Dear @wrm57 : Ikeda opinion it's only that an opinion and that's all. There is no brittle and it's not true that the EPA 100 is not for low compliance. Again , Technics makes that kind of mistakes.
The EPA 100 comliance cartridge range it its counterweigth wise mechanism says in the tonearm manual from 5cu and I had first hand experiences with the EPA 100 and several low com'liance japanese cartridges with outr any single trouble.
In the other side, my advise is that you go step by step with your tonearm and for me first step is th internal re-wiring that you could do it with Audio Note UK silver wire that's excellent.
Then listen it for a while and decide if in true the tonearm needs a bearing change: don't change what is in good operation, remember?
R.