RB-300:help ;I think I'm wacked

Okay, here we go. You have to get the Origin Live or Expressimo Audio structural mod. It replaces the rear stub, with a better one that is coupled differently. This is the biggest single thing you can do to your arm. Then get the HeavyWeight counterweight from Expressimo. This is not just a heavier one, it has an offset hole, so it drops the weight below the arm tube. Major improvement. The finger lift is microphonic, so you can either grind it off, or damp it well. Set the tracking force to 3 grams, which will defeat the spring, and set the VTF with a scale. It sounds like you may already have done this. You should also get the OL or Expressimo VTA adjuster, so you can really dial-in your VTA. A little self-stick felt on the headshell can help with vibrations before they get to the arm tube. I like the felt better than rubbery compounds like Blu-Tak. The rubbery stuff just catches and releases the vibrations, and the felt quiets them. I have found that 2 rubber O-rings on the Counterweight helped, though. You've already done the re-wiring. Also, play with the tightness of the arm nut that holds it to the plinth. It should not be too tight or too loose, there will be a tightness level that sounds best. Find it by experimentation.

All in all, the RB 300 is a very good arm that can be brought to "giant killer" level with these few mods. The RB250 can go a little higher than the 300, but the 300 will be very close.

If you like the modded RB300, you should hear the OL Silver Tonearm. It will knock you over. You can do better with the OL arms, than any of the up-market Rega arms. For modding, the 250 is best, and the 300 second best. The 600,900,and 1000 are too expensive and don't mod any better than the 300.

If you do all of these mods, your arm will sound about twice as good as it does now. I know that sounds amazing, but it will.

The reason that you don't need to do the mods on the RB 600,900,1000 is that you can get the OL Silver Tonearm for $750, that will be a way better arm than any of the Regas, before or after modification. Why buy an arm that costs more and won't do as well? The OL arms use Rega bases, and fit right into the Rega arm hole. The 250 and 300 are cheap enough to be good candidates for mods, and not cost too much after you're done. Anything over $750 is a wrong move. If you plan to spend that much, buy the OL Silver Tonearm. It has the better bearings, a widened bearing yoke distance, and a totally different armtube/headshell. This is better than any modded Rega.

You have to be careful when doing mods, that you don't spend more than the amount where you can do better by buying something else.

No, I haven't listened to the new 1000 yet. I expect it would be a very good arm. From what I can see of it on the website, it appears to continue the Rega practice of refinements on the RB300 theme. It still has the spring VTF adjuster. All of these arms, including the OL arms still need the Expressimo Heavyweight. I was shocked at the improvement I got on my OL Silver with the Heavyweight. IMO, this mod is not optional. It should be standard on all these arms.

I prefer the OL method of coupling the end stub to the arm. This coupling method actually causes a tuned de-coupling of the vibrations which may excite the end stub and counterweight. By doing this, the overall amplitude of the vibrations is lessened because the high mass items are de-coupled from the tube/bearing. It also allows the rigid coupling of the counterweight to the stub, so they act as a single mass, instead of letting the heavy counterweight vibrate on the rubber ring/plastic stub. This changes the basic design of the Rega arm, which uses direct coupling of the stub, and de-coupling of the counterweight via the rubber ring. Any time that something as heavy as the counterweight is allowed to get moving, it is going to transfer large amounts of that movement to the surrounding parts. This is why the rigid attachment, tuned de-coupling, and coupled counterweight/end stub is a good combination. As has been said before, "Rega made one of the best arms in the world, when they made the 250. They just didn't finish it."
The torque of the stub is importand to the tuning of the coupling. It changes the resonance characteristic of the coupling. The same is true with the tightness of the main nut that holds the arm base to the plinth. Too tight sounds dead, too loose allows information loss, and unstable mounting. There is a very musical "moderate tightness" that this nut has to be tightened to, by ear. It never needs to be more than "finger tight". No wrench is needed.
I have tried all kinds of counterweights and attaching methods at all different stages of mods. The rubber ring method is crap at any stage. However, interestingly enough, a pair of rubber o-rings around the circumference of the counterweight works well at any stage of mod for a 300. You can try this out with a rubber band wrapped around the counterweight, as an experiment. This will work, but the o-rings are just as good and look a hell of alot more acceptable. And they are only about 75 cents each. The OL end stub with the Expressimo Heavyweight counterweight is the best combo, at any stage, and will give you the most increase of any mod you can do to that arm. If you are laughing out loud now, just wait till you do this combo to your arm. You will be laughing hysterically, that you thought you were doing great before. The total will be under $200, and is worth every penny of it. Since you already have re-wired the arm, this end stub and Heavyweight is all you need to take that arm as high as it can go. A little damping here and there, depending on the cartridge used, and you have an arm that really never needs to be traded-in, unless you are "going for broke" and want to spend big bucks. And you would need a really great table to reap the benefits of any more arm than a fully modified Rega. I can't remember what table you have, but if it is not a $5k plus TT(or equivalent performance, like a Teres) then you have no need for any more tonearm than you've got. Unless you want to get a 250 to do the mods to instead. If it were me, and I already had a re-wired 300, I would just mod it up and be done with it.

We don't really have to do that Joe. Origin Live has already done that for us. The Silver Tonearm and the Rega mods are great for all of us that want great products at a reasonable cost.

Okay, Twylie, I've been down this road, and helped alot of others down it too.

First, your RB900 is a very good arm, I wouldn't knock it.

Second, the modded RB250 will outperform it at half the price.

Third, the OL Silver tonearm will knock them both in the dirt.

Okay, now we know the rankings, so what do we do?

If you want a OL modded RB250, which is called the OL-1, you should buy it already done. It will cost the same if you do it yourself, and you can be sure it's done right if you buy it from OL. The end stub has a special torque setting, and must be done right. Also, it is possible to injure the bearings if you don't know how to do it. Just get the OL-1 arm already done if that arm is what you want.

No sense in having your RB900 modded because you can get the OL-1 for half your arm's cost, and the OL-1 will outperform a fully modded RB900, due to the presence of the spring loaded VTF adjuster on the 900, that is not present on the RB250. That's the difference.

Buying the OL Silver tonearm is the best thing you could do, because it outperforms nearly anything, and costs a little less than your RB900 does. It is a little more money than the other options, though.

That being said, there are some things that will improve the sound of any of these arms, regardless of their state of modification or price. These are the Expressimo Audio HeavyWeight counterweight, and VTA adjuster. The OL Silver already has a VTA adjuster included. The Heavyweight is about $90, and is worth every penny, for all of these arms, including the OL Silver. VTA adjustment is mandatory, so you have to get one of those.

Now I will shamelessly plug my own product. On the A'gon classified, under Analog, you will see an ad for the HiFi Rega tonearm upgrade. You can read all about it on there.And see the photos of it on my OL Silver tonearm w/Heavyweight. I invented it right here on the Audiogon forum, and had Audiogon members do the testing. All were ecstatic about the improvement levels, and there were no negative comments at all. It will put any of these tonearms into the top league, sonically. This thing works, and it works well. It may look simple and inexpensive, but it will do more to elevate the performance of your arm, than any other single mod you can make. It is worth every penny of the cost, for the performance increases, even if it is only a set of simple weights. After all, the Heavyweight is $90, and it is only a simple weight also.

If you get an OL Silver, a Heavyweight, and the HiFi mod, you will have an arm that is in the State-of-the-Art category for under $1k. That is what I did, and is what I own, and I can categorically state that this is the best tonearm I have ever heard, bar none.

Also, get rid of the Sonata, and get a Shelter 501. If that is too much money, get a Denon DL103R from Martin on the Audiogon classifieds for $230. I use this cartridge myself, and it is a mind-blower on the modded OL Silver. It has .27mv output, so you need to have about 60-65db of gain in your MC phono stage(or a step-up transformer). You can probably sell your used Sonata for more than the DL103R will cost new. The DL103R will stomp the Sonata into the dirt. And it won't have susceptibility to hum like the Grados do. It will work on all the arms we discussed here.

This is the ticket for the "best bang for the buck" arm/cart setup in all of audio. If you work it right, and sell your other arm/cart, you can probably get into this setup for less than $250, out of pocket.