Which arm for a Systemdek 11x

[damian.duffy]

Hi all

So I was on a well known auction site while a bit pissed and accidentally won this for the princely sum of £26: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...=STRK:MEWNX:IT

I know we aren't supposed to mention it so here's the blurb in case mods want to delete the link:
A SYSTEMDEK 11X ELECTRONIC TURNTABABLE FOR SALE WITH ALTERATIONS
THE ELECTRONIC CIRCUT STOPPED WORKING AND COULD NOT GET FIXED //.
SO ANOTHER MOTOR AND POWER SUPPLY WITH SWITCH WAS TAKEN FROM A SYSTEMDEK TRANSCRIPTION UNIT THE MODEL HAS THE HEAVY METAL PLATTER .
THE 11X TURNTABLE HAS BEEN CHECKED FOR SPEED ...as per photo of strob and it is not for sale....THE GLASS PLATTER IS PERFECT NO NICKS OR CRACKS ANYWHERE..
THE ARM BOARD IS NEW NO ARM HAS BEEN MOUNTED IT CAME WITH A HOLE ALREADY CUT IN IT..
THE PERSPEX LID IS IN VG CONDITION NO CRACKS OR SCORES..
THE PLYNTH IS IN VG CONDITION NO SCORES NO NICKS
THE MAIN BERRING HAS BEEN RE OILED WITH NEW OIL..
THANKS TO AN EBAY MEMBER WHO KEPT ME RIGHT ON THE MODEL ALSO INCLUDED A PHOTO OF THE ORIGINAL SYSTEMDEK ADVERT FOR THIS TURNTABLE..
FROM CENTRE OF SPINDEL TO CENTRE OF HOLE IN ARM BOARD IS 210 MM



So I now have a turntable to play with. Given that it cost £26, what budget-priced arm should I be looking for? I looked through the classifieds but to be honest I can't tell from some of the titles what exactly is for sale


I had a really pleasant hour chatting to the seller who lent me an alignment protractor and stylus force gauge. He also has a MC cartridge on a headshell that he offered for ££40 - I think it was Ortofon but we were chatting so much it's slipped my head. I have a CA 640P that I was going to sell, so I could use it


Any thoughts on arms? Maybe I should just stick a wanted on to the Classifieds but it'd be good to know what to look for.


Thanks


Damian

[Bazzman]

First of all I must say you jammy devil. £26 that's a bargain.
When I had a Systemdek it had the Linn Basik Plus arm and you might find that's what the arm board is drilled for and it sounded very nice indeed. These pop up on the bay often so might be worth a look if you are not planning on spending too much.

[murray johnson]

There's what looks like a nice Denon arm on epay at the moment. Otherwise Linn LVV or LVX would do fairly well. However, if you can get or make a blank armboard then the Rega R200 or RB250/300 would also be worth considering. They need to be mounted at 222 mm from the spindle though.

[Spacehopper]

I bought mine new with a Linn Akito arm and an Audio Technica MC and it served me well for many years. Have a look on vinyl engine there's plenty of info about them on there. You have a real bargain - it's a superb deck.

[v1nn1e]

The basic Pro-Ject 9 tonearm (Ali.) is pretty good and uses a Linn fixing - not sure of the exact geometry but I assume it would be the same as the Linn's?

[Cable Monkey]

I would go with a Rega arm or perhaps a Japanese OEM arm at 222mm mounting distance. Linn arms are another option but are perhaps not such good value IMO.

[damian.duffy]

I would go with a Rega arm or perhaps a Japanese OEM arm at 222mm mounting distance. Linn arms are another option but are perhaps not such good value IMO.

Imagine, if you can, that I'm thick as pigshit? Is a Japanese OEM one of the evilbay 'moth' ones? Let's be honest - I got a Rega Planar 2 about 20 years ago and it can with arm and cartridge. Never had to consider 'separates' before

[murray johnson]

The moth ones are generally Rega RB250's which, if you can find a tidy one at a good price might be the fit 'n forget weapon of choice. The Rega type arms have to be at 222mm from the spindle. this positioning comes from a time when a company called Acos in Japan supplied Rega with their original S shaped R200 and supplied very similar arms to a number of other turntable makers. Those are the Japanese OEM arm referred to.

However, if your mounting hole is at 210mm as you say, then you are stuck with arms based on what's now known as the Linn geometry which has a central hole and 3 small holes spaced around it. These might include arms by Linn, Jelco, Alphason, Helius, Projekt to name a few.

[lexi]

I have a very nice Jelco 250 st arm.
Basically new in the box . I have
only put the cartridge on for looks.

Never fitted to a deck. There is an Audio Technica arm lead.

I think a good match to your deck. Mine was for a Lenco project that I did not go with.

£160 plus post. http://www.analogueseduction.net/pro...Tonearm_JELARM

[damian.duffy]

Hi again

Still not *much* the wiser about what I'll have to spend to get the right tonearm. But would this fit - if I can get it at the right price:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...=STRK:MEWAX:IT
And would it be an ok arm?

I also found a Knosti disco antistat with cleaning solution for £30 on amazon. Seemed like a good price - except they won't post it to here