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REVIEWS & TECHNOLOGY
Sonic Art SA330 Tonearm STAGE 2
The Sonic Art tonearm is back! Decades ago
we started producing a modified RB250/300 tonearm for lovers of vinyl- in this
case the SA300. From the beautiful cast alloy tapered arm tube and simplistic
design came the basis of what was a great sounding arm
at a budget price. The old RB300 featured a built in VTA adjuster by way of
coil spring in one side of the arm tube bearing assembly, many believed this
caused resonance and it was recommended to set it to zero, (some users even
removed the spring) and set the VTA by conventional means of a force gauge.
While I wouldn’t go so far as to remove the spring, you can set it to zero
force and then dampen the coil pack with some carefully placed felt strips
which is then fully reversible!
The current model OEM arm uses a 3 point
mounting system but retains the basic steel end stub and painted steel weight.
The rear of a Rega arm is extremely important as the
counterweight represents the highest mass of the arm which affects the arms
performance significantly. As your cartridge tracks its way through the grooves
of your record it sends micro vibration up the tonearm tube, some of this
vibration sinks into the base of the arm but much of it travels into the end
stub/counterweight assembly where it is reflected back down the arm tube, not
the most ideal situation for extracting fine detail.
So the first task is to remove the steel
end stub and add an end stub to the arm that is like an extension of the arm
tube itself, incredibly rigid yet at the same time decoupled. We have done this using
high grade non ferrous metals. Our end stub is not screwed into the arm tube
like the factory & most aftermarket stubs, our end stub butts up against
the back of the arm tube much like the old OL stubs did, with minimal surface
area interaction (decoupling it) and is torqued into
place with a thin stainless bolt that screws into a brass insert in the back of
the arm tube. We end up with an essentially rigid arm tube, yet decoupled where
the counterweight mounts. We then add a solid machined brass counterweight,
close tolerances and rigidly clamped to the stub via a set screw, the sonic
characteristics of the brass sink the unwanted vibrations from the arm tube. We
use premium materials for all components, Australian brass and alloys.
PHOTO
SHOWS SA330 WITH OPTIONAL VTA MOUNT FOR 23-25mm HOLES
Wiring:
The Stage 2 arm gets internally rewired with Cardas litz
wire and Cardas gold plated cartridge clips. The external cable is the new low
capacitance Rega cable that comes standard with the
arm, terminated with Neutrik plugs.
The result is a significant step up from
the stock arm, every aspect of performance benefits, and all at a very
affordable price. With the 3 point
mounting system the arm is easy to fit to most tables. We are looking to manufacture our
own VTA spacers to suit the 3 point mount. We are also manufacturing a machined
alloy mount that will convert any 3 point mounting arm to a 23mm threaded tube
mount like the old RB250/300 used to be. This will be available soon, it will have the standard 23mm diameter thread and a
threaded VTA ring for adjusting arm height.
NOTE:
While arms are usually in stock, we may not have one finished, please allow 3-5
days for your arm to be completed and shipped if this is the case.