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Interspace and rega arm question -- help

Hey,

(Same query on VA): I get more and more confused, and less and less confident. I am just about to send off a check for Nottingham Interspace. I will need to get a tonearm for it, and cannot afford anything beyond a fairly stock RB250 or 300 -- that can be upgraded later if I want to. The seller, upon query, says that he's not sure what needs to be done to get a Rega arm on it, and that he thinks the original dealer put some sort of collar inside of the box (for Rega arms)", but that, as he's never opened the box, he isn't sure.

I have been searching archives and talking largely at cross purposes with dealers and distributers all day and more. Some things I read and hear suggest that I might need a whole arm board, plus collar, others that whatever collar I get might take forever to acquire and/or not fit well. Yet other things seem to suggest that this is a competely trivial matter -- as simple a mounting job as there is, with no armboard question involved, the Interspace already fitted out to receive a rega arm or easily made so by a standard and easily acquired collar.

I do not want to have to fuss much with this, as I am no DIYer, and am straining the heck out of my budget to get this table anyway. On the other hand, if it is trivial, then I figure, based on some of what I hear, and ignoring what I don't want to hear, that this deck at $850 will be a great bargain, bounds better than the Horizon, which i must say i already like.

So what is the definitive answer, and lacking that, exactly what do I need to find out to get a definitive answer? What's involved in getting a stock rega arm onto an Interspace?

Or should I just get less ambitious and go for a Horizon fitted w/RB250, maybe even under warranty?

Pleaase help, and thanks.

Richard
rnm4
ozzy62's avatar
ozzy62
2,871 posts
 
FWIW, my I have used Bluenote, Rega, OL, and Nottingham arms on my Spacedeck with the same inner collet. And if memory serves me right, my buddy used the same collet on his Interspace table for his OL RB 250 that he now uses with his Interspace arm. I really think you should be ok. But at some point you will really want to get the Interspace arm at the very least. The Nottingham arms have a great synergy with their tables, as you would probably suspect.

Oz
ohlala
1,234 posts
 
I have owned the Interspace with Rega arm and assume they have not changed it in the meantime.

As you may or may not know the armboard is attached to the plinth with two screws. The plinth has two rows of holes. The arm to spindle distances is variable by increments determined by the distance between the holes, so you do not need a new armboard. However, there are different sizes of collars that insert in to the armboard. Rega's arm posts have a larger diameter than the Interspace arm posts, so the Rega arm will not fit in to the Interspace arm collar. The collar made for the Rega arm is necessary for proper installation.

I obtained mine from my dealer. Audiophile Systems Limited is an uncooperative importer, and Nottingham effectively runs at turtle speed, so I would caution you to make sure you can obtain the collar before purchasing. That would be my situation if I were in your shoes, but I do not have any knowledge of how to obtain a collar any other way. Good luck. It is a great TT value.
rnm4 OP
308 posts
 
First,

Thanks muchly for the input. It *nearly* eases my mind.

I detect a direct conflict between the words of Ozzy and Ohlala. The former says the same collet/collar/whatchamajiggette works for interspace arms as for rega arms. The latter says that's not so. Will the real expert (answer) please stand up?

Thus there are two conflicting definitive answers of the sort Listener57 referred to. But I can't take his advice to turn play safe, as the MO for the Interspace is in the mail.

All of this aside, do I want a slightly used RB 600 or a new RB250 w/structural mod as my arm (for now)?

Thanks!

ozzy62's avatar
ozzy62
2,871 posts
 
I'm no expert, but here are the arms I used with a single collet.

Rega RB600
OL Silver
Bluenote Borromeo
Bluenote Borghese
Nottingham Spacearm

The Bluenote arms were a tight fit, but I could still manage it. All the rest were identical.

Oz
ohlala
1,234 posts
 
Teasing out the reality matters a lot less now, but I think deferring to Ozzy is sensible. I did not have both arms, but two collars. The one the dealer told me was the Interspace collar did not fit my Rega, so he sent me one that did fit. I read Ozzy's post thinking there was no incongruence with my experience because the larger, Rega collar could be tightened in the armboard to fit a smaller arm post. But what do I know? :)
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