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RS A1 Labs rewire

I once read a thread here whereby someone had done a rewire on their
RS A1 Labs stock tone arm resulting in an improved sound. I have had this arm
for several years and replaced the stock wire with same from the factory. I have tried but have never found a wire light enough to replace it with for an upgrade
in sound . I also understand that they went from cartridge leads straight to
the pre amp inputs. I would appreciate it if anyone can shed some light on this.

Thanks
guygus
dickson
30 posts
 
Why don't you use Acrotec 99.99997% (6N) purity stress free copper wire from Nippon Mining, Japan. It is 46 gauge copper wire with polyester varnish insulation. Available from www.percyaudio.com under the category 'Chassis wire'.

This should be flexible enough. I have the same arm and have planned to get around to rewiring...however too many projects at present prevent me from doing so. Hope this helps. Let me know how it sounds if you use the Acrotec.
guygus OP
22 posts
 
Thanks for all the input guys.
A few years ago I replaced the leads with the factory stock but I did some surgery to the arm as well. The gentleman at Sakura Systems suggested that
I may want to discard the junction box behind the cartridge leads and simply go direct from cartridge to RCA at the base. This resulted in an improvement in sound because of one less connection in the signal path. The only downside is
that I had to increase the tracking force. Also, I don't have as much leeway weight-wise as before. This is because the arm is effectively lighter now that the junction box has been removed. If I were to buy a new RS A1 arm I would do it again because of the gain in transparancy.
Now I am thinking that if I were to remove the RCA junction at the base, and
proceed with one long lead directly to the pre, I would gain some more transparancy.
Dickson that Acrotec wire sounds interesting, it seems thin enough.

Thanks again guys, and I do recommend the removal of the junction box behind the cartridge leads.

Cheers,
maxson
84 posts
 
Hi Tessera--Did you end up doing this rewire? What wire did you use?
lewm
13,569 posts
 
I've used the A-M systems teflon-coated silver wire in 0.5mm diameter. It's a bear to work with, unless you have excellent vision, but the results are superb. I think the Acrotec would be great, too, but I fear I would not be able to see it well enough to solder it. One slight drawback to the very thin silver wire is that it tends to melt at or near to the same temperature that melts silver solder. You've got to make your solder joints quickly.
dopogue
1,773 posts
 
Almost totally OT, but if anyone is having trouble placing the arm in the groove and picking it up at the end, I found a gum massager (seriously) at the local CVS that really helped. Has an angled head and rubber tip. Just FYI. I borrowed this arm for a month and loved its sound but ultimately found it too much to cope with, ergonomically. The gum massager helped, though :-)
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