OL1 tonearm & upgrades
plus upgrades for Rega arms

The OL1 arm and Rega RB250 are budget arms that can be transformed with our renowned upgrades.

Upgrades for :
• OL1 arm - offered by Origin Live and manufactured by Rega - Retail £124

• All Rega arms

The OL1 arm and Rega arms can be utterly transformed by Origin Live upgrades - it’s worth it! Over 5 reviewers in the past have used an Origin Live upgraded OL1 tonearm as their reference tonearm in preference to pick up arms costing over 6 times as much. All Rega arms can be transformed to outperform arms at many times their price, using the stunning range of Origin Live upgrades (no hype!). These unique upgrades transform rega manufactured arms in such a way that every aspect of performance benefits. The results have astonished users who report the difference as a night and day experience.

“With its superior bearing arrangement and no tracking force spring to add resonance’s, it’s a true giant killer. It has all the dynamic power and seismic bass of a £2000 super arm but costs a fraction to buy. With Origin Live’s rewiring, it’s one of the best arms money can buy and no less a bargain.”
UPGRADES ON REGA RB250 - Hi-Fi World

“I have to say the Rega upgrades turn this humble arm into a real Giant killer. Gone is the rather grey, sterile sound of the cooking Rega. Instead, tonal colour is fresh, dynamics have great speed and impact, and the sound stage is huge.”
UPGRADE TO rega RB300 & RB250 - Hi-Fi World

“In short, the performance boost was striking. The most obvious improvement concerns scale. With the modified arm, the stereo image is much wider and deeper enabling each musician to be placed with accuracy within the sound stage. Focus is better too and improved bass depth increases solidity and weight. In fact, there isn’t an area in which the standard arm betters the modified. Dynamic swings are faster and tonal colours far more vivid, making the standard RB250 seem almost grey by comparison.”
HI FI WORLD

   FOR structural UPGRADE

“The overall musical and sonic performance of the Origin Live RB250 is simply astounding. Considering its sub-$500 price, the only appropriate reaction is to yell, ‘Eureka!’ The Origin Live upgrade of the RB250 appears to be the new giant-killer.”
UPGRADES TO RB250 - Stereo Times

“If you have any…Rega RB250 or 300, dismount the arm and send it off for the mods NOW. You have no idea what you are missing.”
UPGRADES on RB250 - TNT Magazine

Summary of Upgrades for OL1 & all Rega arms

Origin Live upgrades can be added in any sequence and combination to suit your budget.

If you do not have a Rega arm, we offer the Rega manufactured OL 1 arm at £124. This arm can then be modified in the same way as all other Rega arms.
Please note OEM arms are made by Rega and identical in every respect to Rega arms except for the label and warranty - the warranty is upheld by Origin Live not Rega.

To see the performance improvement of each upgrade, refer to Features & comparison chart for all toenarms

Structural upgrade

Rewiring is known to do wonders for the RB250 & RB300, however the structural upgrade to the Rega / OL1 arm is far more significant. The upgrade entails reconstructing the rear end of the rega arm on which the counter weight is attached. This is an extremely critical area, as the counterweight represents by far the highest moving mass in the arm and affects tonearm performance more than can be imagined. The work involves removing the existing rear end stub (which is normally just screwed into the end of the Rega arm - a sonic disaster), and replacing it with a new stub, torqued onto the arm by a thin high tensile bolt. The new stub is designed to present a low contact area with the arm tube. It is therefore semi-decoupled, yet far more rigid than the original.
On an unmodified arm, the counterweight must not be rigidly coupled in this way due to the poor vibration characteristics of the standard arm / rear stub joint. This ingenious Origin Live upgrade elevates a good tonearm into the same league as much more expensive arms and at an insignificant outlay.
The structural upgrade applies to the RB250, RB300, RB600, RB900 and the RB1000 although the RB250 is the best arm in the range to have upgraded - in fact an upgraded RB250 will comfortably outperform an upgraded rega RB300, RB600, or RB900 tonearm - see FAQ for reasons why.
The cost of the structural upgrade has been kept well below it’s actual performance value so that it is within reach of those with budget turntables. For the upgraded OL1 or RB250 you will need a stylus balance or force gauge to set the tracking force. If you do not have a stylus balance we can supply one. Retail £75

Slotted arm tube

larger image

The “slotted armtube” upgrade is identifiable by a highly polished silver arm tube - The upgrade involves removing the powder coat from the arm tube which enables faster energy transmission and prevents the arm being over damped. A slot is then machined in the underside of the arm to reduce ringing effects. Lastly the arm tube is highly polished giving it a very high grade appearance. Please note that Origin Live internal rewiring must be already included in your arm or ordered for this upgrade to be possible. The effect of this upgrade is to improve the musical transparency and incisiveness of the arm. Particularly noticable is that notes have very natural decay due to the reduced “ringing” effects in the arm tube. 

Note - this upgrade cannot be carried out on the RB300, 600 or 900 so what we offer is a straight swap of a brand new OL1 for your 2nd hand RB300. This is a better solution all round as the reviews point out that a modified RB250 outperforms a modified RB300.  Retail £85

Rewiring

Rewiring yields overall improvements to most aspects of performance, particularly bass weight and transparency.

Internal Rewire - £70
High grade Litz wire is used inside the arm tube. The Litz is to Origin Live’s specification and design. An internal dedicated earth lead is attached at the head shell and runs through to your amplifier).
The old cartridge tags are replaced with gold plated, copper beryllium versions.
The headshell wires are upgraded with robust, silver plated, PTFE insulated wire.

External Rewire - £70
A special low resistance cable, optimized for low level signals, replaces the existing cable - Origin Live have carried out tests on literally hundreds of different cable designs. Not many line level interconnect designs work well for the very low signal output of cartridges and so optimum design is crucial.
Tests have shown that it is more important to optimize the external cable than to use a very thin non-jointed wire all the way from the headshell to the amplifier.

High Grade aluminium phono plugs - £20
Standard brass phono plugs are replaced with high conductivity aluminium ones – Over twice as conductive as brass.

Summary of OL1 Tonearm & Modifications

OL1 Tonearm unmodified £124 GBP
1. Structural modification - £75 GBP
2. Slotted arm tube - £85 GBP
2. Internal rewiring with high grade Litz - £70 GBP
3. External rewiring 1.2 m length (interconnect) + gold plated brass phono RCA plugs - £70 GBP
4. High conductivity phono High performance aluminium plugs - £20 GBP

Further options

DIY kits - We offer the upgrades listed below as DIY kits that you can install yourself - the only upgrade you cannot fit is the slotted arm tube.

Rega structural modification KIT - This allows you to carry our the modification in about 5 minutes yourself without sending your arm to us - £75 GBP
Rega internal rewiring KIT where you can rewire the internal wire of the arm yourself - (this does demand some expertise) - £70 GBP
Rega external rewiring KIT where you can rewire the external wire of the arm yourself - (this does demand a little expertise) - £70 GBP

DIN connector
(only necessary if you wish to try different interconnects or use an existing one fitted with a Din connector)
Cardas 5 din pin male connector fitted to the base of the arm - £15.00
Cardas 5 din female connector fitted to the external interconnect cable of the arm - £25.00

Stylus force gauge (this is needed for a modified OL1 if you don't have a stylus balance already) - £8 GBP

LP12 armboard predrilled for Rega mounting dimensions
(made by Origin Live - no Linn Logo) 298 x 102 x 10mm - £23 GBP

DJ armboard for Technics SL1200, SL1210 or SL1500 dj deck

Alll prices include UK VAT at 17.5%

If you wish to order a modified arm please use the origin live shop to obtain - , export prices, UK prices, carriage costs, currency conversions and methods of payment. Alternatively contact your nearest dealer

Further info on getting your Rega or OL1 arm upgraded if you alreadyhave one already

Features & comparison chart for all toenarms pdf

Specifications for all arms