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AR Turntable tonearm question

Posted by George S. Roland on August 1, 2022 at 20:29:23:
I have been reading about the AR XA turntable and The AR Turntable. I know that these days, almost all tonearms come with anti-skating capabilities, and that the original AR-XA tonearm lacked this feature. I read that Edgar Villchur said if one was worried about anti-skating one could simply increase the tracking pressure by a half a gram.

Most writers claim the AR-XA tonearm was not up to the standards of the turntable or that it was a sub-optimal design even for its time. None of these writers ever tell why they think it's a sub-optimal design or what it lacks besides anti-skating. Another writer claimed these criticisms of the AR-XA tonearm were unwarranted and that it is actually a "superb" tonearm design.

So, what say you about the AR-XA tonearm--good, bad, indifferent?

I had an AR-XA table a long time ago. I am looking to acquire another and would appreciate comments about the tonearm question. I am torn as to whether to buy an XA as an example of Villchur's superb design work, or go for The AR Turntable because of the supposedly better arm??