upgrade

[duficity]

I just got my new Cosmos tonearm board back from Sota predrilled for my new Helius Omega tonearm. Mounted it on my Cosmos IV with a Lyra Delos cartridge. This arm replaces an SME 309 that I thought was a very good match. To say the Omega is an improvement is an understatement. I really didnt expect much difference. But from the very first album after setting the arm up, the Quality Brubeck reissue of Time Out, it was obvious to me, my wife and her visiting daughter that this was the best reproduction we have each ever heard in the home. Simply on a different level than the SME309, which I thought was very good before, and probably still is. I would have never expected such an improvement from just changing a tonearm and while I can hear an improvement over a Rega RB300 to an SME309, the improvement is subtle. This was not.
Its too bad Helius is not better known here in the States. Its a great arm.

Now I have to put together my Russco/Schroeder Clone arm to see how it compares.

[duficity]

Well, a weekend of listening further supports how good this Helius Omega sounds. even seems to track better than the SME309.

[jake]

What was sota's turn around time for the arm board?
I've heard they are really backed up.

[duficity]

It was about 3 weeks. A little longer than hoped, but ok. It was drilled perfectly.

[satanfriendly]

How did the Butax arm fair or is the verdict still out?

[duficity]

It is very well made. I have it mounted to my custom plinth Russco BG12H but havent made the wire terminations up yet to try it. Too many projects. I just finished putting the solid aluminum plinth on my Empire 208 and mounted an SME IV arm this past weekend. That is quite a nice piece of work. I should have one of those up an running by the weekend to compare to the Sota/Helius.

[AudioSoul]

I have a question. And I should be one to talk, but, if you thought the Helius was going to sound the same as the SME. Why did you purchase it in the first place?

[duficity]

I didnt think it would sound the same, but I didnt think it would sound so different, in a good way, to me. Most high end stuff gets things pretty much right, so while there may be small variances between turntables and arms of a certain quality, I would not expect them to be vast. The improvement with the Helius is more and different than I expected. I have a few SME 309s,a 345 and a IV, so I wanted to try something different, got it at a good price, and I think the engineering theory behind Helius bearings is sound and unique. Plus, I have more tables than high end arms. With a Sota, for instance, once you have an armboard/tonearm/cartridge set up, you can switch out the entire assembly in a couple of minutes and its ready to go. So, if the mood strikes me, I can just change things out for a few months of slightly different sound.

[duficity]

Maybe I'm just getting old, and my arthritic hands arent as flexible, but trying to solder the tonearm wire to a set of RCA plugs has been frustrating, and the reults not pretty. There has to be a better way.