I think it needs a more rigid mounting with a means of running the phono wires beneath a plinth. The World article is very positive but it needs refinement to be a viable commercial product. Mounting a cartridge looks fiddly also.
Location: Somewhere
Posts: 1,863
I'm Paul.
I think it needs a more rigid mounting with a means of running the phono wires beneath a plinth. The World article is very positive but it needs refinement to be a viable commercial product. Mounting a cartridge looks fiddly also.
I can assure you it isn't, as there is a nice solid plate securely fitted into the arm tube which the photographs don't really show.
Setup is actually quite pleasant generally as, although it is a more involved process than with most arms, the instructions are superb and well illustrated.
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Main System
Turntable: Heavily-modified Technics SL-1210MK5G [Mike New bearing/ETP platter/Paul Hynes SR7 PSU & reg mods]. Funk Firm APM Achromat/Nagaoka GL-601 Crystal Record Weight/Isonoe feet & boots/Ortofon RS-212D/Denon DL-103GL in Denon PCL-300 headshell with Funk Firm Houdini/Kondo SL-115 pure-silver cartridge leads.
Paul Hynes MC head amp/SR5 PSU. Also modded Lentek head amp/Denon AU-310 SUT.
Other Cartridges: Nippon Columbia (NOS 1987) Denon DL-103. USA-made Shure SC35C with NOS stylus. Goldring G820 with NOS stylus. Shure M55E with NOS stylus.
CD Player: Audiocom-modified Sony X-777ES/DAS-R1 DAC.
Tape Deck: Tandberg TCD 310, fully restored and recalibrated as new, by RDE, plus upgraded with heads from the TCD-420a. Also with matching TM4 Norway microphones.
Preamps: Heavily-modified Croft Charisma-X. LDR Stereo Coffee. Power Amps: Tube Distinctions Copper Amp fitted with Tungsol KT-150s. Quad 306.
Cables & Sundries: Mark Grant HDX1 interconnects and digital coaxial cable, plus Mark Grant 6mm UP-LCOFC Van Damme speaker cable. MCRU 'Ultimate' mains leads. Lehmann clone headphone amp with vintage Koss PRO-4AAA headphones.
Tube Distinctions digital noise filter. VPI HW16.5 record cleaning machine.
Speakers: Tannoy 15MGs in Lockwood cabinets with modified crossovers. 1967 Celestion Ditton 15.
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Location: West Lancashire
Posts: 620
I'm Lucky.
Surely the Rega arms of chock full of potential? That's why they are the most modded tonearm in history.
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Good question I'm looking for an arm to suit a td124 and a rega seamed the obvious choice because of the prices you can pick up a second hand one for.
Source: Thorens TD124 Rega RB300, Sumiko bluepoint No2., Cambridge Audio D500 Special Edition CDP, Squeeze box Touch, PC with Trends Audio USB Audio DAC UD-10 Amplification: Croft Micro 25 basic pre, Leak Stereo 20, Trends Audio Class T TA-10, Fisher X100-A Speakers:Impulse H6 Interconnects: Handmade silver and TNT audio CAT5 speaker cables
Dull. You'd be better off with a Jelco SA-250ST.
The Rega arms are CHEAP and the 250 is easy to strip I believe, never having attempted it. The 300 uses bearings as good as any SME I believe, which are hand-selected for tolerance on their shafts (I had a go myself once on a visit and it's an easy thing to do by "feel") and then carefully torqued up with a custom tool. many of the bodgers out there almost certainly don't have the training or tooling to re-assemble them properly and I can think of one manufacturer who actually makes the arm worse, fitting badly finished add-ons and adding resonances that weren't there before, all in the cause of making for a more "exciting" sound. The only modified Rega arm I'd probably consider, all things considered, is the Michell one, as there's a good relationship I understand between the two manufacturers and they work together in the final assembly I think.
Nah, the Rega arms are fine, reliable, CONSISTENT and can sound fine on some turntable systems.
As for the Wand, it looks great and original and I really hope it's the true giant killer it promises to be - I like uni-pivots if they're done right and not too fiddly to use - can't be a*sed these days and the memory of re-assembling countless Hadcocks leaves it's scars I'm afraid, despite their fine subjective qualities...
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I had a Michell TecnoArm and it was not bad at all, certainly less dull sounding than a standard Rega. I have to say, though, that the Jelco sounded better all-round.
I'm interested in it but not with the current arm mounting arrangement.
Indeed they are. I use one and find it fine on my Lenco. I'm not under the delusion that my RB300 is the ultimate tonearm or anything, but it does the job and cost me £85 second hand. Sure I'd love a Dynavector, Ortofon, Jelco or whatever, but some of us have to make do with what we can afford. This isn't jealousy or anything - good luck to those who can afford to spend big on their systems; believe you me, if I ever get lucky enough to find myself comfortably off, I'd be upgrading like crazy too, but that's not how it is.
Some posters here seem to have a bee in their bonnet about Rega arms, labelling owners of them "boring", "unimaginative", "unsophisticated" and generally foolish and inferior. That doesn't seem to happen with other affordable components and, I must say, I'm getting a bit pissed off with it.
Keith
Analogue: Lenco L75 with 'PTP5' top plate in heavy birch ply plinth/re-wired Rega RB300/SAE 1000e HOMC Cartridge/Trans-Fi Reso-Mat/Moth RCM
Files: Voyage MPD/Custom PC/Supra USB/Beresford ASYNCH-1/Beresford TOSlink cable
CDP: Inca Katana SE
DAC: Beresford Caiman MkII (LiPo Battery powered)
Pre-Amp: Croft Micro 25 Power-Amp: Croft Series 7
Speakers: DIY Frugel-Horn Mk3 ('FH3') + REL Strata subwoofer
Headphones: Beyer Dynamics DT990 Pro (250 ohm)/Schiit Asgard Headphone Amp
Cables - Interconnects: Mark Grant G1000HD Speaker Cables: Van Damme Blue
Mains: Belkin PF30/Mark Grant DSP2.5 & DSP1.0 Rack: Target
Office System: HP Win8 Laptop/JRiver/MF V-Link2/Beresford Bushmaster MkII/Topping TP20 Mk2/Mission 771e
Bedroom System: Raspberry Pi/Raspbrian + MPD/HiFiBerry DAC/Topping TP20 Mk2/Mission 760i or DIY Hybrid Valve-MOSFET Headphone amp + Sennheiser HD595
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