CLEARAUDIO - UNIFY 9'' better than OL1 rb250?

I made the exact same switch onto my Clearaudio Solution turntable and it made a fairly notable difference. There were certain qualities of the RB250 that I missed, but the Unify was a clearly superior tonearm and an upgrade that had more significant results than most. I also got a pretty good deal on it and felt it was worthwhile. I've noticed that the Unify tonearm consistently gets positive feedback and recommendations, even from some folks that aren't particular fans of Clearaudio turntables. I expect the TT/cartridge arm interface would be relevant as well and this is something to consider.

The Hadcock 228 has about 9 grams of effective mass and is probably compatible with more cartridges than the Clearaudio. Also, the Hadcock will mount in the Rega hole without any extra drilling or alterations.

Judy426, I do not believe the Hadcock 228 is a drop in replacement for the rega.

I own a hadcock 228 and it was not a drop in replacement for a modded rb250 I replaced on Michell Gyro SE. (On the Michell, I had to reorient armboard so the cutout was closer to the spindle.) The pivot to spindle distances are different for the rega (222 mm) vs the Hadcock 228 (212.8 mm). Even though you can move the hadcock closer to the spindle in a rega cutout because the hadcock base is smaller, the pivot will be too far away from the spindle, by at least 5 mm by my reckoning. For that reason, even though the hadcock 228 can physically fit into the rega cutout, the 228 is not a drop in replacement for the rega, IMO.

Check out the spreadsheet at www.enjoytthemusic.com, and you can see that the 228 can not be aligned using baerwald, when mounted at 217 mm pivot to stylus distance, using 23 degree offset, 228.6 mm effective length and resultant 10.8 mm overhang.

Actually, the 242 is closer to a drop in replacement candidate, with a spindle to pivot distance of 226 mm. If you can offset the base of the 242 in the rega cutout by 4 mm, the 242 is a perfect drop in replacement for the rb300.

I am using the hadcock with an ortofon 540 mkII, and the 540 sounds much better on the hadcock than on the rega. I own the newer 228 model with the stainless steel arm wand. Unfortunately I haven't had enough other cartridges on the Hadcock to make a fair comparison.

One negative about the Unify that may have been addressed in later models is the lack of damped cuing. This would preclude usage in my system. Damped cuing is essential, IMO, to minimize wear on a cartridge's suspension.

Thank you guys for the response.

The damped tonearm and damped cue is the first question I had. Sure enough they answered with a positive yes. This is the newest version being sold at this discounted price. I hope this price holds untill the middle of novemeber when I have money! :)

I was curious how much better this arm sounded compared to a modded OL1 RB250. Im sure from what I've read that this arm should blow it away.
Now I need to figure out what cartridge choices I have with this arm. Temporarily I will be using a Goldring Erioca MC cart. I will be looking for something under $600