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New Tonearm for P9

B

Bianco

Member
Hi All,

Just got a P9 without a tonearm so need some advice.
I will only be using an Exact cartridge with it.
Should I just use the RB330 from my P3 - would that work?
Or go for a RB3000 or what?
I have had a P9 before with an Exact and it was very good.
 
I guess it depends on how much you want to spend. Any Rega arm is going to work and the better the arm the better it will sound. You can buy a new RB2000/3000 for around £1200, they rarely come up used unfortunately.

I have a modified RB300 I really should sell, I'm probably never going to use it. All of the paint is stripped off, including the yolk, and it's rewired. That would actually look pretty much exactly like the RB1000 that would have been on the deck originally.

Or you could modify an RB300 yourself?

The annoying thing is that you don't really know how big a difference there is between a modded RB300 and a new RB3000.

I'm using an Exact2 on my RP10 just now by the way and it's a very good match.
 
Mr Pig said:
I guess it depends on how much you want to spend. Any Rega arm is going to work and the better the arm the better it will sound. You can buy a new RB2000/3000 for around £1200, they rarely come up used unfortunately.

I have a modified RB300 I really should sell, I'm probably never going to use it. All of the paint is stripped off, including the yolk, and it's rewired. That would actually look pretty much exactly like the RB1000 that would have been on the deck originally.

Or you could modify an RB300 yourself?

The annoying thing is that you don't really know how big a difference there is between a modded RB300 and a new RB3000.

I'm using an Exact2 on my RP10 just now by the way and it's a very good match.
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Pretty much all of this!

That RB300 would look right and sound pretty good!

A left of field suggestion is a Roksan Nima, great arm, I absolutely love mine on my LP12... although I couldn’t vouch for how it’d sound on the P9. The geometry is right though.
 
I bought a NOS p9 with RB900 and ended up putting an RB1000 on it which was a nice improvement. That's as far as you really need to go but RB2000 or RB3000 won't be lost on that table.

Tried a Basis vector arm as well which is a unipiviot it was way too fiddly it did sound good but the RB1000 was perfect and back to the set it and forget it scenereo that I love about Rega. Definitely wasn't worth the pissing around.

Anything less really doesn't make sense from my perspective it's too good of a table to go down the ladder on the arm side of things...
 
DimitryZ said:
RB1000 is what this deck needs.
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It is indeed, but you have to find one first.

I had a P5 with a Mitchell Technoarm (RB250 with a wiring upgrade, VTA adjuster and a Technoweight), it was good but I longed for an RB700. They were fetching close to the full price of a used P5, so I bought a P5 complete with its original arm... which was notably better. I do think Rega decks tend to be best balanced with the arm that they came with (funny that :D).
 
Having had a number of Rega arms since about 1983 and the original, I would say the tolerances on the RB330 (and presumably thus on the 880 and 3000) are tighter than any before, so I'd be starting with a 330. But the 808 is very good too - I just wouldn't go back to the older 3- series on a P9.
 
Hi,I recently acquired a helius viridia / 808 on the bay . I see myself as a zeta, sme 4 and 5 , helius orion , linn ittok 2 and 3 type of chap as I have owned these arms on different decks over the years in addition to other less expensive arms. The 880 has pleasantly surprised me as it very much is in the broad overall quality of the aforementioned arms to my ears .
 
I might be reluctant to drill holes on a P9 top-plate for a modern arm. It's not reversible obviously and I don't know if it might devalue it. Can't see anyone complaining if it was sporting an RB2000/3000 though.
 
If it came with an RB1000, it’ll be drilled already. The RB900 used a lock nut, I have seen those pop up for sale from time to time but it’s anyone’s guess how long you’ll wait for one.

I do think it’s a real shame when people separate Rega arms from their decks, especially on the higher level models.
 
Mr Pig said:
I might be reluctant to drill holes on a P9 top-plate for a modern arm. It's not reversible obviously and I don't know if it might devalue it. Can't see anyone complaining if it was sporting an RB2000/3000 though.
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I think it should be as simple as removing the screws that come with the 880 arm (if it even comes with them) and using the older wood screws, which I assume Rega can supply. Newer style arm spacers can be used as they may fit the 880 base better?

Older spacers have smaller bolt holes - so they can be used with older arms, but older spacers can't be used with newer arms on newer decks.

Not a big deal if an 880 is foundable and 1000 is not. I like one on my P9.

Rega may recommend installation of the inserts into P9 that will make it compatible with new arm bolts.
 
Mr Pig said:
I know what you mean but I'm thinking about doing it myself. If I sell the RP10 the RB2000 might stay here.
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I had to think about it when I sold my P5 because I do love the RB700 arm... but it was a lovely package and deserved to stay together. And to be fair, I can buy whatever arm takes my fancy, within reason anyway.
 
Mr Pig said:
I know what you mean but I'm thinking about doing it myself. If I sell the RP10 the RB2000 might stay here.
Click to expand...

Interesting, I don't recall seeing any Planar 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 selling without arm.
Not that I have been looking particular for a deck without arm.

My last Rega purchase was a P7/RB700.
 
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