Audiomods Modified Rega Arm - NO WAY is that a Rega!
by Geoff Husband
"What I heard was very interesting. To say a component has 'character' is a bit of an insult, especially when it comes to vinyl, but the truth is that in a world of arms all sounding subtly different, each inevitably has a 'voice'. Some arms tend to sit in the middle of the bunch – I guess the stock Rega is a bit grey and bland, the sonic equivalent of your mum's shepherd's pie – nice enough and never offensive but not something to blow your mind... An SME is like SUPER shepherd's pie, doing everything brilliantly and something even the kids will eat, but not strong medicine!
The Audiomods on the other hand jumped out and reminded me instantly of one of my favourite arms of all time – the Roksan Artimiz (Vindaloo). Like that hugely underrated arm the Audiomod arm just has so much PACE. With no hint of overhang or resonance, with lightening speed in transients, huge detail, lots of space and silky sharp sibilants (if you know what I mean).
It's a real tour-de-force and makes everything you listen to sound fresh and bubbling with detail but all presented with clinical precision in the time domain. Holding together the bizarre ¾ timing gymnastics of Los Lobos' 'Be Still' is something many front ends simply collapse and die in the attempt – the Audiomod sailed through it. At the same time there was enough weight to make the menace of 'Mars' march toward you in time whilst the details of the bows bouncing on steel wire cut through."
