Budget tonearm?

[cubastreet]

Is there a good budget tonearm available new? I'm looking for the modern equivalent to the RB300.

I would have thought the availability of cnc machining these days would allow for a good arm at a good price, but haven't seen much around.

 

[SONDEKNZ]

@cubastreet

What's the budget? $$$

 

[al2002]

Yes, would be helpful if you told us your budget. Rega make good arms, nothing wrong with the current 300 series arm, go for it if fits your budget.

 

[cubastreet]

Ah, I'd searched for the rb300 and it seemed to be out of production, I didn't know about the 330.

That's maybe pushing my budget a little, how does the 220 compare?

 

[Fergus]

Better than budget but not that expensive.

[FS] - AO fettled Rega RB250 with extras

My friend sold me his Systemdek iix/900 to which he is now in the process of fitting my SME 3009 Series ll. This leaves him with this arm for sale. I’m sure you are all well aware that the standard item is a fine arm and difficult to beat at its price. This one as well as having been “touched”...

pinkfishmedia.net

 

[Mr Pig]

The modern Rega arms are better than their predecessors. They look cheaper made, and I'm sure they are, but they sound better.

Any cast Rega arm is a safe bet. The cheaper ones are where the action is as they come out of the box sounding better than anything else at the price. A 330 or older 303 is a great arm.

It's really boring but Rega have dominated the market for decades for a reason. Cheap, reliable, sound great and lifetime warranty. Hard to beat.

 

[Vinny]

Hadcock unipivot by a country mile.
Easily holds its own against arms costing well into 4 figures.
Buy s/h -there is or was one here on PFM for sale.

 

[Darren L]

I would agree with Vinny, it takes a much more expensive tonearm to beat the Hadcock unipivot where sound quality is concerned lME.
Having said that you are looking for a new 'budget' tonearm, there really only is one choice, Rega. They're excellent VFM.
The widespread availability of CNC machining has had exactly zero affect on budget tonearms available.

 

[Toaster]

That reminds me, one of the zillion audio things I have to do is try to get counterweights for two of my Hadcocks. Very nice arms, if you're OK with their inherent fiddliness!

 

[Mr Pig]

Unipivots are great if you like what they do. Liquid, natural midrange but iffy bass, soft treble and not the most punchy and dynamic things. If I only wanted to listen to female vocal then sure but I don't.

And an old Hadcock is a liability. Tricky to set up and good luck getting it to stay together until the end of the song!

If you do want a unipivot ProJect do a dirt cheap one that works. The thing about unipivots is that they are ridiculously simple things so even a cheap ones sound good. Quality is terrible, as ProJect always is, but sounds nice.

 

[paulfromcamden]

It's a shame Jelco called it a day.

 

[al2002]

If you do decide to get a Rega arm, get one of these damper systems. They are well worth it.

REGA PLANAR 1 , 2 , 3 , 6 ,8 DAMPING TROUGH KIT | eBay

S ilicone damping trough forRega Planar 1,2,3,6,8,78,Plus (not for RB250 arm). Kit includes Silicone fluid,allen key,screws. Very easy installation !

www.ebay.com

No vested interest, just a satisfied customer.

 

[Lurch]

The bottom end of the Origin Live range (Alliance & Onyx) are also very good performers in their price bracket. Additionally a used OL Silver can often be picked up for very sensible money.

 

[Darren L]

Unipivots are great if you like what they do. Liquid, natural midrange but iffy bass, soft treble and not the most punchy and dynamic things. If I only wanted to listen to female vocal then sure but I don't.

And an old Hadcock is a liability. Tricky to set up and good luck getting it to stay together until the end of the song!

Utter balderdash, you've obviously never owned a Hadcock on a decent TT.

 

[MotherSky]

That reminds me, one of the zillion audio things I have to do is try to get counterweights for two of my Hadcocks. Very nice arms, if you're OK with their inherent fiddliness!

HADCOCK GH228 tonearm XTC UPGRADE COUNTERWEIGHT 88gm - Fine stable adjustment | eBay

Easy to install. Counterweight for my Hadcock tonearm quickly arrived. Product neatly fabricated! Lateral balance, so that the arm body is. A new stainless steel stub screws onto the short GH228 stub.

www.ebay.co.uk

This chap's work is excellent - I built a Hadcock-ish arm using just the upper bearing assembly and headshell from an early scrap GH228 - I ended up buying one of these counterweights as it worked out far cheaper than making my own once I'd factored in the time.

This design also makes azimuth setting far easier

Mine now has the 242 geometry and a carbon fibre/aluminium arm tube with phosphor bronze collets - I also made a rather better pivot than the original, although I assume later iterations are superior

It certainly sounds far better than the Rega based arms I've had in the past, but it's definitely much trickier set up

 

[Mr Pig]

Utter balderdash, you've obviously never owned a Hadcock on a decent TT.

It's just a matter of taste. Some people love the Hadcock, Aro or whatever just as some people love valves and Quad electrostatics. Not for me. And yes, I have owned a Hadcock and I've heard other unipivots many times. Lovely sound, just not for me.

 

[notevenclose]

And an old Hadcock is a liability. Tricky to set up and good luck getting it to stay together until the end of the song!

Depends how old I think. George was a nice bloke, but his arms in the late 70s were pretty shoddily built. Pass the Sellotape...

I remember chucking one back because it came out of the box from new with visible rust. Later ones were supposedly better, although I'm struggling to imagine how they could have been much worse.

Lovely sounding thing with an Entre MC; but one of those products where I used to advise customers that if they liked the sound, then insist on getting the one you'd been listening to.

 

[Minio]

Michell technoarm on the bay.

Michell TecnoArm Tonearm - Silver | eBay

<p dir="ltr" style="margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0;">Michell TecnoArm. Owned from new. Rewired by The Audio Republic approx. six years ago. Comes with both counterweights, VTA adjust etc. and an older spacer and locknut if you have the older Rega armplate on your Gyrodec. See photos for...

www.ebay.co.uk

 

[cobbers]

And an old Hadcock is a liability. Tricky to set up and good luck getting it to stay together until the end of the song!

+100 - I had one in the mid 70's - utterly dire to keep trimmed - later ones probably better , sounded good enough.

 

[Darren L]

I wouldn't know about 70's Hadcock tonearms, I was born in 72, my experience is with the late 90's 242se version, revised geometry, stainless steel arm tube and chrome finish and Incognito (Cardas copper) internal wiring.
Zero issues with fit or finish and certainly didn't 'drift' over a extended period of playing time. Okay, they're fiddly to set up if your lacking in manual dexterity and you certainly wouldn't compare the build or finish to say a SME or Brinkmann tonearm.
They're certainly not rolled off at frequency extremes and whilst the 242 performed well on a variety of turntables it really came to life on a NA Hyperspace with a good quality suitable MM or MC.