I've also read that Graham arms are very popular on SME decks in the US.

I can understand SM mentioning the Koetsu carts, especially with a deck as neutral as the SME. With my limited experience with these carts they retrieve amazingly subtle details which need a quality deck to fully appreciate them.

But I like the way the Akiva makes music, it's a quality tracker and fills the gap between the Helikon and the Titan.

BBV - did you ever get a chance to listen to the Kuzma airbearing parallel tracker on the Brinkmann ?