Hi all hope all is well
I have 3 tonearms in which I want to know what is the maximum upgraded cartridge’s I could use in all of them
What are the limitations or recommendations for all tonearms in mm and mc
Kind regards
Anthony
Of the three, the most capable is the RB300. In the right deck the RB300 can be used effectively even with some very high end MCs.
The Rega R200 was a nice tonearm (although there are some tricky issues with it these days such as the bias belt) and while you could probably use one with an MC, your best bet is to match with a nice MM. Same for the Linn Basik Plus. Stick with a MM.
I agree with Richard the RB300 punches way above its price point and can take a wide range of cartridges. High end MC will sound OKish but unlikely to get the best from them but a Hana EL/EH will sound very good or indeed an SL/SH but it has to be said the latest Rega MMs such as ND5/7 would be very nice.
I am not such a fan of the RB200 or Linn Basik but I think a Rega ND3 is enough.
My RB300 coped well with a DV17D2. Running it through a Michell iso, it had a certain greyness that became apparent as I upgraded elsewhere. A Superline didn’t cure it of that and the next step was an Aro, since when it’s sat in a cupboard.
It’s really going to depend on the deck and phono stage to some degree. Cartridges don’t exist in isolation with just the arm.
FWIW, the Pearl is one of the most enjoyable MM carts I’ve heard so you might have to go a lot higher. I found the Pearl to be quite a bit better than the more expensive Rainier and nearly as good at the far more expensive Moonstone.
So upgrade the cart by all means but I think you’ll need a big jump to get a satisfactory upgrade. You can spend a bit more or twice as much and get something more refined but less musical.
My RB300 is a very different product from the one I purchased; a Mitchell Tecnoweight was the first mind blowing upgrade, an Audio Origami rewire and new bearings happened next, and then the real deal breaker was a funk firm Houdini. The cartridge is a Dynavector 10x5 high output moving coil.
There’s no simple answer to your question, a better cartridge is likely to sound better on any of your tonearms, there is no practical limit. What I would advise is to resist the conventional wisdom that high end MC cartridges are inherently superior, it can lead you to the worst financial mistake of your HiFi journey.
MCs tend to put more energy into the arm, Korf Audio have a blog on their website where they use accelerometers stuck to the arm that show the excitation of a few commercial arms, including the Rega, by various cartridges. There’s a lot about the development of their own arm too of course so it takes some finding.
Would be good to know the deck.
Hi I have several decks. Not all in use .. 11x 900 .. rega planar 2 .. Thorens td 160b and linn Axis are in play
Thorens td 150 mk1
Thorens td 160 b
Systemdek 11x900
Systemdek 11x
Rega planar 2 1990
Rega planar 3 1990
Linn axis
Basically your wallet.