Hot Wired Rega by Frank Meeussen with AudioPhil Introduction The RB 300 has always been considered an outstanding tonearm for audiophiles on a budget. While it is standard equipment on the Rega Planar 3 turntable, many other manufacturers have also chosen the RB 300 arm for their budget turntables (Townshead currently uses the RB 300 on the Rock table with a custom attachment that fastens to the head for damping using silicon. VPI also used it on the HW19 Junior with a custom base which allows for precise VTA adjustment; sadly they no longer manufacture this - I for one would love to get the mechanical drawings to pass on to my brother-in-law who is a machinist). While the RB 300 is undoubtedly a popular arm, one bone of contention with many users is the tonearm wire. You can snap it with a sharp tug, the cartridge clips offer poor contact, and in my case, it seemed I was picking up all sorts of noise and interference through the lead wire (at one point I swear I heard a faint radio signal!). Rega makes three arms: the RB 250, 300 and 900. I'm not sure of this fact, but a friend informed me that through visual inspection the RB 900 arm has the same shitty wire. Anyhow, the steps taken on the arm here could likely be carried out on the RB 250 and 900 as well. Just to point out the obvious, doing these upgrades would void any manufacturer warranties. Also, do a clean job and when the time comes to upgrade, or if cash is tight, the rewired arm will be a nice selling feature. AudioPhil got me started on this project (hey, someone had to take the pictures). This is his fifth time doing it and he has also instructed and advised many others. Blindfold please. In the majority of audio systems, the most dramatic difference in sound is made when the source is changed; swapping CD players or even source material (a good recording can have a dramatic influence on how good your system sounds). With turntables, you can take this further. You have more to mess with, the cartridge, platters, platter mats, record clamps, wire, adjustments to arms and cartridges... With this project I found the benefits were huge. I can't say one thing improved but rather everything improved - GREATLY. Images were more precise with more space around them, dynamics seemed increased, bigger better bass, much, much quieter background perhaps due to the addition of the ground wire to the phono preamp - I could go on but I won't 'cause the level of performance could change with different wire and parts chosen. Go to the parts list to see the breakdown and cost involved. The level of skill required isn't huge, it's more a case of the level of bravery. If you can solder you have the tool part down, but fishing the wire through the arm can be tedious and a pain in the ass, not overly difficult because Phil made this look easy. You should be able to complete this job in one evening, two evenings max. Okay, read on - and happy wiring.