Conflict of interest alert: I own two Durand tonearms; a Telos and a Talea.
To clear up some of the unintended misinformation on this thread...
a. The new composite Telos armwand is not an upgrade; it is an option.
b. The composite armwand does not use a mounting plate.
c. The sapphire cartridge mounting plate is only used with wooden Telos armwand.
d. The sapphire bearing column for the Telos is an upgrade. As to the cost, I believe the earlier comment "It better not be worth the money or I will leave depressed" nicely summarizes.
For those who have expressed disdain for the "back scratchers" and "wooden spoons", I am sorry that your experience the tonearms was disappointing. So that the community could learn from your expertise, please share more about your audition experience, i.e. system context, LP's used to audition, etc. Thank you in advance.
To clear up some of the unintended misinformation on this thread...
a. The new composite Telos armwand is not an upgrade; it is an option.
b. The composite armwand does not use a mounting plate.
c. The sapphire cartridge mounting plate is only used with wooden Telos armwand.
d. The sapphire bearing column for the Telos is an upgrade. As to the cost, I believe the earlier comment "It better not be worth the money or I will leave depressed" nicely summarizes.
For those who have expressed disdain for the "back scratchers" and "wooden spoons", I am sorry that your experience the tonearms was disappointing. So that the community could learn from your expertise, please share more about your audition experience, i.e. system context, LP's used to audition, etc. Thank you in advance.