This is the basic OL1 arm from Origin Live. It is manufactured by Rega and known as model RB250. Please note this arm is identical in every respect to the Rega RB250 arm except for the label and warranty - the warranty is upheld by Origin Live, not Rega.

The OL1 arm can be utterly transformed by Origin Live upgrades - it’s worth it! Over 5 reviewers in the past have used an Origin Live upgraded OL1 tonearm as their reference tonearm in preference to pick up arms costing over 6 times as much. All Rega arms can be transformed to outperform arms at many times their price, using the stunning range of Origin Live upgrades (no hype!). These unique upgrades transform rega manufactured arms in such a way that every aspect of performance benefits. The results have astonished users who report the difference as a night and day experience.

You can order your OL1 here and select upgrades you want us to include, see the Origin Live Upgrades in this section.

If you already own a Rega RB250 or OEM version RB250, you can order upgrades and send us your tonearm to have the upgrades done. 

If you buy the OL1 tonearm here, we will deliver it including all upgrades you ordered.

Possible upgrades are:

Structural upgrade:
Rewiring is known to do wonders for the RB250 & RB300, however the structural upgrade to the Rega / OL1 arm is far more significant. The upgrade entails reconstructing the rear end of the rega arm on which the counter weight is attached. This is an extremely critical area, as the counterweight represents by far the highest moving mass in the arm and affects tonearm performance more than can be imagined. The work involves removing the existing rear end stub (which is normally just screwed into the end of the Rega arm - a sonic disaster), and replacing it with a new stub, torqued onto the arm by a thin high tensile bolt. The new stub is designed to present a low contact area with the arm tube. It is therefore semi-decoupled, yet far more rigid than the original.

On an unmodified arm, the counterweight must not be rigidly coupled in this way due to the poor vibration characteristics of the standard arm / rear stub joint. This ingenious Origin Live upgrade elevates a good tonearm into the same league as much more expensive arms and at an insignificant outlay.

Slotted arm tube:
The “slotted armtube� upgrade is identifiable by a highly polished silver arm tube - The upgrade involves removing the powder coat from the arm tube which enables faster energy transmission and prevents the arm being over damped. A slot is then machined in the underside of the arm to reduce ringing effects. Lastly the arm tube is highly polished giving it a very high grade appearance.

Please note that Origin Live internal rewiring must be already included in your arm or ordered for this upgrade to be possible. The effect of this upgrade is to improve the musical transparency and incisiveness of the arm. Particularly noticable is that notes have very natural decay due to the reduced “ringingâ€� effects in the arm tube. 

Internal Rewire:
High grade Litz wire is used inside the arm tube. The Litz is to Origin Live’s specification and design. An internal dedicated earth lead is attached at the head shell and runs through to your amplifier).
The old cartridge tags are replaced with gold plated, copper beryllium versions.
The headshell wires are upgraded with robust, silver plated, PTFE insulated wire.

External Rewire:
A special low resistance cable, optimized for low level signals, replaces the existing cable - Origin Live have carried out tests on literally hundreds of different cable designs. Not many line level interconnect designs work well for the very low signal output of cartridges and so optimum design is crucial.
Tests have shown that it is more important to optimize the external cable than to use a very thin non-jointed wire all the way from the headshell to the amplifier.

High Grade aluminium phono plugs:
Standard brass phono plugs are replaced with high conductivity aluminium ones – Over twice as conductive as brass.