Rega Deepgroup Heavyweight counterweight
quadzilla
Posts: 1,543
Picked up a Deepgroove Heavyweight Counterweight last week, and have been doing some listening since. For $58 off ebay, this is a pretty good bargain. Deepgroove makes all the usual claims of increased transparency, clarity, detail and improved bass response. And it actually does provide a good deal of these. The weight is machined from a solid plug of stainless steel, with a Delrin insert, nylon tipped screw, and two rubber O-rings around the outside to damp any remaining resonances. Mated to a Rega 300 stainless stub on my Rega 250 arm, it proved to be a solid upgrade from the stock Rega 300 counterweight I've been using.
I noticed a definite improvement in everything I listen to now. One example would be the title track from SRV's Couldn't Stand The Weather. The bass line on that track has always seemed a bit ill-defined, and was hard for my system to resolve against the heavy jumbo strings Stevie used, which produce quite a bit of low frequency themselves. Now, the bass line is easily resolved throughout the track. Another example would be the wood block played at times during Steely Dan's Glamour Profession from Gaucho. The block has been distinct since upgrading to my current Aural Thrills pre and became even more distinct with the addition of the Boston Audio graphite platter mat. Now, there is a definite air and decay to the block that has never been there before, even with all the other upgrades to the system.
Now, the downside. The Heavyweight really is heavy at 145 grams. Deepgroove states that the counterweight is perfect for all carts over 6 grams. On this, I would disagree unless you use a very light VTF. With my 8.1 gram Shelter 501, the weight is almost butted up against the near end of the stub. At the ideal 1.75 gram VTF, I have about 3/16" clearance, which is just enough to let the arm lift and track cleanly and smoothly. And, being quite heavy with a mid-weight cart, it's not easy to achieve the desired VTF. Very tiny movements of the weight results in very large differences in VTF. But with the nylon tipped set screw, the weight has remained steady over a week of listening, so at least it stays once you finally get it where you want it.
Still, I definitely recommend this counterweight over the stock counterweight.
I noticed a definite improvement in everything I listen to now. One example would be the title track from SRV's Couldn't Stand The Weather. The bass line on that track has always seemed a bit ill-defined, and was hard for my system to resolve against the heavy jumbo strings Stevie used, which produce quite a bit of low frequency themselves. Now, the bass line is easily resolved throughout the track. Another example would be the wood block played at times during Steely Dan's Glamour Profession from Gaucho. The block has been distinct since upgrading to my current Aural Thrills pre and became even more distinct with the addition of the Boston Audio graphite platter mat. Now, there is a definite air and decay to the block that has never been there before, even with all the other upgrades to the system.
Now, the downside. The Heavyweight really is heavy at 145 grams. Deepgroove states that the counterweight is perfect for all carts over 6 grams. On this, I would disagree unless you use a very light VTF. With my 8.1 gram Shelter 501, the weight is almost butted up against the near end of the stub. At the ideal 1.75 gram VTF, I have about 3/16" clearance, which is just enough to let the arm lift and track cleanly and smoothly. And, being quite heavy with a mid-weight cart, it's not easy to achieve the desired VTF. Very tiny movements of the weight results in very large differences in VTF. But with the nylon tipped set screw, the weight has remained steady over a week of listening, so at least it stays once you finally get it where you want it.
Still, I definitely recommend this counterweight over the stock counterweight.
Turntable: Empire 208
Arm: Rega 300
Cart: Shelter 501 III
Phono Pre: Aural Thrills
Digital: Pioneer DV-79ai
Pre: Conrad Johnson ET3 SE
Amp: Conrad Johnson Evolution 2000
Cables: Cardas Neutral Reference
Speakers: SDA 2.3TL, heavily modified
Arm: Rega 300
Cart: Shelter 501 III
Phono Pre: Aural Thrills
Digital: Pioneer DV-79ai
Pre: Conrad Johnson ET3 SE
Amp: Conrad Johnson Evolution 2000
Cables: Cardas Neutral Reference
Speakers: SDA 2.3TL, heavily modified
Post edited by quadzilla on
Comments
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Nice write up Bub! I didn't know this product was available. They only thing missing is;
PICTURES OR IT DIDN'T HAPPEN!!!:D:p -
hearingimpared wrote: »Nice write up Bub! I didn't know this product was available. They only thing missing is;
PICTURES OR IT DIDN'T HAPPEN!!!:D:p
Doh! Forgot to put them in, even after reshooting them 3 times to get something decent.
har... also just noticed my typo in the title. Double doh?Turntable: Empire 208
Arm: Rega 300
Cart: Shelter 501 III
Phono Pre: Aural Thrills
Digital: Pioneer DV-79ai
Pre: Conrad Johnson ET3 SE
Amp: Conrad Johnson Evolution 2000
Cables: Cardas Neutral Reference
Speakers: SDA 2.3TL, heavily modified -
I was thinking it would be massive but it's looks like they really did a nice job on design and machining it.
BTW your TT base is beautiful! -
you saw one Joe, been using it for years.....sheeesh. now go outside and run down the walk waving your arms while screaming heavyweight.
I like it.
RT1 -
reeltrouble1 wrote: »you saw one Joe, been using it for years.....sheeesh. now go outside and run down the walk waving your arms while screaming heavyweight.
I like it.
RT1
Holy smokes Ted you're right UGH!!! Man I gotta get me some of that eukenuka abracadabra herb that restores burned out memory cells!!! :eek::D Just think "Reverend Jim" from that show Taxi! WAAAAAAA!!!
