Origin Live is in England so the prices are UKP not USD (roughly double)
The Silver is therefore 1000USD+, the OL1 in stock form (basically an OEM Rega RB250) is around 200USD. The armboard for technics is about 70USD.
The "structural modification" entails removing the stock plastic counterweight stub and standard weight then fitting a new metal stub with a counterweight which is attached via hex bolt.
This mod improves the rigidity of the arm and removes resonances caused by the basic counterweight assembly lifting the performance of the arm into "superarm" territory. In other words this is widely regarded as the best tonearm you can buy for under 2000USD.
The problem with the standard Technics arm is that it dates from a time when a lot of rubber was used to damp the numerous unecessary joints ( like the removable headshell) in it's construction which in turn introduce a lot of unwanted resonances which suck all the detail out of the music leaving it sounding muddy and indistinct.
If you can, listen to a Rega Planar 3 turntable (costs about 1000USD) this is the standard entry level Hi-Fi turntable and sounds an awful lot better than a stock SL1200. Fitting the Rega arm to the Technics gives you the metronome accuracy of the direct drive motorboard with the detail retrieval of the modern tonearm. A formidable combo which you won't really improve over in Hi-Fi terms without spending at least 2000-3000USD.
You will need a basic speaker set up if you want to learn how to mix. The JBL monitors I mentioned should be possible for around 200USD per pair although at a push you can use an old 2nd hand receiver and a regular Hi-Fi speakers if you have any. The JBL's are much better to mix with however as they are designed as monitors which wont flatter the music rather allow you to hear accurately which is important obviously when you are trying to mix.
The Stanton 681EEE is around 150USD but you can put a more basic stylus on it for DJ work. there is a set which comes in a little miniature flightcase with two carts and four stylii which seems very good value.
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