So I think I have to have a dealer setup my cart. (poor tracking)

Seems easy enough. I just bought an RP1 which is as plug & play as you can get. I purchased the performance pack and after what I thought was an easy (as expected) install of the new cart, it is tracking poorly on the first cuts of LPs. Using the paper template supplied by Rega, everything looks in order. (In addition I played with a fancy metal protractor that sets up on the pivot of the tonearm) I've also tried ignoring the bias slider recommendations to get a clearer image of how moving it effects playback.

This cart (the bias 2) is supposed to mirror the settings of the stock 'carbon' cart so no adjustments needed. But as I mentioned in another thread, it's difficult to 'square' this cart as there are no real linear lines. It's shaped like an arrow so it's difficult to eyeball how straight it's been mounted although I'm quite sure I've gotten really close as many times as I've reset it.

Before I head out the door (frustrated) any words of wisdom from the crew here.

Thanks,

-Mike

 

IME the Rega protractor was useless. Try downloading and printing a Heybrook, I always had much better results with that.

 

Am I missing something? All three screws on a Rega cart / Rega headshell and you're golden. No?

 

Dont worry too much about getting the cartridge square in the head, instead get the cantilever arm running inline with the marks on your protractor.
Make sure your TT is dead level as well. Of course it's always possible that there's miss match between cart and arm.
Dont be afraid to run at the stated max tracking force of your cartridge either(use a good digital gauge for this) My cart tracks best at Dynavectors max with my arm.

Not snipping at the op but i never cease to be puzzled by the number of people who who have troubles with vinyl playback but wont shell out for a couple of good setup tools like a digital gauge and a Feickert Universal Protractor . It's not rocket science and the tools will last a life time.

 

My Bias 2 cart is all the way forward in the head shell and appears to line up with the Rega paper protractor. Sounds fine.

 

Figured it out. Thanks for the replies. The weight, which was supposed to be exactly the same as the Rega Carbon cart that came installed, was in fact not the 1.75 that it was supposed to be. Pushing the weight on the tonearm as far as it would go as prescribed was too much. Dialing it back a little combined with a slight adjustment of the anti-skate did the trick. I'm back in business.

 

Essential.

 

Installing a Rega cart in a Rega headshell with all three screws guarantees perfect alignment to Rega's specifications. Is it Baerwald geometry? No. But I thought the whole point of buying Rega carts was to leverage this design feature. I don't think I've ever heard of someone buying a Rega cart with the intention of using a protractor and deviating from Rega's geometry. Wouldn't you just buy a non-Rega cart? Setting aside any discussion of the relative quality of Rega phono carts, they are not cheap compared to similar items from other manufacturers. Some even say they are overpriced.

 

The Bias 2 cart is 2 screws, not 3. 3 certainly would have solved this issue.

 

Here's a photo (not mine) of a Bias 2 with three screw mounting on a Rega headshell:

 

OMG! You need to zero balance the tonearm with the cartridge mounted and start again with tracking weight.

 

This turntable is really designed to do as the OP described.

 

That's an Elys cartridge.

 

Bias is red, Elys is blue, Exact is yellow.

And I still don't get why there is an issue with alignment when the third screw just solves the issue. Paper protractor vs. third screw? I'm just not getting it.

 

That photo is the old Elys, which was a magenta/violet color. The name of that photo on the website it comes from is rega-Elys.jpg. I owned one and I remember the color.

 

Reading the RP1 instructions do help when installing the Bias 2. Have a look at the pictures!

http://www.rega.co.uk/downloads/RP1 instructions ENGLISH.pdf

Look at figure #4

 

Correct on the colors but the Bias 2 does not have a hole for a third mounting screw. From the Rega website:

Bias 2
Output: 6.8 - 7.2mV
Stylus: elliptical
Fixing: standard, two screws
Coils: High Spec parallel wound coils
Colour: Red

 

I always thought the paper protractor that came with the table was punishment for not purchasing a Rega cart. So now it turns out one must purchase at least an Elys to get the "three screw" feature?

Now I understand why Rega carts are unpopular with so many.

I learned something today.

 

That's a tidy solution that Rega came up with! I also loved the way that Technics supplied an alignment jig with the SL-1200 series.

I really wish that more tonearms were designed for foolproof alignment. I have an SME 3009 S2 Improved, and downloaded the SME paper protractor, which I printed out on cardstock and used a pin to poke a hole for the stylus tip. It's pretty effective, but everytime I use it, I worry that the diamond will get snagged and pull off the cantilever.

 

But it appears that one must spend a minimum of $300 US to get access to that "tidy solution"