Loading for Rega Apheta 3

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by Dave Calarco, May 13, 2020.

  1. Dave Calarco

    Dave Calarco Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Rega recommends 100 ohms and 1000 pF.

    Do users of this cartridge generally agree with these settings or have you found others to your preference?
     
  2. vinylontubes

    vinylontubes Forum Resident

    Location:
    Katy, TX
    I don't have that cartridge, but, I've never bought entirely into the concept that the manufacturer actually knows the correct settings for someone else's audio system. Maybe if you had entirely Rega products, their recommendation would be appropriate. But, I still doubt it.

    And this is Rega, Roy Gandy has a lot of controversial ideas and they get printed in their documentation. Things like don't bother cleaning your records. VTA doesn't matter. I've read their book and the topic of VTA is thoroughly explored. While I understand their reasoning for adding adjustable VTA, I don't fully agree with the assumptions they've made in their analysis. I'm not suggesting what they do is wrong or their products are bad. I own two of their decks. But I take everything from them with a grain of salt. It's not like they are always right. In fact, when I bought my P3-2000, the documentation stated that you should play records with the dust cover down to reduce vibrations from the speakers. They've since reversed their stance on this. The Planar 8 & 10 don't even come with traditional dust covers. I've never used like the hinges on their dust covers, so I've always just removed it entirely when I've played records.

    I do think their recommendations are a good starting point. Like Rega states to use the higher VTF parameter in the cartridge manufacturer's range. This is the setting I start with. And I pretty much leave it there until the cartridge is broken in. After that, I adjust it and bias until I find the best sounding setting. As for the loading on any cartridge, the electronics and the speakers are going to dictate what works best. On top of that, we all have our preferences in what we like. For my system, the manual for my phono states "A lower resistive setting provides increased focus and tighter bass, while a higher setting provides more openness." I started with the settings recommended by the cartridge manufacturer. And I left their through break-in. After that, I decided to change the setting to optimize them. And guess what? On my system, I got the direct opposite results from what is quoted. Whatever?
     
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  3. Dave Calarco

    Dave Calarco Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Yes. I understand, which is why I’m asking the question. Guess I’ll just play around with it.
     
  4. xfilian

    xfilian Forum Resident

    Location:
    Essex, UK
    As someone who has just had an Apheta 3 fitted, I will be interested to see what folk have to say on this one.
     
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  5. Echoes Myron

    Echoes Myron Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    With the Alpheta 2/Aria I go with the recommended settings and couldn't be happier.
     
  6. Dave Calarco

    Dave Calarco Forum Resident Thread Starter

    I’m demoing they Aria and the gold note ph-10 with my new P10. Started with the Aria last night with recommended settings and I was pretty impressed tbh. Thinking of maybe bumping it to 150 ohms for a tad bit more openness. But gonna leave it as is for a few days.
     
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  7. cut-out

    cut-out Forum Resident

    Location:
    Cambridge, MA, USA
    That's so great that you can compare those two! I'm anxious to hear your thoughts. Does the Gold Note accommodate Rega's 1000pF capacitance setting?
     
  8. Dave Calarco

    Dave Calarco Forum Resident Thread Starter

    I’m not sure. It’s arriving today. Is there a reason why it wouldn’t? Is that a rare setting?
     
  9. cut-out

    cut-out Forum Resident

    Location:
    Cambridge, MA, USA
    My Musical Surroundings only allows for 200 and 300 pF, and the manual says, "capacitive loading, ... is often used with moving-magnet cartridges and has little effect on moving-coil cartridges." SO, I've been curious about Rega's 1000 pF recommendation.
     
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  10. Dave Calarco

    Dave Calarco Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Any other Apheta owners want to chime in?
     
  11. Bart

    Bart Forum Resident

    Location:
    Boston
    Likewise; in fact we're listening to JJ Cale Troubador on our RP8/Apheta2/Aria right now.

    But I went ahead and agreed to trade it on on a P10/Aphelion2 today; arrives Monday I think.

    I use the recommended settings on my Aria, and on my Naim Superline which is going to replace the Aria. But you really can't hurt anything by playing around with settings.
     
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  12. Bart

    Bart Forum Resident

    Location:
    Boston
    My Naim SuperLine comes with several options for capacitive loading . . . so I dunno!
     
  13. Bart

    Bart Forum Resident

    Location:
    Boston
    The Aria and Gold Note are about the same price (?) I'd be interested to hear your comparisons. The Aria is quite nice; an impressive little box.
     
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  14. avanti1960

    avanti1960 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Chicago metro, USA
    capacitance is not relevant for MC cartridges.
     
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  15. Musician95616

    Musician95616 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Woodland, Ca
    I have an Apheta 3 and a Rega Aria phonostage. Never thought about changing the setting, but just went ahead and flipped the setting from 100 to 150. Compared the two several times and I think I like it at 150 better? It does sound like there is more openness and air. My system has a good bottom end as it is, so I can compensate for any loss there.
     
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  16. Josquin des Prez

    Josquin des Prez I have spoken!

    Location:
    U.S.
    Well it must have some relevance because the Naim SuperLine phonostage provides loading options for capacitance, as well as resistance. The default is 100pf but it comes with plugs for other values: 1 nf, 4.7 nf and 10nf
     
  17. Dave Calarco

    Dave Calarco Forum Resident Thread Starter

    interesting. gonna try 150 tomorrow. Definitely impressed with the Aria thus far!

    how delicate is the apheta? I’m used to a Dynavector with a very short cantilever, so the apheta’s looks soooo long to me. Is it super fragile or pretty solid? Should I be concerned using my onzow zerodust? It’s been making me nervous during the first 48 hours of ownership here...
     
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  18. Morbius

    Morbius Forum Resident

    Location:
    Brookline, MA
    I clean my stylus incessantly, for every record I play but I'm careful not to deflect the cantilever to much. A couple of weeks ago I was setting up a record to play when my elbow bumped a record cabinet I have adjacent to the turntable and the reflex caused me to bat the tonearm causing the stylus to contact the record leaving a one inch audible scratch across the first track. The tonearm swung across the record to its stop and bounced back where I stopped it. I was totally bummed I had scratched the record since it was a new copy of Harold Vick's D0n't Look Back but to my total relief the Apheta 2 was totally unscathed!
     
  19. avanti1960

    avanti1960 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Chicago metro, USA
    yes, capacitance affects the response of MM cartridges.
     
  20. Musician95616

    Musician95616 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Woodland, Ca
    I use the Onzow on my Apheta 3 and no problems there. Just be gentle and slow.
     
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  21. Josquin des Prez

    Josquin des Prez I have spoken!

    Location:
    U.S.
    Yes, but the SuperLine is for MC cartridges only. It doesn't support MM. Those capacitance loads for MC must be for a reason.
     
    Last edited: May 14, 2020
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  22. Dave Calarco

    Dave Calarco Forum Resident Thread Starter

    ok. I have been holding the onzow in one hand and using the tone arm lever to lower it onto the surface and back up. So it’s going slow. This seems ok, yeah?
     
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  23. cut-out

    cut-out Forum Resident

    Location:
    Cambridge, MA, USA
    Further, all of Rega's MC phono stages have capacitance ranges, from Fono MC up to the Aura. From the Aura's spec page: 1000, 2000, 3200, 4300, 5700 pF.
     
  24. Josquin des Prez

    Josquin des Prez I have spoken!

    Location:
    U.S.
    Can you put the Onzow on the platter and lower the stylus to it that way, to avoid any movement from you holding it? That's how my DS Audio (similar to Onzow) is designed. It even has a leather bottom to be gentle, in case there is a record on the platter already.
     
  25. Musician95616

    Musician95616 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Woodland, Ca
    I've always just kept my tonearm in it's resting place and then brought the Onzow "up" into it. Seems to have always worked for me.
     
    maellen and cut-out like this.

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