Why is the standard tonearm cable not good enough?

Just like anything else, there are pros and cons about things. Ideally the phono cable should have no connections from the headshell all the way to the phono preamp. However, this limits you to either the factory cable or one that is a continuous run aftermarket cable, of which there are few. The factory cable on a Graham is probably a good one, but the Robin is their lowest priced arm, so there will be some corner-cutting.

The dealer is covering his bases, because by recommending a cable upgrade, he can make some money, and he can tell you that "he tried to tell you" if you come back later looking for an upgraded cable.

That said, at the Robin's price point, you probably could benefit from a cable upgrade, but it would be wise to research it yourself first, instead of making a spur-of-the-moment decision.

This is a good question.

Personally, I like my Rega RB1000 tonearm because it has very high quality IC from the cartridge to the male RCA plugs with NO break in the cable. True it does not allow me to easily upgrade the cable (although it can be done, the whole arm has to be recabled though), however, I think Rega used high enough quality cable to get it right the first time.

KF

Tok20000 -

When you say no breaks, is there not a solder joint at the base plug, as my RB600 has? I thought that qualified as a break in the cable.

Only reason I ask is I am suffering from a short at the solder joint, and am recabling with Vandenhul silver while I'm repairing.

Tim