The most obvious change was the deletion of the RB300’s tracking force spring, meaning stylus force had to be set by rotating the counterweight. Essentially a simplified RB300, it enabled Rega to offer a modern tonearm at a cut-throat price. Still, the arm’s loudest critics were rival arm manufacturers whose sales it was stealing! The RB250 followed soon after. Its bass wasn’t the best in the business either, and nor was its treble the most extended. But as the media buzz died down, dissenters emerged – people began to realise it was cold and rhythmically rather frigid. Press reception was ecstatic, the general feeling being that it was one of the best arms at any price. Its biggest strength was its neutrality, especially in the mid-band, which made Linn’s Ittok (at £253) seem coloured. The new £90 arm was a stunner, matching or bettering expensive super-arms of the time in a number of ways. Even the counterweight was radical, machined from dense tungsten alloy for the smallest possible diameter, and hence the lowest moment of inertia. Friction was extremely low, and the arm could track the very best cartridges. The bearing gimbal was a substantial casting employing a threaded stem and locknut, and the bearings themselves were excellent quality – the same as those now fitted to Linn’s Ekos. With a tapered, one piece aluminium cast arm tube with no joins between the headshell and pivot, it was the ultimate exponent of Linn’s `maximum rigidity’ rule. Radically different to almost anything before, it practically rewrote the book. But then along came an arm with such an amazing price/performance ratio, that the poor S-shaped Rega was never bothered with again. An S-shaped, Japanese sourced variant of the mid-price Lustre GST-1, it gave excellent results for its £46 selling price. Until August 1983, the best budget tonearm in the world was the Rega R200. Rega RB250 Tonearm Upgrades – Hi Fi World Review Tonearms of the highest calibre don’t need to be expensive This is a full review from Hi-Fi World Magazine issue February 1999 Armed & Dangerousĭavid Price examines Rega’s budget giant killers, the RB250 and RB300 tonearms History Spares & Upgrades for Origin Live Products.

Rega rb250 tonearm manual