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Interspace and rega arm question -- help

Hey,

(Same query on VA): I get more and more confused, and less and less confident. I am just about to send off a check for Nottingham Interspace. I will need to get a tonearm for it, and cannot afford anything beyond a fairly stock RB250 or 300 -- that can be upgraded later if I want to. The seller, upon query, says that he's not sure what needs to be done to get a Rega arm on it, and that he thinks the original dealer put some sort of collar inside of the box (for Rega arms)", but that, as he's never opened the box, he isn't sure.

I have been searching archives and talking largely at cross purposes with dealers and distributers all day and more. Some things I read and hear suggest that I might need a whole arm board, plus collar, others that whatever collar I get might take forever to acquire and/or not fit well. Yet other things seem to suggest that this is a competely trivial matter -- as simple a mounting job as there is, with no armboard question involved, the Interspace already fitted out to receive a rega arm or easily made so by a standard and easily acquired collar.

I do not want to have to fuss much with this, as I am no DIYer, and am straining the heck out of my budget to get this table anyway. On the other hand, if it is trivial, then I figure, based on some of what I hear, and ignoring what I don't want to hear, that this deck at $850 will be a great bargain, bounds better than the Horizon, which i must say i already like.

So what is the definitive answer, and lacking that, exactly what do I need to find out to get a definitive answer? What's involved in getting a stock rega arm onto an Interspace?

Or should I just get less ambitious and go for a Horizon fitted w/RB250, maybe even under warranty?

Pleaase help, and thanks.

Richard
rnm4
rnm4 OP
308 posts
 
First,

Thanks muchly for the input. It *nearly* eases my mind.

I detect a direct conflict between the words of Ozzy and Ohlala. The former says the same collet/collar/whatchamajiggette works for interspace arms as for rega arms. The latter says that's not so. Will the real expert (answer) please stand up?

Thus there are two conflicting definitive answers of the sort Listener57 referred to. But I can't take his advice to turn play safe, as the MO for the Interspace is in the mail.

All of this aside, do I want a slightly used RB 600 or a new RB250 w/structural mod as my arm (for now)?

Thanks!

ozzy62's avatar
ozzy62
3,204 posts
 
I'm no expert, but here are the arms I used with a single collet.

Rega RB600
OL Silver
Bluenote Borromeo
Bluenote Borghese
Nottingham Spacearm

The Bluenote arms were a tight fit, but I could still manage it. All the rest were identical.

Oz
ohlala
1,236 posts
 
Teasing out the reality matters a lot less now, but I think deferring to Ozzy is sensible. I did not have both arms, but two collars. The one the dealer told me was the Interspace collar did not fit my Rega, so he sent me one that did fit. I read Ozzy's post thinking there was no incongruence with my experience because the larger, Rega collar could be tightened in the armboard to fit a smaller arm post. But what do I know? :)
rnm4 OP
308 posts
 
Thanks, folks.

Looks like maybe the interspace and spacearm collars/collets are different, and the latter, but not the former, fit rega. We'll see.

Richard
listener57
730 posts
 
Richard, If you go for the classic Rega RB-300 tone arm, be sure to put onto your tweak "wish list" the F-2 Titanium Heavyweight Counterweight, from Gregory Kerry.
Lots of mention by me, and others, in past discussion threads. It further elevates the quality of your vinyl listening, at the modest list price of $129.
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