• The move to the new server is done. There are some software and database maintenance updates in process. This has us passing the hat around to help out. We appreciate any donations. Seriously, even a dollar helps. The payment page may be found here - https://www.audiokarma.org/support.html

ZERO 100 vs Michell Orbe

cries55

cries55

Active Member
Hey folks,
My journey thru analog continues. Since returning to the fold about 4 years ago I have been thru a number of great decks- from the OG AR to Music Hall to Micro Seiki to Roksan to Michell Orbe with an OL-1 arm. This last was to be my reference TT until I pulled the tonearm cable out from the bottom of the tonearm. BUMMER. I was back to my playstation 1 playing cd's while I pondered what to do.
As a reseller of audio and lp's I also have a room filled with gear that for one reason or another didn't make it onto the auction block. As I was focusing on work and listening to cd's (which wasn't bad I must admit) I remembered that amongst the TT detritus I had a Garrard Zero 100 that I thought was missing IC's. Imagine my surprise when I looked closer.
So now all I needed was a cartridge sled. I bid on and won one with a shure M91ed cartridge already mounted. Ok it's something. I had recently come into about 1500 new Lps and I NEEDED to start listening. The sled arrived, it mounted in a matter of seconds, I plugged in some Roksan cables I had and adjusted the tonearm. I didn't have high expectations as I turned on my Fisher 400 cx.
WoW! This is so cliche I hesitate to even say it, but there is no other way. I was shocked at how good it sounded. Clear. clean. concise. great bottom and top end, a really spectacular sounding deck, to me. How could that be? Is it something to do with the synergy between the garrard and fisher? Could the cables from the michell have been so bad that they lowered the quality of sound to such a point that a $200 TT would sound just as good? Help me here folks, I am baffled- but pleasantly.
My tonearm rewire kit should be arriving from Jolly Old England in a week or so and my second question is do I rewire myself? I have rudimentary electronics knowledge but have never attempted anything like this before. If not anyone know of a recommended inexpensive shop?

Any HOO- Thanks in advance AK. I loves ya.
 
Register to hide this ad
I have a Zero-100 myself and have to say its not the stunning piece of trash that internet rumor says it ought to be. For all its various faults when compared to better gear, it still sounds quite good. I like it at least, and will continue to enjoy the sound and the groovy 1970s aesthetics.
 
I've lost count on the number of arms I have rewired with the Incognito kits over the past 12 or 13 years...in fact, I have one to do tomorrow...if your soldering skills are not up to snuff get someone to do it for you...

You didn't say what kit you are going to use, something from Origin Live or the Incognito kit? If it's from OL, I can't help you, but the Incognito kits are nice and simple and eliminate two solder joints and use one unbroken length of wire from the cartridge tags to the RCA plugs and the only soldering you have to do is to solder the cartridge tags on the trimmed ends of the wire that exits in the headshell area of the arm.

The RB-250 style of arm is actually harder to rewire than the 300 series as you can not remove the arm from the yoke and must thread the wires from the base plug up through the pivot area and then down the arm tube....I use a pair of fine, long nose tweezers to grab the wire through the counterweight stub hole and feed it little by little down the arm tube until it emerges in the headshell...

Then I figure out how far I want the leads to stick out of the little rubber bung and then double that, thread the wires through the rubber plug, but leave just the length I want sticking out and let the extra length feed back up in the arm tube...

Why?

If you ever screw up a cartridge tag, break a wire, etc., there will be a bit of surplus wire to work with and won't have you ruining the Incognito kit....

Good Luck.
.
 
thanks folks- I believe it's an incognito/cardas kitCardas Rewire kit for all straight RB series Rega tonearms. here's the ad:

"Turn a good tonearm into a great tonearm"

Complete rewire kit for RB250, 251, 300, 351 tonearms etc.
Internal signal wiring is genuine Cardas OCC Copper Litz wire, not a cheap alternative.
This is Silver soldered to a fully screened 1.2m long Audio-Linx hybrid Silver/OCC Copper arm lead,
complete with high quality Neutrix Rean Phono plugs.
Note that lightweight Litz wiring is not recommended for use as a continuous lead out cable.
(It is not the best option sonically and is also not very robust mechanically.)
-Therefore the directly connected Audio-Linx armlead as offered is a much better solution.
Also note that the introduction of ANY other type of connecting plug between the internal and external cables would also be detrimental to the overall sound quality.
The replacement pillar plug is CNC machined from non-magnetic Acetal and the wiring provides star earthing via both the pillar and the head shell. The high quality arm lead is very flexible and offers a low capacitance of < 50 pF/m, yeilding outstanding results. It is also wired in a pseudo balanced configuration, with a copper external earth wire and two silk wrapped copper litz internal earth wires.
The kit comes complete with high quality gold plated headshell tags and coloured heatshrink, also included in the kit are Silver solder, a 1.5mm allen key, emery paper, 450mm of draw wire, a short rod and comprehensive instructions.
All the fabrication has been completed for you - except for soldering on the headshell tags after the new wiring has been fitted to your arm.
The process is straight forward but you will need some patience and dexterity as well as afew basic tools and a soldering iron!
Please just don`t try to rush it!
Purchasers of this kit have described it as:- "sensational cable" - "sounds sublime" -
"great item, easily fitted" - "fantastic" - "superb quality kit" etc, etc.
Non EU bidders please ask for a postal quote - thank you.
 
Nope, that's not an Incognito kit...and breaks the "one unbroken run" of wire plan.

Plus the Incognito kit has a metal base plug that grounds the arm not only through the set screw that fixes it in place but also with the original Rega small grounding wire and friction fit clip in the tail end of the arm...
 
OK found the ad on ebay...it is cheaper than the real Incognito kit by over a hundred bucks, but I have no idea how it compares as the basic philosophy of the two kits are so different....

The kit from ebay uses two different kinds of wire vs. the three in the standard Rega wiring or the one unbroken run of Cardas in the Incognito, and therefore has three solder joints as opposed to the two in the Incognito and four in the original Rega ...

I've also rewired some of the earlier OL arms and they, too, had three kinds of wire in them, one for the cartridge tags soldered to a generic, RF style of Litz wire, and then that was soldered to the output lead...I know they have changed a lot since they first came on the scene...they even had a turntable kit that I assembled for a customer several years back...it was a suspended table like a Sondek...but, I felt like my Sondek was built to a higher level of fit and finish...

The only thing to do with the kit you got is to install it and see if you like it, like I said before, it's gotta work better than a broken one!
 
Last edited:
Thanks Rick- I have decided to let a professional do it, but cannot find one in san diego. Got any suggestions? I don't mind using the mail.... anyone? Actually help!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom