RB250 internal and external rewire results?

[Justjon]

I got some prices today from Johnnie at AO for cardas 33ga internal, super ofc external + cardas tags upgrade.
Has anyone had this done on the above arm and what were the results?
I've got a lot of "hum" on one channel and looked at the arms RCA's and they're in a horrible state. There's only a tiny bit of ground wire connected on one channel and the other isn't much better. I'm going to resolder them tonight, but I guess replacing all the old wiring will be beneficial?
Edit
The arm is booked in for the end of this month to be fettled.

[mimoser]

if it ain’t broken, don’t fix it …
… the bearings of my RB250 were knackered and the wiring iffy.
I could not hear much difference between a new RB251 and the rewired RB250, maybe
- hum was definitely a non-issue after the rewire
- the cartridge clips inspire much more confidence after the rewire
the repair and rewire was done in Germany not at audio origami and was a budget job including refurbishment and rewire to a 5-pin connector at the armbase for around EUR 120,– some eight years ago. The real improvement happened when I replaced the rather old Linn Tonearm cable it came with with a Yannis Tome cheapie.
Still nothing I would rave about, but definitely an improvement.
I cannot compare AO fettling to what I’ve got, so YMMV
:-)
Michael

[The Chronicals]

I got some prices today from Johnnie at AO for cardas 33ga internal, super ofc external + cardas tags upgrade.
Has anyone had this done on the above arm and what were the results?
I've got a lot of "hum" on one channel and looked at the arms RCA's and they're in a horrible state. There's only a tiny bit of ground wire connected on one channel and the other isn't much better. I'm going to resolder them tonight, but I guess replacing all the old wiring will be beneficial?
Edit
The arm is booked in for the end of this month to be fettled.

Although, I cannot compare with a Rega , as my RB300 came with an Incognito rewire already, I did rewire my Project 9CC with Cardas, and the difference was night and day. I throughly recommend it, and it only cost me £30 and an hour or so with some swearing :)

Although on an RB250, thats a lot of money to throw at it and being an arm on the real budget end of the scale - would you see better improvements getting an upgraded arm or one that has already been rewired?

[Justjon]

Although on an RB250, thats a lot of money to throw at it and being an arm on the real budget end of the scale - would you see better improvements getting an upgraded arm or one that has already been rewired?
That is a very good point Michael and something that has crossed my mind more than once or twice.
The problem being that I'm possibly moving house soon and need funds to prepare my flat to rent out so i can't afford to keep chucking cash around like it was confetti.
If I'm honest i quite like the RB250 (it's simple like me) but if i upgrade to say a SME then i just know that i"ll start to think what else could i get that would sound slightly better and then I'm on the slippery slope to financial ruin chasing the perfect sound :scratch:

[Pete The Cat]

I've run RB250s and 300s from stock to rewired to completely modified. I'd endorse the recommendation above and leapfrog the rewiring option. Instead I'd suggest a good condition Origin Live RB250 (the complete mod package - rewired internally and externally, replacement metal end stub and counterweight, nicely stripped and polished silver finish). I'm guessing mine was about £275 second hand so if you sold your RB250 that'd leave you needing to find roughly £140. The difference would be materially greater than you'd find from a rewire alone. OL themselves suggest that the end stub replacement on its own has more effect than a rewire and you can buy those separately from several sources. Of course, others may suggest that if selling your arm to fund a replacament is an option then there will be others to consider eg a little more would get a second hand Roksan Tabriz. I don't bandy around the phrase "night and day difference" but IMHO the OL RB250 was jaw-droppingly superior to the stock 250 and 300.

Good luck with whatever you choose to do.

Pete

[The Chronicals]

That is a very good point Michael and something that has crossed my mind more than once or twice.
The problem being that I'm possibly moving house soon and need funds to prepare my flat to rent out so i can't afford to keep chucking cash around like it was confetti.
If I'm honest i quite like the RB250 (it's simple like me) but if i upgrade to say a SME then i just know that i"ll start to think what else could i get that would sound slightly better and then I'm on the slippery slope to financial ruin chasing the perfect sound :scratch:

I know how it feels, its a slippery slope of money this hifi lark, be lovely to have a Mary Poppins wallet - its the nasty thing about hifi, the more you spend, the better you get.

I am possibly about to sell an RB300 rewired with the Incoginto kit (internal and external rewire) if of any interest. Its probably an 8/10 condition wise, but sounds lovely. This would allow you to sell the RB250 and put it towards the 300 and might work out financially better off - and you end up with a a better arm with pretty much equivalent wiring. Drop me a PM if interested.