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Worth the $$ to upgrade my tonearm?

The equipment I have now is:
McIntosh. MC275 amp
McIntosh C2200 Pre Amp
McIntosh MVP 891 DVD Player

Sansui TU-X1 Am/Fm tuner

AudioQuest Niagara 5000

Transparent Cables

JA Mitchell turntable with an Ortofon 2M Cartidge
Rega entry level arm ( not sure which one or its number, RB220 maybe? Rewired with Cardas wires) Arm was taken from a Rega table that was scraped.

Joesph Audio Pulsar speakers
REI small subwoofer

All on a Billy Bags. stand.
Room size is: 16' long X14' wide ( our small apartment living room)

The above equipment came one at a time over the years, usually when something went wrong and I had enough money to replace it. Sunday has become vinyl , record day, with any music you can think of ( except rap).

If I replace my tonearm with a $1500 to $2000 Rega tone arm (RB2000?) will there be an auditable notice in the positive? Or should I forget it and buy more records with the money?
THANKS for reading this and your help! Paul


paul77e

Showing 2 responses by chakster

chakster's avatar
chakster
6,144 posts
 
Regarding the quality you can easily upgrade your cartridge to another MM like Stanton CS-100 WOS, Audio-Technica AT-ML170, Grace LEVEL II ...  and the difference can be huge on your Rega arm!

But within $2k you can always buy absolutely fantastic vintage tonearms such as Technics EPA-100, Fidelity-Research FR-64fx, on the cheaper side something like Lustre GST-801 ... It is impossible that any of these arms can be beaten by Jelco, Origin Live, Rega and many modern tonearms.

If you want something special among the new ones look for a short Reed 3P

P.S. I think the weak point is your cartridge, probably it is more important to change it first. 
chakster's avatar
chakster
6,144 posts
 
I changed from a Rega 300 to a Victor UA-7045 a few years ago & it was a nice upgrade. I have since changed arms a couple times. They do make a difference. You can still find the Victor's relatively cheap.

indeed, one of the best tonearms for the money today, so much cheaper than many inferior and more expensive new tonearms, the Victor UA-7045 is fantastic if you can find a perfect sample under $1k, i managed to find NOS in the box which is more expensive, but i like NOS. The used samples are normally under $750. Now using long version of this arm UA-7082 and love it! Just make sure the counterweight is not sag down in this position. 



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