Another “How to choose an arm” question

I found a second hand Schroder CB-9.
So I’ll make a new arm board to hold it.

@holmz Great News that you are to try out a Tonearm that has an attraction to you. I am sure you will start to notice differences immediately and the curiosity will be further ignited, you will not be alone in this, my daily mantra is 'What If', my talk on HiFi yesterday was with my friend who is almost completed a design for a Tonearm that could become a marketable product.

I was with the individual when the concept was discussed with another Tonearm designer, I have been demonstrated it as it has evolved and have made suggestions of which one has been adopted. 

Yesterday the discussion went to the methods that can be employed to allow it to show its full capabilities when set up, from Internal Wiring, Mounting and the entirety of the TT's Isolation, with the suggestions made and the shared ideas, it is a 'What If' moment, luckily there are proven methods known, and there are the required knowledge and materials on standby to allow the trials to be undertaken at short notice.

I have a 'What If' that might be worth considering for your own investigations and satisfying a curiosity.

A previous Post suggested the Rega RB 300 and this model or a derivative, could prove to be a very good experience if this is added to the 'What If' list.

I have already suggested that there is not a need to go to the expense of the SME V.

My suggestion for not going to the expense of the SME V was relating to the fact that a used purchase will most likely be the purchase method and that there are other used purchase Tonearms available that have proven to be very good competition to it and are not as near in the cost area, as they are in the matching the  performance.

The RB300 Arm was introduced approx' 3 Years before the SME V was released, the RB 300 has a one piece Cast Arm Tube / Headshell and a Ball Race/Pivot Bearing Assembly, with other built in set up tools that are quite unique at the time of the launch.

Over the years there have been modifications added to the RB300 that have taken it to new levels of performance and are have been quite affordable to adopt, I am sure a Tonearm can be found with much of the modification work done.

It is quite possible that the Rega Brand of TT's along with the RB300 was a tremendous success and the media was all over it with positive appraisals, terms such as, outstanding, exceptional. there has been nothing like it before, are commonly found to describe it, combine this support for the RB300 along side the support on offer from the HiFi Retail chains, to elaborate, my recollected experiences of this period when I read the media and visited HiFi retailers is that not many were offering anything else as a competition to Linn, it was a Hard Push toward CD, or then Linn or Rega, to discover a alternative of these two Brands, a HiFi Show was usually the  place to find the more obscure products and buy direct from the producers or their agent.   

As time has gone by the design of the RB300 has appeared in the Market Place supplied by other Brands with their Mod's on board and some of these Brands ended up producing their own Tonearms using the same infrastructure used for the RB300, in the earliest days Linn were quick to notice where the strengths of the RB300 were and utilised the Bearing used on the RB300 for a Tonearm that was costing approx' 3 x more to purchase.

SME were next in line to adopt the RB300 methods and produced the SME V, which did not materialise until three yeas after the launch of the RB300.

It is most likely that the SME V would not exist, with its Cast Arm Tube/Headshell and Ball Race/Pivot Bearing, if the RB300 was not produced and supplied the basis for a design. SME were thoroughly wed to their earlier designs and stood by them for almost 21 years following the release of the SME V, I don't see how they could have come up with the Cast Arm Tube as a concept, all their previous design intent  was for a Tube used as a wand. 

Origin Live and Audiomods, are other Brands that will not have materialised if not for the them being Brands that had carried out modification work on the RB300. At the least their popularity is mainly due to the RB300. 

This modification work, evolved into the Two Brands being competitors with their own Tonearm Ranges, and as the RB300 is not too forward from the shadows the Tonearms in the Limelight are derivatives of the RB300.

A selection of the Origin Live range, AudioMods and SME V / IV are the competitors in the market place with the direct lineage to the RB300.

I own a AudioMods Series Five and SME IV , both are quite similar in their presentation and the way they influence the sound. I no longer use these, I have opted for a design that has been much more attractive to myself when used.          

 As for the OP, I feel there is a very good learning and satisfying experience to be encountered if they can try a RB300 or a Derivative within their system.

@holmz , I have a program called Pure Vinyl. I can digitize and catalog vinyl. I already have an ADC. My phono stage has been digitized for 20 some odd years now as my preamp is digital. Pure Vinyl also has digital RIAA correction but you have to have a phono stage with a flat or uncorrected out put. I have one on the way and plan to try it. There are people who think it is superior to analog correction. Yes, you can record multiple versions of any situation and compare but it does take a lot of time and work. I do compare digital to analog versions of various recordings by synchronizing the record to the digital then just switch back and forth by remote. This is pretty easy to do and a lot of fun. It also takes little time. You do have to purchase multiple versions of the same recording but I suspect most of us do that anyway.

Great that you got a CB. All the adjustment grub screws have nylon inserts so they do not leave marks. You only need a light touch when you tighten them. Don't over do it!  Be very careful with the lead out wires. They are tougher than you think but still, having to rewire the entire arm would suck. The axis of the horizontal bearing has to be 222 mm from the spindle. A 1" hole will work perfectly. It really should be done on a drill press. If you have any issues feel free to message me.

@mijostyn thanks mate!

@pindac 

@holmz Great News that you are to try out a Tonearm that has an attraction to you. I am sure you will start to notice differences immediately and the curiosity will be further ignited, you will not be alone in this, my daily mantra is 'What If', my talk on HiFi yesterday was with my friend who is almost completed a design for a Tonearm that could become a marketable product

Is it Alexy?
I was going to buy his, but the CB popped up used day before yesterday.

I am based in the UK, and not aware of a forum member known as Alexy.

The Tonearm I am referring to is at present a prototype, that has had a quantity of critical parts requiring outsourced machining, as it has been cost effective to do so, instead of having one part only produced.

The designer and builder/assembler also has the skills to machine a selection of the parts, but those parts that have to be 'minute dimension accurate' are best left to the services that work with the producing the tightest of tolerances daily and know the best practices. 

The Geometry and Mechanical Interfaces are complete for the Tonearm.

It won't be long before the mechanical interfaces to be considered for the TT assembly of parts are to be addressed, and the Cart' alignment is given a extra TLC.

Then when all is ready and functioning as designed for, I will request that a second Tonearm is assembled with PC Triple C Internal Wire, as my most recent experience has shown that there is a special attribute for this wire when used as the signal path within a Tonearm. 

I am hankering for, and really looking forward to the time when a Company produces a Cart' with this wire used for the coil and Lead Out Pins, it might just prove to be a New Break through.