Tonearm - Incognito VS Origin Live

I had the same Horizon/Clearaudio Aurum Beta S combination. I found upgrading the counterweight to the Expressimo was worthwhile. Switching to incognito was more of a mixed bag- it brought out a bit more detail, but was a lot edgier, analytical, and had more emphasis on surface noise. The incognito-wired arm was fine with other cartridges so I don't think it was entirely break-in. The stock Rega wire is smoother and more laid back- seemed to be a good match with the Clearaudio in my system.

Also note the the Michell counterweights do not work well with cartridges as heavy as the Clearaudio- I was not able to extend the heavier weight far enough for the Clearaudio to track at 2.1 G- not a problem with the expressimo.

I have a Tecnodec, RB 250 with Michell Tecnoweight, and Clearaudio Aurum Beta S wood-body cartridge. I have often wondered what to do re: rewire. I was leaning toward the Incognito rewire, but I just read the above statements, and they gave me pause. I would like to know if anyone can verify Nzera's comments re: "mixed bag"?

The mods to the weight of the Rega arms involved some serious torque- the Michell doesn't seem to replicate this.
Is this Michell weight (it came with my arm) really better or even on par with some of the other weights?

Who makes THE rewire option?

Should I buy some silver wire and some rcas and just roll my own?

I am amazed that noone (can't find a really scientific comparison anywhere) has compared "X" iteration of the Rega arm with DIscovery, Incognoto, Origin live rewires...

If only I had a little more $$, and a lot more time...

ANyone know of a good silver kit?

thanks in advance for any knowledge.

I really hate to have to keep bringing up this subject, because it smacks of self-promotion, but have any of you read the "Strange Tonearm Tweak" thread on this analog forum?

It works great on standard RB250 arms, and makes a hell of an improvement in sound for about $1 in cost. I promise that I am not going to try to sell you anything. All the instructions and theory is on the thread. You can make it yourself in a few minutes for under a dollar. The improvement is astonishing, and is verfied by many users on the Strange Tonearm Tweak thread. It has been in use by me and others for over 2 years now, with excellent results and no down-side, as long as you use cartridges of 15cu compliance or lower. This is no joke, it is a great mod for pennies, and may result in more improvement to your sound than spending $500 or more on a tonearm upgrade. If you really want to get it right, then get the OL tonearm upgrade AND do the Strange Tonearm Tweak(HiFi mod).

Twl, I'm familiar with your tweak, but for some reason, I just haven't gotten around to it. I will give it a try, however, as it appears to result in no damage to the arm, and to be 100% reversible if need be present.

G, by all means, try it soon. While reversible, I doubt you'll want to do so.