Origin Live modification

Posted by: Steve G on 26 November 2001

I've just purchased a used turntable through Ebay - it's a Thorens TD160B MkII and comes with an Rega RB250 arm. The seller has been told the arm has had the "Origin Live modifications" but he's not sure what that means. Anyone know what these modifications are, whether they're worth having and how to tell for sure if it's been done?

Regards
Steve

Posted on: 26 November 2001 by Tony L
quote:
The seller has been told the arm has had the "Origin Live modifications" but he's not sure what that means. Anyone know what these modifications are, whether they're worth having and how to tell for sure if it's been done?

Check out www.originlive.com for details, there are various degrees of modification that can be done to the arm. I have heard a OL modded RB250 and it sounded excellent, but I did not hear it in comparison against the standard Rega arm. Have a search on www.audioasylum.com in their vinyl asylum, the OL mods frequently come up.

Tony.

Posted on: 26 November 2001 by Steve G
Attached should be a picture of the turntable - not sure if it's possible to tell if the mods have been done from it
Posted on: 26 November 2001 by Steve G
quote:
Originally posted by Matthew Brownnutt:

Have you got the table yet?

Matt

It hasn't arrived yet but I'll check the counterweight stub once it arrives.

Cheers
Steve

Posted on: 26 November 2001 by Chris L
The main thrust of the OL structural mods is that (as already stated) the RB250's plastic stub is replaced with a metal one. The metal Rega arm stubs, as fitted to the RB300 and above arms, rely on a threaded section of the stub to screw the whole thing into the bearing assembly, and these can also be modified.

The OL arm stub, I understand, uses a stub with a high tensile steel rod/bolt through its center to fix it to the bearing assembly. This should allow a more rigid mounting of the stub (compared with the normal Rega item), and also, by minimising the area of contact between the arm stub and the rest of the arm, OL also claim their mounting provides a greater degree of isolation between the stub and the rest of the arm, reducing unwanted resonances.

The easiest way to tell if your arm has the structural mod is to check the counterweight: if it is rigidly mounted using a set screw to secure it, you almost certainly have an OL modded arm. As for the rewire, if your arm has a separate earth lead (the normal Rega wiring doesn't) it's had a rewire.

BTW, I don't own an OL modded arm, but I'm soon going to order one. The above info was gleaned from various sources while I was deciding whether to go ahead with it or not, so I'd still be interested to hear if anyone has some real world experience of the mods. It seems to me that the main raison d'etre of these mods is to improve the RB250/300 arms' compatibility with compliant suspended turntables - like the LP12, which is what I use.

Hope that's some help to somebody, somewhere, at some time.........

Chris L

Posted on: 27 November 2001 by Chris L
quote:
The only feedback I've heard (on here) on the OL mod is that the rewired lead (from the arm base to the amp) cannot be connected up with BNC terminals

Yes, I saw that, too, when I was starting to consider getting the mods done. So I asked OL, amongst many other questions, about it, and they say they fit BNC plugs on request for £12 - cheaper than their high-conductivity phonos.

It could be that OL have a supplier of BNC plugs that will take the cable easily?

Chris L