Tonearm/Cartridge Upgrade

graham has 2 "new" arms you should try, depending on your budget. the first is the 2.2, an upgraded 2.0. the second is the robin, whch should retail for around $800. not sure when either will be shipping. aj conti of basis also has a new arm with a silicon "bath," sorta like the kuzma. again, not sure when it will ship. if you're interested in any of these, contact misicalsurroundings.com. no, i am not afilliated with musical surroudings, tho i do know its principal, garth leerer. i did listen to all of these products, save the robin, at ces and was mighty impressed.

i haven't a-b'd this w/the higher-priced stuff, but i believe that the origin-live modified rega rb-250 is a great arm, especially for the money. o-l modifies *all* the rega arms, but they say the lowly 250 turns out at the top of the heap - even better than their modded rb900 - due to its differing bearing-mount scheme. as the stock rb900 is highly rated, how can ya go wrong? i got mine, fully tricked-out, w/an o-l vta mounting base from stoneaudio-uk, for ~$400, delivered to maryland. no bragging rights about yer super-spendy tonearm, tho... ;~)

Had an Eminent Technology model 2 air bearing arm back in the day with silicon damping. Magic with the VPI! Try Larry at Hollywood Sound (hwdsound)he's THE analog guy.

Thanks for the responses. I am in the Chicago area and a local dealer recommended a Dynavector arm have any of you had any experience/knowledge of this arm? I've never heard of it. Sedond, how can I get info on the O-L arms? Cornfed, do you know if Graham plans to upgrade the 2.0 to 2.2? Agaain, Thanks, Doug

I would second Sedond's endorsement of the O.L. modded RB-250. The site is www.originlive.com for info on all O.L. products. I believe the site that he did business with is www.stoneaudio.co.uk. I'd recommend pairing the arm with a Denon DL-103 with an elliptical stylus (if you can find one) or a DL-304 (if your phono stage can handle a very low-output coil (0.18mV). Best of Luck! -John