I currently own a Fidelity Research FR64FX arm, silver wired version ( so it says on the box ).

Whilst I can't prove that the arm is indeed silver wired ( they usually have a sticker on the arm tube, this one doesn't but it might have come off at some time prior to new owning it ).

I've always had the niggling doubt that the edge/glare on the highs that irritates me was caused by the silver wiring, why go I think this, well anything I've tried that's silver wired has given me the same annoyance.

So ..... Yesterday, I put my Mission 774 arm back on, bit of a faff as the metal sme armboard wasn't the right fit for the Mission baseplate so it's on but it's a bit Heath Robinson with odd screws etc, but it's firm and it works, the result? All that irritating edginess has gone, however it's not ' quite ' as good as the FR arm but it's close, I suppose you could say the positives do out weigh the negatives, ie: I'm not rushing over to the amp to turn it down before my ears bleed! But I do know I want better. I've lost a tiny bit in the bass and mid-range with the 774, more in tone than impact if you know what I mean but I can live with better than I can the ear bleeds, so a new arm isn't out of the question, especially as I know the FR is sought after.

Now to my dilemma.

1: Do I rewire the FR arm ?

2: Do I try just changing the RCA cabling from the arm base to the phono stage?

3: Internal rewire AND new RCA cable

4: Sell the FR as is ( keeps it's original ) and buy as good an arm with no silver in it?

I'm tempted initially to try 2 as it's easiest option even though I know putting the FR arm back in is a bit of a hassle. But will this help as the arm itself will still be silver wired, I mean is there any silver in the original RCA cable?

Please note that this issue is the same on the FR arm no matter which of my three cartridges ( MM and MC ) or settings I use on each of the phono stages I've owned since buying the FR arm so I'm pretty convinced that's the cause.

Your thoughts?