Tonearm advice under 8k with removable headshell

I’ve been considering upgrading the tonearm of my Technics SL-1200G in the past, but came to the conclusion that there aren’t much options under 2k that are a significant improvement over the stock magnesium arm.
That’s why I’m revisiting this idea now with an increased budget of up to 8k.

Main two requirements are 9” with removable headshell (non-proprietary).
Preferably gimbal bearing, but open to other options as well.
I strongly prefer lower/medium effective mass over higher effective mass, since I intend to use a wide variety of cartridges.
Most cartridges perform best with lower effective mass.
It looks like removable headshells are uncommon on higher end tonearms…
The only one I’ve found so far is the Dynavector DV507MKII, which looks quite interesting with an elaborate featureset.
However, that one is hard to find new.
I prefer new, but I’m also open to buying used if that happens to be the way to go.
I’m also open to tonearms that require soldering wires to install, but I’m not looking for a “DIY refurbishing vintage project”.

Any suggestions?

 

I have the DV507 Mk 2 as a second arm on my Kenwood L-07D: I recommend it highly. It replaced an SME V and was a significant improvement.

There are a few on the auction site at present, and this one is interesting as an almost new option:

DYNAVECTOR DV 570 MK2 TONEARM, 100% New & Unused, Open Box & Thorens Armboard | eBay

 

Have you considered the Kuzma 4Point 9"?

 

That one has no removable headshell AFAIK, so that’s off the table.

 

I'm sure you've looked at Sorane, which is probably what you are referencing. I was looking at Schick recently. That has a removable headshell, but is tailored to certain cartridges.

 

Overpriced, but still an excellent arm, SME M2-9R, or as you are in the Netherlands what about the Groovemaster, well within budget.

 

The Sorane definitely looks like it’s inspired by the Dynavector tonearms.
But in that case I would prefer a Dynavector.

 

The Groovemaster is 22 grams effective mass… Idk if that’s suitable for all of my cartridges…

 

It removes with a a small allen screw. I have this arm with 2 headshells.

 

Does it accept standard SME type headshells?

 

You may be looking at the TA-1, which follows along the Jelco design. They have some other arms, too, that a very versatile.

 

Ah, probably not. It's a hexagon-shaped insert.

 

I think you're going to have a tough time TBH. It's not about your budget, but rather what the tiny standalone tonearm market caters to. IIRC the magnesium 1200G arm is something like 9g EM? Good luck finding anything at all like that for a standalone tonearm.

The lighter arms out there will have fixed headshells and most of the removable headshell ones will have higher effective mass geared towards medium/low compliance MC carts. You may find some arms that use expensive swappable wand systems, for example.

Does SME still make their light vintage style tonearms and sell them separately? Maybe some of those are an option.

 

One more thing. It's not exactly what you asked for but there is a company based in the UK or Europe that makes a special plinth for the 1200. I can't remember the company name, but I believe it accepts up to 3 tonearms. That could be a way to scratch an itch if you wanted to mess around with different tonearms and cartridges, but not modify your turntable, or give up the existing 1200G arm and its flexibility.

 

Ah too bad…
I’m running 6 cartridges on Jelco HS-25 headshells and I have 5 spares of them in storage for future additions to my cartridge collection.
So I’ve basically settled on those headshells for the upcoming few years.
They’re SME connector type with dual pin (top and bottom).

 

Maybe in the future… I’m short on space right now for those kind of things…

 

Just for reference.

All Products Collection - Acoustand Audio

 

I believe it’s closer to 12 grams.

Haha thanks lol
Some tonearms that are fairly high mass actually are quite low effective mass though; the Dynavector for example has some kind of design that makes its effective mass much lower than you’d expect.
But that comes at a price of course…

 

The Dyna arms certainly do have a very distinctive and interesting look. I assume they are/were designed to pair well with Dyna cartridges.

 

If you're going for such a high-end and expensive tonearm, why making a compromise in sound with removable headshell? Makes no sense to me.

 

Reeds headshells are removable. Not the design the OP wants' but once set-up you're done until wear sets in.

 

Removable headshell doesn’t equal compromise.
It just needs to be well implemented into the rest of the tonearm design.

 

Well, you have extra wires and connectors in the path of a very small signal. Probably those with a straight run of wire from cart to phono pre believe there is some sonic benefit in that.

 

Ikeda IT-345 is very well made and will fit your budget.. but I am very happy with Sorane Sa1.2 at quarter of ikeda price.

 

Yeah I know the stories, but I’ve never seen proof of that, nor is it observable (some high-end high performing tonearms do have removable headshells).
It’s just some of the many many myths that persist in this hobby.