesting though.
noromance's avatar
noromance OP
9,393 posts
 
Thanks bdp24. I tried loading the Decca with 33k many years ago in an Ittok and liked it better at 47k. The Croft preamps seem to play well either way. Tempted to do the DeccaPod. What improvements have you experienced? 
noromance's avatar
noromance OP
9,393 posts
 
Thanks everyone.
bdp24, The name may be a play in decapods - animals like crabs - I guess the tight grip...
Wasn't the red plastic part of the damping? I like the idea of a solid base for the Decca. Have you heard the Decapod upgrade? My Mk.Vll has already been to JW for a Paratrace tip which was a major upgrade. I'll shoot him an email when it's due a retip. Thanks.

noromance's avatar
noromance OP
9,393 posts
 
@2channel8 Thanks for the link. Interesting. I added the oil at the start and when it evaporated away, I didn't really notice any loss so I haven't bothered refilling it!
noromance's avatar
noromance OP
9,393 posts
 
Last night, I added the Ammonite collar and the Expressimo Audio brass stub and counterweight to a black 12" Jelco 750L (401 on slate plinth). Both are extremely well made. I did the mods one at a time and the most impact was obtained from the brass stub/CW. Scott Hamilton - Is a Good Wind Who Is Blowing Us No III -increased speed and air on the edge of brush drums. More blackness etc. Not huge but enough to be worth it and it looks awesome. The collar didn't make as big a difference as far as I could ascertain but I may have messed up the test by running on cold tube amps. All in all worthwhile and easy upgrades. 
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noromance OP
9,393 posts
 
@tzh21y As I said above, the 850 is a massive improvement on the 750. If interested, George Merrill has the best price.
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noromance OP
9,393 posts
 
@jperry 
Thanks Jim. Yes. I've since changed the AS idler for an Artisan Fidelity wheel. Not cheap at $400 inc. shipping and not as dramatic an improvement as the AS over the rubber original. Nevertheless, it tuned and brought more air to the bass and increased dimensionality and top end inner detail. 

@tzh21y Yes. The Jelco is quite good. Have you heard the 850?
noromance's avatar
noromance OP
9,393 posts
 
@stringreen I don't care. They weren't criticizing, they were critiquing. Which is fine by me. Anyhow that was 2 years ago. I now know my rig sounds as good as many costing a lot more. 
noromance's avatar
noromance OP
9,393 posts
 
Found this post and wanted to update it. Ended up upgrading a while back to a Jelco TK-850L 12". I covered my experience in another thread. Suffice to say, the 850 is in a different league than the 750.
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