SME V tonearm versus Rega tonearms on Michell Orbe

I use an OL RB250 on a Gyro II SE with a Benz Ruby 2 cartridge and the sound is the best I have heard (compared to any other TT system I have used). There is an unmistakable synergy going on with this combo that is captivating. It easily outperforms my former VPI Aries with JMW 10 arm, flywheel, PLC, and ClearAudio Gamma cartridge. I would expect properly set up Regas to work great on the Orbe as well, but I can't say that it would beat an SME V. It is doubtful, but I haven't made the comparison and you never really know how well a certain combination will perform until you try it and hear it in your own familiar system. My Michell/Rega/Benz sounds scary-good -- of that I am confident. Good Luck! :)

Koetsu cartridges work phenomenally well with the SME 5 tonearm, but I have only tried the combo on two SOTA turntables and then on an SME 20 table, which I am presently using. There certainly was no extra bass on any of those, but I don't know the table you have in mind. I can't imagine using a Koetsu cartridge with a Rega arm--a no-compromise cartridge with a good bang for the buck arm sounds like a waste of cartrige dollars.

Believe it or not that's it's OK to compare these arms. I believe that analogue setup starts from CARTRIDGE first and ends with phono.
The downsides of Rega arms are tonarm and phono wires, somewhat suspension and counterweight. By modifying cheep Rega arms with Origin Live or Incognito, you will rich an increadible level of performance that is THE match to SME arms(just much less $$).
After Ingognito mods in my RB300 I've realized that I had to do it along with buying my GyroDec.

I think the limiting factor on the OL Rega arms has more to do with the relatively inconvenient, time consuming methods of setting the VTA, rather than the actual performance difference between it and the high-priced arms. If you get an OL RB 250 dialed in correctly to the cartridge I think it comes surprisingly close to the performance of high-priced arms (perhaps too close for the comfort of some expensive-arm owners). Hey, if I plunked down 2G's or more for a great arm, I wouldn't want to believe that a $500 arm could sound nearly as good either... :) But if and when I do move to a more expensive arm, it will be mainly because I want a faster way to set VTA.

You might want to explore the SME iV.vi if you are using an MC cartridge. The iV.vi was made to work with MC's and is suggested by Sumiko. If you get the VTA option and the breakout box, it is essentially the same price as the SME V. I frequently listen on an Orbe with the iV.vi and they are a very nice compliment to each other. Stepping down to the Rega makes little sense for the caliber of table and cartridge you are talking about.