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First of all, someone else asked a similar question to which I responded with a lengthy post, but here goes another one. I own the jr., and I love it. It's a fairly massive, stable turntable, and I purchased the Mk III platter as an upgrade. Quieter, more stable rotation. As far as the arm goes, the RB-300 is a much better sounding arm, BUT, you will get alot of flak from those who insist that an arm must have variable adjustments for VTA. This is really useful if you are going to change VTA for each record thickness you encounter. Otherwise, the Rega arm comes with spacers which allow you to get close with each cartridge. Most dealers are familiar enough with the combination to know how many spacers are needed for each particular cartridge. The Rega arm itself is much better sounding than the Audioquest and made to tighter tolerences. It is an arm used on turntables that cost upwards of a couple grand. I, on the other hand, went with a somewhat little known Danish manufacturer named Moerch and purchased their UP-4. It costs about $700 or so. It is a little smoother than the Rega, and does have adjustable VTA as well as Azimuth. It is a uni-pivot design. The Rega arm will cost you about $400. Trust me, go with the RB-300. However, you'll need to find a dealer that works with that combination frequently. I called VPI up for advice on that particular subject because I was initially considering the RB-300. They recommended North Country Audio. They are one of VPI's highest volume dealerships and do alot with the RB-300/HW-19 jr combination. North Country Audio sells all three arms. They do not think much of the Audioquest compared to the Rega. They actually have a trick that they employ with regards to this combo the make the VTA infinitely adjustable. I asked him about possible other options other than the Audioquest/Rega arm options and he mentioned the Moerch. His opinion, and I found out many others, is that this is the best value arm between the Rega and the Graham ($2000+). This was before, however, the Wilson Benesch Act 0.5 came out (~$1400) which some say is as good as the Graham. Anyway, as far as good budget arms, you're not going to do better than the Rega, and if you can spend a bit more, there's the Moerch. Aside from that, not much to choose from at the price point. All in all, the VPI/Rega or Moerch is a great combination with which to build later on if you wish.
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