Next step up from the Sumiko FT-3

I would not sell the FT3. pretty nice arm. I used to have both the FT3 and FT4.

For a kilo buck, you might look at what you can do with your phono stage. did not mention what you were running, but first thing would be to add some vishay foil resistors to the loading positions.

Hi @johnss!  I'm running a Lehmann Statement Black Cube.

Rega and its variants use 222mm as mount distance. This includes Origin Live, Audiomods, and Michell Tecnoarm. Jelco 250 and 750 series have different mount distance. I don’t know about the new Jelco models that were introduced recently.

From direct experience I can highly recommend the first two. I own two OL arms. I didn’t catch your budget, but I recently bought a current OL Silver mk3A -- open box, unused -- for $500. Killer arm for the money, and beyond. I also own the OL Encounter Mk3C, but it’s a bit pricier.

I can also recommend the Jelco -- I own the 750E -- but it's mount distance poses a problem for you, unless you wanna cut a new arm board and it fits your plinth.

A local buddy owns the Audiomods Classic arm. It too is quite excellent at his brand new price which was in the $650 range, but that could move with the FX rate. Before the AM he owned the Tecnoarm, which we both thought sounded like crap compared to the AM classic.

Good luck in your search.

simao, took a look at your phono pre.

would still say the same, plus a few other upgrades.

1. replace load resistors with vishay VSR foils2. black cube appears to use a wall wart for power, replace with decent sized linear power supply.
3. replace all those red wima caps in the black cube with a better quality cap.

All of the above would cost much less than 1K, yet would give you a bigger bang for the buck.

if the unit runs on 12 or 15 volts, you can even buy a linear power supply from amazon for under 50 bucks that will make a world of difference.