Q: Helius Aurum tonearm

Hi,

Can anybody share any info about Helius Aurum tonearms?
A typical second hand price?
Cartridge recommendations?
How does it perform?
I have recently acquired one of those (silverwired), and thinking about
trying it on my (early 90s) LP12 (valhalla PSU), instead of the Rega RB300
i´m currently using.

Thanks in advance,
Peter

"Peter" wrote in message
...
Hi,

Can anybody share any info about Helius Aurum tonearms?
A typical second hand price?
Cartridge recommendations?
How does it perform?
I have recently acquired one of those (silverwired), and thinking about
trying it on my (early 90s) LP12 (valhalla PSU), instead of the Rega RB300
i´m currently using.

Thanks in advance,
Peter

.................................................. ...........................

tried one years ago...1984/85 ?
compared it against an ittok lvii using a koetsu black into naim amps/linn
saras.

helius was fiddly to setup, and not that nice to use.
at the time it was a second rate product.

not likely to be an improvement on the rb300.

hope you didn't pay too much...

The message
from "newsreader" contains these words:

"Peter" wrote in message
...
Hi,

Can anybody share any info about Helius Aurum tonearms?
A typical second hand price?
Cartridge recommendations?
How does it perform?
I have recently acquired one of those (silverwired), and thinking about
trying it on my (early 90s) LP12 (valhalla PSU), instead of the Rega RB300
i´m currently using.

Thanks in advance,
Peter

.................................................. ..........................

tried one years ago...1984/85 ?
compared it against an ittok lvii using a koetsu black into naim amps/linn
saras.

helius was fiddly to setup, and not that nice to use.
at the time it was a second rate product.

not likely to be an improvement on the rb300.

hope you didn't pay too much...

Hi Peter

IMHO it is a good arm. I have two Helius arms, the Scorpio and the
Aurum. I have compared both with my RB250 with the counterweight mod,
and find them both much better than that Rega.

The Aurum is in a different price league from the RB300 and received a
very good review from Stereophile when it came out. I have not heard
any complaints from other owners.

My Scorpio responded well to rewiring, so the Aurum should sound good
with the rewiring too.

The Aurum is a bit fiddly to set up mainly because it has the gimbal
bearing offset from the arm pillar, but it sounds good with a wide range
of carts, MM and MC. And of course, unlike the RB300, you can adjust
cartridge position and VTA properly. Put it on your LP12, and sell the
RB300 for a nice new cart!

David

The message
from David Holgate contains these words:

Hi Peter

of carts, MM and MC. And of course, unlike the RB300, you can adjust
cartridge position and VTA properly. Put it on your LP12, and sell the
RB300 for a nice new cart!

David

Correcting myself--of course you can adjust the cart position on the
RB250 (I was thinking of the Scorpio). I still prefer my Aurum though.

David

Thanks for your answers. I´m looking forward to try it out. I found the finish not to be up to SME and Rega standards, but of course it might sound good anyway.
I´m having a MC30 Supreme, Shure V15VxMR, Goldring 1042 and Denon DL103, which would be the best choice? I don´t have a maual/set up guide, so i don´t have any data on the arm.
Once again, thanks to both of you for your answers, Peter

The message
from "Peter" contains these words:

Thanks for your answers. I´m looking forward to try it out. I found
the finish not to be up to SME and Rega standards, but of course it
might sound good anyway.
I´m having a MC30 Supreme, Shure V15VxMR, Goldring 1042 and Denon
DL103, which would be the best choice? I don´t have a maual/set up
guide, so i don´t have any data on the arm.
Once again, thanks to both of you for your answers, Peter

I don't have a manual/set up guide either. The Stereophile review Vol 6
(1) points out that as its a medium mass arm you should avoid very light
high compliance carts. I would agree. So, maybe it would work least
well with the Shure. I'd try it with your two MCs first. It worked
well with my Dynavector Karat Ruby, but not with my Music Maker
(resonance problems). The reviewer Allen Edelstein describes it as
"open, transparent, detailed and for all intents and purposes uncolored.
Its single most important attribute is sonic consistency throughout the
audio range". He highly recommended it. The US list price in the early
80s was $495.