new tonearm options

[penance]

Im thinking of buying a second hand tonearm to replace an Akito, this will be an upgrade i want to carry on to my next deck.

Im a bit uneducated in this area tho and would like some advice

Ive been thinking of maybe an SME3009|| or an RB300

id like other options aswell but dont really know what to look for

 

[mick parry]

RB300

Pennance

I have owned both arms and the RB300 absolutely murders the SMe 3009.

The 3009 is only good for MM cartridges whereas the RB 300 will take either MM or MC.

You can also get the RB300 upgraded by Ingocnito or Origin Live and this is also a major step upwards.

Regards

Mick

 

[penance]

i think i saw a second hand RB300 for 75 quid
seems a fair price to me

 

[sideshowbob]

RB300's a good arm, and for the price pretty hard to beat. Also has some upgrade options (Origin Live rewiring, etc). Some people prefer the even cheaper RB250, which it's claimed can be modified even more successfully.

Have a look at http://www.originlive.com/

There's also the new Michell Tecnoarm, itself a heavily-modified 250. A fair bit more expensive than the stock arm (about £350 I think), but people who've tried it think it's great, including Les at Walrus who knows what he's talking about when it comes to arms.

-- Ian

 

[zanash]

I'd be wary of cheap arm's....Its one ofthe only areas where a knackered peice of kit can escape casual observation. Then again for the price the risk is possibly worth it.

They and I'm not certain who "they" are but they say the new rega arm is better than very good.

Another to look at is the Nottm Horizon[?]

 

[penance]

nottingham is probably out my budget for this project

but the RB300 is tempting me, especially with the upgrade potential

 

[quickie]

What turntable are you using or thinking of upgrading to?
I would say the RB300 is slightly better than the Akito,but more of a sideways move really.
It will handle a decent moving coil cartridge though,where as the Akito won't.
The Rega responds well to better internal wiring,but am I the only person that thinks the Origin structural mods make no difference at all to the sound?
I would look at something like a used Ittok,mission 774sm,zeta,alphason hr100s for a decent upgrade.

Paul.

 

[penance]

what kind of prices am i looking at for those?

 

[quickie]

I picked up the Mission 774 a while back for £75 but expect to pay anywhere between £175-400 for the others.

Paul.

 

[penance]

thanks
Ill look out for them, tho im still tempted with a cheap RB and then gettin origin mods
shame you cant really audition tonearms eh