[JemHadar]

I own a Michell Engineering Orbe with a SME series V tonearm (the tonearm was bought 2nd hand). The combo offers great value for the money and confidently surpasses the MT10 performance. Setup does require some knowledge and skill, which I both lack, so my dealer did the honours.

A similar specced SME would be considerably more expensive. Unfortunately SME doesn’t market its tonearms as standalone products anymore. Only turntable + tonearm combo’s are offered.

I considered the MT10 at one time (when I enjoyed an all McIntosh system), but import duties and importer markups made it ridiculously expensive in Europe. The design has kind of grown on me and if ever a mint used specimen would show up....hmmmm...temptation.

If I understand your use case correctly, the MT10 ticks all the boxes as a no hassle turntable. There is something special about an all McIntosh system...the MA12000 has a moving coil input and IMHO the MT10 would make for a great match. Maybe consider giving this ugly duckling the time to grow into a soaring swan.

Whatever choice you make, enjoy the music in good health