Have arm, want turntable

No doubt that the soundstage is from the much improved platter and main bearing. That will remain. Hopefully the sibilance from the cartridge will resolve itself with some more hours on the thing. The RP10 is a similar upgrade from the RP3 as it improves the platter/subplatter, speed controller, bearing, and tonearm. It's a nice jump in performance.

The Unicover isn't worth it IMO. It looks OK but doesn't serve you best. It only covers the platter and top of the arm. You can cover the platter with an old Lp and you should start doing that immediately. If you are not using a felt mat, clean the top of the platter or hard mat before using a cover. You don't want any dust between the platter and record surface as it has no place to go but into those surfaces. I would just bang out another wooden cover from the same plywood or maybe something rather thinner to keep it as light as possible and then stain it the same finish as the riser you made. It could be made to fit just outside of the riser to give you some guides and not take up much more space. That will cover the entire piece, top to bottom, including the stylus. The Unicover does not cover the front or bottom of the arm, nor the belt or motor pulley at the rear corner.
-Bill

 

Series 5 on order. Be here in July!