My new Rega Ania sounds grainy/etchy--anything I can do?

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by rischa, Apr 5, 2018.

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  1. rischa

    rischa Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Mt. Horeb, WI
    I installed a new Ania cartridge on my RP3 about a week ago. It sounds good on all fronts other than it adds a bit of grain or etchiness to vocals. Is there anything I can do to mitigate this? My phono-pre (Rogue Triton) is fully adjustable and I've tried several settings, including Rega's reccomended, but nothing seems to help.

    I'm confident the cartridge is installed correctly. I've tried the Rega 3 point alignment, as well as a Conrad Hoffman protractor (Lofgren A) and the Mofi Geo Disc (Barewald, if I'm not mistaken). The tonearm is level, tracking force is a comfy 1.8 according to my digital scale, and antiskate is correctly set.

    I've had a few different carts on this table and none of those had this problem. Any advice is welcome!
     
  2. Onrd

    Onrd I am not a number

    It may be your interconnect cable - try a different one.
     
  3. rischa

    rischa Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Mt. Horeb, WI
    Many thanks--unfortunately the interconnects on my table are attached.
     
  4. Helom

    Helom Forum member

    Location:
    U.S.
    Can Rega arm/cart combos achieve true Baerwald alignment? My tonearm was designed with Rega geometry and only my Soundsmith cart is long enough to allow Baerwald. I use Stevenson and don't have any distortion issues.

    Play with tracking force adjustments before anything else. Try the maximum recommended force.
     
    TSWisla, McLover, Dan Steele and 2 others like this.
  5. rischa

    rischa Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Mt. Horeb, WI
    I was able to hit the mark on the Geo Disc with the sight-line aligned properly to my tonearm's pivot point. The cart is definitely forward of the headshell but it reaches.

    Thanks for the tip on tracking force--I'll give it a try.
     
  6. blakep

    blakep Senior Member

    Helom probably has it. Use the upper end of the tracking force for sure, so in the 1.9-2.0 grams range, probably closer to 2.

    60 dB of gain and 100 ohm load on the phono stage should be optimum.

    Lofgren A and the Geodisc are both Baerwald, so if you are using the tradtitonal 66 and 121 Baerwald null points with your Conrad Hoffman Arc, proper alignment on the Geodisc should follow the Arc accurately on the Hoffman arc protractor.

    If not, work on your alignment as well. Personally I am not a big fan of single point protractors like the Geodisc.
     
    McLover and rischa like this.
  7. rischa

    rischa Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Mt. Horeb, WI
    Well I'll be a son of a gun. I increased my tracking force to 2g and the graniness is all but gone!

    Many thanks to @Helom for the sound advice (pun intended). Look me up if you're ever in Madison, I owe you a beer.
     
  8. rischa

    rischa Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Mt. Horeb, WI
    I didn't realize Lofgren A was Barewald--good to know!
     
    McLover likes this.
  9. Helom

    Helom Forum member

    Location:
    U.S.
    Thanks for the offer, glad that did the trick for you. Hopefully some minor tweaking and break-in will take care of the rest. You might be able to lower the tracking force once the suspension breaks in.
     
    punkmusick, blakep and rischa like this.
  10. Thorensman

    Thorensman Forum Resident

    On many a MC when checking vtf with HI-fi news test disc i have gone over reccomended vtf to achieve decent trackinto find that the cartridge is now really performing.
    A 17d2 needed this to perform..
    Maybe the gauge (vtf) is not accurate
    Maybe manufacturers Are overly optimistic about vtf
     
  11. Olias of Sunhill

    Olias of Sunhill Forum Resident

    Location:
    Jim Creek, CO, USA
    Glad you were able to fix this to your satisfaction. I put an Ania MC on my RP6 a couple months ago and couldn't be happier. Incidentally, I started at the suggested 1.8g and quickly moved to 2.0g after several sessions.
     
    bluesaddict and rischa like this.
  12. Moroboshi

    Moroboshi Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Switzerland
    I can confirm that. I first started at 2g as that sounded best and after about a month I reduced it to 1.8g. Been running it like that for about 4 months now and the sound is beautiful.
     
    punkmusick and rischa like this.
  13. rischa

    rischa Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Mt. Horeb, WI
    I noticed that everything else popped a bit more into focus as well going from 1.8 to 2g--bass is much better for instance. I'll probably do as others have suggested and back off a bit as the cart breaks in, though.
     
    punkmusick likes this.
  14. JoeSmo

    JoeSmo SL1200 lover....

    Location:
    Maidstone
    I find Rega cartridges take a long , long time to run in?
     
  15. SNDVSN

    SNDVSN Forum Resident

    Location:
    Glasgow
    Just fitted an Exact and it sounds pretty good right out the box.
     
  16. rischa

    rischa Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Mt. Horeb, WI
    The Exact is a great cartridge. I have to admit I'm not sure yet if I find the Ania a worthwhile improvement over the Exact. The Ania does some things better, but the Exact did everything right. I'll know better when the Ania has more hours on it.
     
    gfong, Myke Reid and dbsea like this.
  17. Morbius

    Morbius Forum Resident

    Location:
    Brookline, MA
    What keeps me from jumping into the Ania is how can its bonded elliptical stylus outperform the Exacts nude complex fine line stylus regardless of the differences in the cartridges motor systems.
     
  18. avanti1960

    avanti1960 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Chicago metro, USA
    heard the same thing when i demo'd the P6 / Ania. since i had never heard a new cartridge sound that bad, regardless of break-in hours, i went in another direction.
     
    displayname and mike catucci like this.
  19. rischa

    rischa Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Mt. Horeb, WI
    Agreed, and I think this is the main difference I'm finding between the two. I used the 3 point alignment with the Exact with no distortion issues whatsoever, but get some pretty noticeable distortion using 3 point with the Ania (especially on old vinyl but also near the inner grooves of new vinyl). The ania behaves better using Barewald, but I still wouldn't say it improves on the Exact on all fronts. Anyway, I assume it's the fine line stylus of the Exact that allows it to track better than the Ania. I'm crossing my fingers that the Ania will improve with time, though I already have about 25 hours on it.
     
    Morbius likes this.
  20. SNDVSN

    SNDVSN Forum Resident

    Location:
    Glasgow
    Ania would have been my next upgrade but i'm not so sure now. Pretty impressed with the Exact so far and the 3 point fixing takes away any alignment issues. Coming from a Nag MP-110 treble is much sweeter with the Exact and less IGD.
     
    Morbius likes this.
  21. Pkonz

    Pkonz Forum Resident

    Location:
    Ottawa, on, Canada
    Resurrecting this thread because I too am concerned re new Ania cartridge sound. Just bought the Rega P6 / Ania package (on sale). Previous setup is a Music Hall with DV 10-5. I've also ordered the Rega Fono but its back ordered so the shop lent me an NAD P4 phono stage. Instantly, on first spin, playing Belafonte Carnegie Hall Analogue Productions, (I like as test record because the sound is impeccable and I like voice to judge) but it doesn't sound right. Re setup my Dynavector MMF and sound is fuller, voice better, peripheral instruments more musical. Is it break in? The phono stage? I think the VTF is probably right but I don't have a scale or have I made a mistake. Is a high output coil DV possibly better than an entry low output coil? I hope I haven't made a mistake.
     
  22. Guildx500

    Guildx500 Forum Resident

    Location:
    California
    So you used the dial on the arm to set tracking force? I would get a scale to be sure. They can be had really cheap now.
     
    Pkonz likes this.
  23. bluesaddict

    bluesaddict High Tech Welder

    Location:
    Loveland, Colorado
    I recently bought a P6 Ania package and found that when I first started playing some of my favorite albums I found they were lacking bass and some mid that my RP3 Exact with PSU had (after run in). The folks at Needle Doctor told me that the Ania needs at least 50 hours to run in and they were right. At 50 hours things started to come alive with fuller bass and mid. I'm very happy with the sound as it keeps on getting better as I put more hours on this setup. I think that the Rega fono pre has a lot to do with the overall sound being it was designed to bring out the best in the Ania. My P6 was setup at the factory and I checked it before spinning any albums, it was spot on. I set the tracking to 2.0g for the run in and now I'm at 1.8g and the sound is wonderful. I'm hearing things I never heard with my old setup (I use Morrow interconnects). Like others have said Rega take a long time to run in but the sound IMHO is worth the wait.
     
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  24. My recent upgrade to the Ania along with an Aria phono stage for my RP8 was the buggiest single (or I should say double) improvement I have ever experienced. Even more than the initial upgrade from the RP6 to 8 (with with the Exact). Switching to an MC cart and compatible stage was something I should have done a few years ago when I was happily playing my RP6.

    Im about 60 hours into them now and it keeps getting better and better. My dealer suggested at 100 plus hours it will be blissful splendor :tiphat:
     
    Pkonz likes this.
  25. Helom

    Helom Forum member

    Location:
    U.S.
    It won't hurt anything to adjust tracking force by ear. Adjust until you get the correct tonal balance and least distortion, repeat after break in.
     
    McLover, Pkonz and mike catucci like this.
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