Opinions on Rega Exact cartridge

I’ve never noticed any hum. I had hum with a prior cartridge and different phono pre but once I switched to the Nighthawk it went away and adding the Exact to the equation didn’t change that.

 

I had an Exact on a PT for years and it was outstanding... As others have said, it was super easy to install, tracked really well and showed no glaring faults. I had a Graham Slee MM phono stage and it was a perfect match. I never felt the utguto get into other cartridges.

 

What the others said. Groovetracer subplatter makes a huge difference.

 

For me it was a really close call as to which was the better upgrade, the TT-PSU or the GT Reference sub-platter. They both made significant improvements.

 

I got a nearly-new Exact when I bought my P3-24 about five years ago, and have been running it through a Brio-R for that much-discussed Rega "synergy". I was coming from a Grado Black (I think) on an '80s Rega Planar 2 which, which sounding good at its core, gave me ongoing issues with hum and inner-groove distortion. The P3-24/Exact combo all but eliminated this and sounded great all around, though I couldn't say how much was the cart and how much was the deck. I also noted the mostly lukewarm reviews of the cart online, making me wonder what other better-reviewed cartridges around the price point would sound.

I've recently been wondering where to upgrade to from the Exact, since it's the top Rega MM cart and getting into installing and setting up non-Rega carts isn't something I'm super-keen on since the few times I've tried to set up cartridges, I'm pretty sure I've messed it up. A nearby dealer is selling a combination of the new Planar 6 and Ania MC cart for $2000 CDN which is a pretty sweet discount off list price, but I'm not quite ready to pull the trigger on an upgrade at that price point. Plus I'd need to get a new phono stage which would be a few hundred more at least.

tl;dr - my Exact has served me well and I'm too lazy/cheap to go down the rabbit hole of trying other carts. For now.

 

I had this issue with a system that contained no Rega components. It was exacerbated at higher volumes. Moving the turntable away from the speakers helped .

 

Thanks for the feedback guys, I have decided to pull the trigger on the Exact. Will report my findings once it is up and running on my P3-24 with TT-PSU

 

Good Luck! I know you'll enjoy it.

 

Some observations,

My primary TT is an Audio Nirvana vintage, restored and upgraded, Thoren's TD-160 Super, Rega/Moth 202 arm and the Ortofon 2M Gold/Black cart. The phono pre is a Decware ZP3.

I'm very pleased with its SQ.

Several months back, I acquired a Rega RP6 from one of the Member's, It had already been upgraded with the Groovetracer sub-platter and the white belt. It has the Rega 303 arm and the Exact MM cart. I am currently using a Musical Fidelity X-LPS SS preamp, with the wall wart.

I have been considering upgrading the power supply, which, I have been given to understand, is a substantial upgrade for the X-LPS.

The problem is that the phono-pre and the PSU are no longer in production, same goes for other later models.

In the far east, there is a company that make a PSU but it is for the newer models and is 24V, where my X-LPS is 12V and are hard to come by. On eBay, they go for around $200, when available, sometimes more. Because of this, I have been on the fence on this and wondered if a newer unit would not be a better route? Noting, there is still a demand for the unit I have and they typically sell used for between $200-$300.

Since I already have a tube phono-pre, I am not opposed to a SS upgrade for the Rega. Maybe even the Rega MM init?

I have decided that I want to stick to MM carts, so, I think that I would rather pay for a unit with discrete electronics, no OP amps and a unit that is entirely focused on MM carts. It seems this is a better focus, than paying for additional MC circuits, which I will not be using.

The Rega MM @ 400 is a discrete design, exclusively designed for MM carts.

I had intended to order Tavish Design, tube phono pre,when I had the chance to buy the Decware ZP3, which I could not pass up.

On the table, is still a Tavish in the $600-$700 price range.

Buy I would still be perfectly happy with a quality SS unit for the modern TT.

When I first got the RP6, I did not have the phono pre for it and I tried the Decware on it, It was really excellent sounding. In fact, I had a friend over and we both thought the Polk LSiM707's sounded better than we ever heard them, digital or analog not withstanding.

One problem, the level of HUM was unbearable!

Rega's are unusual in that they don't have a wire to ground to the preamp, so either you have hum or not, there is not much that you can do about it. Lots of threads on the net about DIY, I tried a couple, but without success. It is the only TT that I have ever owned, since I was fourteen that does not have a ground wire. I did attempt to grounding it to different locations on the TT, but without success.

The SS X-LPS, with the Rega and the Exact is completely quiet, no hum at all.

That is the back story, now back to the Exact cart, which I will compare to the Ortofon 2M Bronze and Black.

I think that the Exact lies firmly between the Bronze and the Black.

It has the smooth musicality of the Bronze, with the detail of the Black. Although the bass on the Black is outstanding and is a bit more "solid" than the Exact, not that the Exact is lacking in the bass department, in any way.

Simply put, The Exact is an excellent compromise between the Bronze and the Black.

It has more detail than the Bronze and is about on par with the Black, in that department.

One aspect sets it apart from the Black, is that it does not present the background noise, to quite the extent that the black does.

If the vinyl is clean, without background noise, then both carts are on par with each other as to the noise thing.

To those with large used record collections that have garnered some background noise over the years, the Bronze remains my cart/stylus of choice. It is pleasant sounding and quiet.

An advantage of going the Ortofon 2M way, is that, for whichever cart that you purchase, you can purchase the other stylus assembly and have essentially two carts with different sound signatures.

The Exact can be bought on a regular basis for a good bit less than the Black and about the normal price for the Bronze.

Where the Exact really shines is in the midrange, excellent with vocals and acoustic instruments. Anywhere the mid's need to shine, they do with the Exact.

Listening evaluations were don on both SS and tube systems, as follows,

For tube, from the Black cart on the Thorens, to the Decware ZP3 tube phone pre, to a 6SN7 tube preamp from division of Cary Audio, to a Line Magnetic 518iA SET tube integrated/power amp and to the Altec Lansing A7 VOTT (Voice of the Theater) speakers.

For SS, from the Exact cart on the Rega, to the Class "A" preamp on the Peachtree iNova, to the Emotiva XPA-2 (generation one) power amp, to the Polk LSiM707's.

I also tried the Exact with tubes and the 2M Black with tubes, I can reroute between the two TT's with a few switches.

We are also comparing modern day production TT's with restored and upgraded vintage units.

I think that both units are on equally level playing fields, each being a solid representation of the old vs the new.

Both combinations are good sounding, with the new having more clarity and detail and the old being slightly more non-precise, meaning less detail but very musical. You could say, slightly blurred as compared to the new, but still pleasant to listen to.

All the way around, the Exact, is a perfect match for the Rega arm and TT. Since they were all designed and manufactured to work together with each other, you have as near perfect synergy as possible, at a lower price point.

Rega RP6, with Exact cart, Grovetracer sub-platter and white belt upgrades.



Custom vintage restoration of a Thorens TD-160 Super, Rega/Moth arm with upgraded Cardas wiring, Ortofon 2M Black cart. "Midnight Edition #1".



My initial observations were that the RP6/Exact, slightly edged out the Thoren's/2M Black for the more pleasurable listening experience.

This says a lot for the Rega build quality for both the TT and cart. The arms are about on par, given that they are both excellent Rega arms. The RB-202 on the Thorens having the Cardis wiring upgrade.

I think the win is due mostly to beautiful system synergy, which at the end of the day, is all important.

The real tribute to the RP6/Exact is that, the synergy aspect of this relationship is so strong, that, will all other components being different, but of equal quality, except...

The phono preamps.

The X-LPS is only 25% the price of the Decware ZP3, and because of the quality Rega build and system synergy, the Exact cartridge was able to shine brightly. This is given, despite operating with a wall wart and not with the upgraded external PSU.

I can imagine the improvement that the external PSU could bring to the table over the wall wart.

I can also imagine what a better class (read, more expensive) phono preamp. Not that there is any criticism to be offered for a $300 SS phono preamp with this level of performance, but there are better phono pre's out there, waiting to be explored.

As usual, YMMV.

S&G

 

My RP6's w/Exact are fed into a Rega Fono MK 2 and Aria, respectively.

If you are looking at the Fono, for the $300 I paid for mine used I am very happy with it. Definitely recommended. Have not heard the newer model.

 

All Rega turntables do have grounds that are connected to the phono preamps. They always have. What they do is what some other table designers have done as well, is to incorporate the ground lead into one of the RCA output shields. The reason is that it eliminates a separate wire and actually reduces hum on most systems as it grounds directly to the shield, which is the most sensitive part of the system. There is only a problem with grounding when the preamp that the table is connected to uses an odd ground scheme, ie floating or right channel only, etc. Rega chose the left channel shield to use as the ground point for their tonearms, just a random choice as the right channel would work equally as well. Most preamps and amps have what is considered a common ground layout, where the chassis is grounded and the inputs and outputs also use this ground for the signal ground. That ties everything to one point back at the wall socket ground. Despite being known by good techs for decades, countless DIY threads have been started about not knowing what to do or about doing unnecessary things such as modifying the arms. It is easy enough for a good tech (I don't recommend it as a DIY choice) to convert the tonearms to use a separate ground wire. That just creates another wire and another point to find a ground at. Rewiring the arm is always unnecessary and needlessly expensive. If a preamp has a floating signal ground scheme, it is usually easy to just run a small piece of wire from its chassis to the left signal input shield to complete the ground in that unit.
-Bill

 

Not that it really matters in this price range, but I believe the Rega Fono MM is a discrete input stage design followed by NE5532 dual opamp, as seen below... the only preamps from a "major" manufacturer I know of that don't use any opamps in this price range would be Rothwell, they use a combination of through-hole (top) and surface mount (bottom) parts on the PCB, but I'm sure there are probably others ...

 

Bill, all I can say is WOW!

Here is how the Decware amp (far right), is sitting, and to the immediate left is the VN Thorens TD-160-Super. To the left of that, sitting on top of one of the La Scala's, is the Rega RP6.

Backing up a bit, the Vn Thoren's has a Rega/Moth 202 tone arm, that has been rewired with a Cardas wiring harness, which has a ground wire. Where or how it is connected, I do not know. But, I did connect it to the Decware ZP3, with the ground wire.

I had a solid "hum", if I touched the tone arm of some other parts, the hum would stop. So I took a piece of speaker wire, connected it to the phone pre and then touched it to various places on the Thorens and the hum went away.

So I removed the platter, loosened a screw that was part of the speed changing gear and put a connector on the wire and grounded the TT to it.



This is only temporary, as I have looked over the videos on YouTube that Vinyl Nirvana has posted and bought three new quart paint cans, some kitty litter and intend to turn the TT over and run the second ground to the bottom of the table, on the inside. For now, this is a workable, temporary solution, until I fix it permanently.

Because of where the preamp is sitting in relation to the Rega, I had to turn it around and kind of rig it to connect the phono pre to the Rega.

I might be able to install a small shelf on the pillar above the Rega and relocate the Decware phono pre to it, in the future.

For now, the Musical Fideity X-LPS phono pre will be on the Rega and I will be searching to obtain a separate PSU to replace the wall wart this am with the unit. This cam from the member that I bought the RP6 from, once he upgraded his pono pre.

All this is excellent information to have.

Thank You!

 

Thanks, I did not have to opportunity to research this yet.

I really would like to get far far away from OP amps!

 

They're in everything!

 

It would seem that way!

 

They can also sound very good when implemented well. It shortens the signal path and lowers noise. Using better ones and optimizing performance by proper vetting of the surrounding circuits really produces a superior product. Rega's preamp designer, Terry Bateman, does a nice job of it.
-Bill

 

Well, there are quite a few all discrete solid state preamps if you move up the ladder a bit more into the MM/MC designs, Rega has their Aria for instance, but that is pushing $1500.

And there's the Audio Alchemy PPA 1, that can be had now for around $800, but gets more expensive if you add the separate power supply.

The Musical Surroundings Phonomena and Nova designs have all discrete signal paths, kind of, they use an opamp for the DC servo on the output to avoid a coupling capacitor, but it will become part of the overall sound in a feedback design.

The Whest Audio phono preamps don't use opamps.

Valab makes a LCR phono stage that is all discrete, very impressive 2-box design from Taiwan, LCR-1 MK2 for around $850 through ebay, one of the members here thought it a bit dry sounding though. I'd like to try one myself, though just for fun, I have plenty of other great sounding phono preamps with no op amps already

Plenty of others, but yes, you would have to do some careful research if that is a part of your buying criteria.

 

BTW, curious if anyone has heard this Audio Alchemy preamp? Fremer reviewed it very favorably a couple years ago at the original $1795 price calling it one of the handful of best under $2000 phono preamps available today, and now it's available at Audio Advisor for $799, I guess on closeout since it must've been discontinued. Looks like a great deal, but you never know why products are discontinued, could be a risk.

 

I buy from my local dealer to get warranty service, face-to-face consultation, and audition and inspect the product. I returned the old Elys cart for a $50 trade-in.

In my system, it was a very noticeable improvement across the board. More than a previous upgrade from a 20 year old P2/rb250 to RP/rb303 (same Elys cart and downstream system). It took about 20 hours for the good sound to materialize, but when it did, I ran through a lot of my favorite vinyl, forgetting my shiny discs and digital files. However, you might not hear as much improvement with your present system.

Hope this helps,

Robert M.

 

A little late but thanks anyway.

I found the upgrade substantial.

 

Guess I could've done a little research first on this, but Peter Madnick's Audio Alchemy was bought by Elac last year, and they've kept Madnick as chief designer to develop a new phono preamp under their name, so that explains why the PPA-1 is now discontinued and on closeout at some places, meaning that $799 price is probably a great buy. The new Elac model is supposed to be $500 cheaper, placing it at around $1300, which may or may not mean it will still be fully discrete, we'll see

 

Oops, I missed the May 20th thread start date. Probably not the first mistake I'll make tonight. Regardless, our knowledge-base gets a small bump.

Best regards,

Robert M.

 

Just got the Exact in the mail today! Setting it up was pretty easy, the three point mounting definitely makes things easier. I've not had a chance to listen much yet, but my initial impressions are that this is a great sounding cart! The soundstage is W I D E and very detailed. Beats the pants off my DL110, although that had quite a few hours on it.

The first record I spun was Dark Side of the Moon, an early UK pressing. Amazing bass and it sounded great. Next I played the MoFi 45rpm Grateful Dead's American Beauty, and I was hearing a lot more detail than before. Especially with the DL110, I was suffering from very bad inner groove distortion. With this record, I used to take it off the TT after the first track as it was pretty unbearable, but not with the Exact. Even the inner tracks sounded great.

If anything negative, I would say I detected a slight sibilance on some tracks, but not sure if that is the cart or the pressing.

 

Two phenomenal sounding LPs there.