Help me hear my vinyl please !

Re: Re: Help me hear my vinyl please !

I respectfully and completely disagree . Besides, you can always migrate a cartridge to a better table (unless, of course, it's P-mount... but then again, there are very few P-mount carts that are even close to decent)

 

Oh thanks for that. That might explain why there are plenty of used Planer 3's, presumeably people upgrading to P3's. I would nt have realised that so thanks for pointing out the distinction.
John

 

John, I recently upgraded from my Thorens TD 166 Mk II turntable to a Rega Planar 3, with a new Rega "Bias" cartridge, I think...the green one. I'm really enjoying my vinyl again and have managed a few nice needle drops as well.

I scored the turntable from the nice folks at one of the local hi-end dealers in town, Loyalty Sound. One of their customers was trading up. The table I purchased was in pristine condition.

 

Good God, you've turned a simple request from a person in need of information into a diatribe on belt drive vs direct drive and lost sight of the initial question. A new cartridge of higher quality will probably sound better on the JVC than the current cartridge. Any number of cartridges under $200 are available. The real limiting factor is the quality of the phono amp. As to the Beatle records, I have not heard the CD's, but the vinyl is only of middling quality and I could see the CD besting the vinyl in this case. That may be more of the problem than the phono system. I hate to admit it but some CD's, if properly made, can sound better than the original vinyl.

 

hFloyd, welcome to the forum. Are you talking about The Beatles US Capitol vinyl?
As far as the thread getting off track, I think John has plenty of options based on the responses I have read.
You bring up a good point regarding the phono stage, I'm sure he will address that after resolving current needs.

 

John, Great that you are getting into vinyl, let me try to help with some of the comments you heard here. In general in low to medium price TT's belt drive is better than direct drive, however, at the very high end anything goes if it is done in a cost is no object manner. Cartridge versus TT is a matter of balance. Putting a $3000.00 cartridge on a $200 TT is wrong as is a $200 cartridge on a $8000.00 TT. Keep things in balance. There are three things that are universal: Well adjusted tonearm, clean records, clean stylus. Here is a good site for adjustment; http://www.xs4all.nl/~rabruil/ttadjust.html, I use Disc Doctor and a VPI RCM for vacuum dry for wet cleaning and a Hunt brush before and after each play, and I only dry brush my stylus and use the new gummy thing Zerodust from Mozno to clean the stylus every four or so LP's. Hope this helps.

 

This always happens so no use worrying. I thought it was pretty good reading. I'm sure the original poster is delighted to get so many replies and is sifting the wheat from the chaff.

Regards,
Geoff

 

There's nothing wrong with a Planar 3.

It lacks the new motor and some minor trim details from the P3 but teh Planar 3 shares the glass platter/felt mat and later PLanar 3's came with the RB300 arm.


cheerio

 

Absolutely right, I am the original poster, and its been fascinating.
I'm drawn towards replacing the the TT with Rega ( either P3 or Planer 3 )
and I'm keeping and eye on ebay UK and have opened a dialogue with my local rega supplier.
One thought that nags me, I've read elsewhere that the P2 is a "better" proposition because the RB250 arm takes upgrades better than the RB300 arm. I've looked at the Origin site, which seems to confirm this.
Any views ?
Thanks as always
John

 

The RB-250 is cheaper to buy in stock form than the RB-300 arm. You can still modify the RB-300 if you choose. The OriginLive RB-250 arm is'nt cheap,($750 from O Live) and frankly if I'm spending that kind of money on an arm I'd like it to have adjustable VTA.

 

Plus the P3 motor upgrade is available for the Planar 3.

 

Is it possible to mount an RB300 or 600 on a P2? Would it make sense from a sonics perspective, or is it just better to go with a P3 body in that case?

 

I think it would be best to sell the P2 and buy a P3($650) or P25($1,150). The RB-300 arm sells for $425 and the RB-600 for $695.
It is possible to mount either arm on the P2 though.

 

Possible? Sure, anything is possible.

Makes sense? No. The Turntable is more important than the tonearm, which is more important than the cartridge. This hieracy has been around since the late-1970s and, as people keep finding, it makes good sonic sense. Rega themselves would recommend the same to you.

If you're after better sound, then a P3 is better than a P2. The Rega 25 turntable is much better than a P3.

 

Hi , me again ( my original post) I've just spent all Sunday afternoon cleaning some of my Lp's .wow , what a difference.
I'm just so so excited its like meeting old friends, the warmth and bass are amazing.
The Stereo Beatles for Sale is alive !
It's no wonder that the "Ringo" DCC is so well thought of, the original LP sound is awesome, it's all there on the record. And my copy of Imagine sounds superb. Forgive me, I know lots of you here take this for granted, but I'm only just coming back to it all.
The strange thing is I've had at least 4 different CD players since 83, always looking for a sound I could nt seem to find , and I had it all the time in the loft !

Still drawn towards replacing the TT with a Planer or P3 , but the old turntable performed well today , and I might go cartridge first then TT later.
If each improvement is as great sound wise as cleaning the records, then I'm in for further treats !

Cheers
John

 

I've had occasion to listen to Mr. Banger's Used Rega turntable, which he obtained and souped up for less than 200 bucks. But, at first it ran fast, and he had to go thru a lot of crap. The older Regas tend to go fast, I guess. Sounds fantastic nowadays, tho!

Here's his story, from the recent past:
http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=218216#post218216