"Clearly idler wheels suffer from so much noise contamination that the subtleties in the music are lost, and quality cartridges and arms are a waste of time (and money)." I believe that Mr.Sugano first developed the Koetsu on a Garrard Idler Wheel Drive Turntable so he must have thought they were o.k.As regards the Rega bearings,no less a critic than Art Dudley in Stereophile has stated that they are extremely good value for the money.Here is further experience with Rega "I removed the common bearing types from a RB250, 300 and RB1000, the vertical shaft bearing are all the same size. I sent them to a precision bearing distributor and they reported they could not measure or by inspection tell any difference in grade, they all fell into the range of 1P-3P(ABEC Grade), there is some overlap." They are quite adequate and further "Two to four ten thousandths(of an inch)(ABEC Grades Referred to) is a tolerance you cannot feel. Not only that due to the arrangement of the bearings they actually reduce the radial play.
I have had literally hundreds of Rega arms (of all models) in my hands and have never had a single one with excessive play.
I have had literally hundreds of Rega arms (of all models) in my hands and have never had a single one with excessive play.