[TimSchirmer]

Okay....

I've had this CJ walker turntable sitting around like forever. It is supposed to be a very nice table which is sonically similar to the legendary AR ES-1 (which the Linn LP12 is based from)

A couple months ago, I purchased a Rega RB300, just to find out that it did not fit in my table. (good thing i didn't spring for the Origin Live Version) I sold that arm, and instead of buying a new arm, i bought more records. Now, I only have about 100$ left over from that deal.

I really do need to find a tonearm, I've been using my D-25S as a source for Waaaay too long. Currently, I plan to buy a Decca tonearm. I know that hifi planet (distributor of AH!) has a stash of NOS decca london tonearms, which they are selling for 35 euros each. Also, on ebay, there is a Decca International tonearm (higher quality than the Decca London) for about 66 aussie dollars (would cost about 50-60$ shipped, and it comes with an armlift too, which is always nice for unipivots)

Before I go ahead and purchase the decca arm, does anyone else have recommendations for cheap, but good tonearms? I saw a couple of incomplete grace arms on eBay, but i'd rather not give up the opportunity to get this decca arm for this price just to be outbid on one of the grace arms.

I will be using a nakamichi MC-500 cartridge (which is seems to be a re-branded Denon DL-103) I'm really excited about trying out this cartridge, as it will be my first moving coil.

 

[Hirsch]

If the Grace tone arms you've been seeing are variants of the 707, do NOT get one if you plan to use a moving coil. The Grace arms require high compliance cartridges. Perfect for something like a Shure V15 Type V mrx. They simply don't have the mass for very much else.

 

[Tuberoller]

I have only seen the Decca arms and never set one up.If you can be a little patient, try to locate a Sumiko/SME or Audioquest arm.These have been selling recently for as little as $100.00 and at that price hacking one to make it work is not so painful.In that VPI post I took a pic of the HW-19 with a Sumiko Premier FT-3 that I found for $125.00 on ebay.It was new in the box and was a breeze to set-up and is one of the best low cost arms ever made.The Audioquest arms never sold well and new ones can be had fro cheap.I would place a want ad on Audiogon.

 

[JML]

I remember both of these items, and owned a DL-103D (several, in fact, retipped). Either that's a great match, or an awful one, but I can't recall. The Decca was a pain in the butt to use and set up, and the quality control left something to be desired. The Denon, like the Decca cartridge, was a low-compliance ctg., but I seem to remember something about a unipivot being a problem with the Denon. This is going back to the late 1970's though, and my memory isn't what it used to be. I'd research this pretty deeply before buying. There might also be a problem fitting that arm to your table... Consider asking for guidance on the Vinyl Asylum, at http://www.audioasylum.com/index.html