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 later fitted to Linn’s Ekos. With a tapered, one-piece aluminium cast arm tube with no joins between the headshell and pivot, it was a fine 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.
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