Rega RB300 Troubleshooting
Well it looks like it's been a while since I posted on this thread :) I've made a lot of adjustments and upgrades to achieve a sound that I'm satisfied with. The treble problem has been fixed with a new belt. My turntable still had the original belt from the early eighties! Added the stellar Dynavector DV-10X5 cartridge and I can proudly say that the performance is better than my very solid Arcam 7se CDP!! As far as efficiency, absolutely no volume adjustment necessary when switching between the CDP and the TT thanks to the high output of the Dynavector cart. In my opinion, very important for a 15W tube amp. |
Well done! I am glad it has worked out for you. One thing I have learned about my RB300 is that it is a detail champ. It really can dig out the detail. (It also does very well with the bass.) Not sure what you mean by cymbals "washing out". Do you notice any unwanted resonance on some signals like strong female vocal (opera)? |
Well my RB300 upgrade is complete. I must say, the detail is outstanding!! Not sure if it's the cables or the TechnoWeight that makes the difference but I can hear clarity that I've never heard before. Might just put the old counterweight back on and audition the cables on their own. Probably not though since I'm comfortable with the setup. One small thing is missing though, the upper high-frequency energy seems to be washing out (ie. crashing cymbals). Could this be a sign that the cartridge is in need of retipping? If the edges of the stylus are worn out, it would make sense that they're not making contact with the top of the record groove. |
Well I got the spring-coil out of the knob. Thanks to TNT I found this pic. Unfortunately, the tonearm is out of balance (insert angry face here!!). The counterweight has to be pushed way back, with about a quarter of it hanging off the edge, to get the arm floating again. |
Pops -> there is a small hole but it only holds the screw temporarily. When dialing the plate back, the spring will eventually pop the screw loose. I'll probably have to get a VTF gauge. Onetwothreego -> What's the procedure to get the spring out? By the sounds of it, the VTF adjuster doesn't seem to be as critical as I thought. |
My tt came with a rewired RB300 arm and when I set it up I could not get the VTF adjuster to do anything. So I used a scale (which I think is better than using the adjuster). I got ahold of the seller and was told that the spring was removed to reduce vibration. That was six months ago and I just keep using the scale to set VTF no problem. |
Hitman, have you weighed the tonearm/cartridge with a VTF guage? I'm guessing it's at 3 grams or higher but its a start. You already know this but it sounds like its critical to get the mechanical VTF on the arm dialed back. Why won't the screw go back in? Is there some sort of threaded piece inside the VTF knob you could manually move with a tool? |
Are you talking about the spring inside the VTF knob? If you are trying to get it back to where it was with the proper gram calibration, you would most likely need to send it back to Rega. If it were me, I wouldn't care. I pulled that spring out years ago because it rattles. I just use the counter weight to set VTF and it works beautifully. How does the new wire sound? Was it worth it? |
