and I never dreamed vinyl could sound so wonderful!
(I originally posted this on the Rega forum, R.I.P. but thought folks here might be interested too)
OK, so I'm getting carried away here; after all, I only have a 21-year old Planar 3 (w/Rega motor upgrade) and a modest Goldring 1012GX cartridge...
But my ears tell me otherwise!
This comprehensive redesign and rebuild of the Rega RB-250 deserves the serious consideration of anyone thinking about changing tonearms.
I purchased the arm from Hi-Fi Corner in Antwerp who are the Michell distributor here in Belgium. The shop is run by Mr. Philip Matthews, a most affable and genial fellow who recounted the story of the TecnoArm and his own personal role in its development as he expertly installed it on my deck.
The TecnoArm (a) was the last project realized by industry legend John Michell before he succumbed to cancer last October. It turns out he was Philip's best friend in the industry, as Hi-Fi corner have been representing Michell in Belgium for over 20 years.
During the last four years of his life, John Michell endured tremendous pain and underwent chemotherapy. But he never stopped designing and innovating. His condition and weight fluctuated wildly, but he also had stretches of remission from his disease. Philip would visit him in England as often as he could, enjoying Michell's still remarkable hospitality, attending the major hi-fi shows, and discussing the industry and, above all, design.
Michell had done tonearms before, and had developed the aftermarket TecnoWeight counterweight assembly (with machined metal end-stub & precision tracking force adjustment) as well as a VTA adjuster, but he was never completely satisfied. Philip encouraged him to have another go at the Rega. On one of his better mornings, Michell was holding an RB-300 (which remains a lower-end option on Michell decks) and inadvertantly began tapping it with his pen. He was struck (no pun intended) by the ringing sound issued by the arm tube and set about formulating a solution. One thing led to another, and the project set forth in ernest.
Over the ensuing months, Michell devised the many innovative aspects of the TecnoArm (a). Since he already had excellent counterweight and VTA solutions, he began to focus on the arm tube. Taking a cue form the aerospace industry, the tube was bead-blasted to remove the painted finish, stiffen the aluminum and lower the effective mass. Then 22 circular-hole perforations were drilled through its underside, effectivly blunting the resonant ringing effect. Further damping would be provided by injecting foam throughout the length of the arm tube.
Next he turned his attention to the headshell of the Rega which had an ever-so-slight uneveness to its underside as a byproduct of the casting process. This Michell machined perfectly flat so that cartridges could sit truly flush for better integrity and correct azimuth. (To be fair, this would never be much of an issue with Rega cartridges since their 3-point mounting system provides an excellent integral mount; non-Rega cartridges like my Goldring, however benefit substantially. I can shine a penlight behind the juncture of cart and shell and not a ray passes through!)
Finally, he addressed the oft-discussed wiring issue. He knew that he wanted a single run wire from the cartridge clips to the RCA connectors. He also knew that he would utilize a separate ground lead. He devised an innovative new cartridge clip that could lock tightly onto any sized cartridge lead (I had always thought they were standardized, but have now learned otherwise). His first inclination for the wire type was to purchase OEM from Incognito. In fact, he did just that for the first few prototypes of the TecnoArm, one of which was duly dispatched to Philip at Hi-Fi Corner. Over the years, Michell had come to rely on Philip as one of his most trusted sets of "ears", sending prototypes of turntables and electronics to him and eagerly awaiting his feedback. Michell admitted to Philip that he was concerned that the wire from Incognito was too expensive and would raise the pricepoint of the arm beyond what he had in mind. Furthermore, he felt the sound of the wire wasn't "quite there" yet. Philip took some time to listen to the arm and then came up with a suggestion. He had a friend in Belgium who had a small business producing high-grade silver wire for electronics applications and offered to ask him to produce a run suitable for the TecnoArm. That company, Deskadel, quoted Michell a price substantially below that of Incognito. Philip arranged to have some prototype wiring sent to Michell. In a telephone conversation shortly afterward, Michell thanked Philip for his referral and stated that he was astonished at the quality and sound of the Deskadel wire/silver RCA plug ensemble and that he was satisfied the TecnoArm was "finally there". John Michell passed away three days later.
Michell's daughter and son-in-law took over the business; they had in fact been running the day-to-day for quite some time before his death. Michell had set the pricepoint for the arm at 398GBP and they carried forward with it at that price. Philip told me he pleaded with them to make the price higher, since enthusiasts were accustomed to spending far greater sums for tonearms of high quality. Consequently, they are selling far more than expected and struggling to keep up with production. First Michell buys the armtubes from Rega, structurally modify them, return them to Rega where REGA assembles the bearings and then Michell gets them back to install the wiring. According to Philip, Michell has sold over 200 units in only 3 months (they're all numbered; mine is #191) and would've sold many more if Michell and Deskadel had been prepared for the onslaught.
So I've been listening now for about 7 hours straight. I've always enjoyed my Planar 3, but it's as if I never heard vinyl before. If I could use only one word to sum-up what I hear it's AUTHORITY. The TecnoArm takes utter command of the groove and never lets up. In conjunction with my Mira3 the sound is both fantastically musical and precise (I'll leave PRaT out of it!). I can't wait until the wire has time to burn-in!
I find myself getting up every now and then just to look at the the arm in action. It really is quite beautiful, a work of art, something like kinetic sculpture. Of course, all due props must be given to Roy Gandy as well. I don't consider the TecnoArm to be one of those aftermarket afterthoughts so often reviled on the Rega forum (curiously enough, I notice OL are now bead-blasting and cutting slots in their arms, hmmm) but rather a synergistic, if unlikely collaboration between two industry giants. Well, if not quite that, then most surely a dialogue of design between two friendly rivals. John Michell has made his statement with the TecnoArm and Mr. Gandy & Co. are certain to have the last word.
Philip regaled me with so many other stories about his friend John while we listened to a pair of original Quad electrostatics (I won't start in on those, but WOW!), I now feel as if I knew the man himself. Of course, I didn't, but I have got his tonearm. At the rate they're going, before it's all said and done, Rega may eventually produce an RB-5000. But the John Michell designed TecnoArm (a) stops here. And I feel truly privileged to have just a bit of that legacy in my system. It's been one very good day here in Belgium!
Cheers, Dex
