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

@swvahokie

You're exactly right. I don't want to give up on the Ania, because I can tell that the potential is there, it just needs to be extracted. I am getting the Dr. Feickert universal protractor. My torque wrench should get here in 1-2 days, the Okki Nokki next week, I'll be a lot more clever in a week's time. One way or another I'm going to get the setup right. I'll make sure to give an update.

 

Let it break in. What you are hearing may just be the stiff suspension.

 

So I have realigned the cartridge with the help of the Dr. Feickert universal protractor using the Baerwald alignment and it is tracking a whole lot better now. The tonal distortions are all but gone. On certain records there is still a lot of surface noise, but I have a feeling that the RCM will take care of that to a considerable degree, after that it'll be just ramping up the hours on the cartridge and then cutting back on the VTF a bit, once it's broken in and I think I'll be set. Any noise that's left after that, I'll put it down to the quality of the pressing. I cannot wait to collect more records. I have a pretty good digital source (Macbook Air/Audirvana Plus - Acoustic Revive USB with separated data and power line - Chord 2Qute D/A-converter) but in musicality this thing is miles ahead.

 

So while I was able to appreciate the effects of using a proper RCM, the sound just didn't gel...I just knew it wasn't how it was supposed to sound..
So I went ahead and got a Hana SL...right from the get go, perfect sound...THIS is how it is supposed to sound. Either my Ania MC unit is faulty or the difference is just this staggering. I'll try and have the cartridge checked out by Rega because I suspect it is the former.
Anyway..even out of the box the Hana SL is just a totally different experience. Now I am really glad I got the analogue setup.

 

allow it proper time to break in

 

I had exact the same experience earlier this week when I got a new cartridge installed. At last I now realize how good vinyl can (and is supposed to) sound!

 

I'll be perfectly happy to do that!

 

It really is lovely. I cannot wait to expand my vinyl collection. The Okki Nokki that I bought is also very easy to use. I can only hope that it will last.

 

This is great - exactly mirrors my experience ditching the Ania for the Hana SL. I try not to disparage the Ania because I know people love it, but it just sounded wrong to me. And I'm sorry, but 100 hours for break-in is rediculous. I think that's just how long it's taking people to convince themselves that they didn't waste their money.

Anyways, congrats on the Hana!

 

I think the Ania is a great cart, but apparently they had a faulty series of them which has now been corrected. My Ania actually sound fantastic right away but degraded after about 10-15 hours and then the left channel died completely. I think Rega has fixed the issue .

For now I have an old Exact on my RP 8 which actually sounds really amazing, but I wile switching to the brand new $1200 Hana. Probably in the new year. Looking forward to it, as I keep hearing great things about them.

 

After around 10 hours of playtime the Hana SL is already very impressive. It's just a very grown-up sound. Loads of detail, yet not intrusive at all. Fantastic. The changes during burn-in are very palpable. It is playing " Amie " from Damien Rice as I am typing this. The whole portrayal is just real. I think that is the word...real.

 

I know this thread has been inactive for a few months but I joined just to reply. I just recently purchased a Rega Planar 6/Ania and Fono MC combo. Sadly, I am not at all impressed. Surface noise is just as loud as the music on some records and inner groove distortion is still a problem. I had the Planar 6/Exact 2 combo for a few weeks before exchanging it for the Ania and in my opinion it sounded much better. Bass was more detailed and had more impact then the Ania. Mids/vocals were very smooth. Thinking about sending it all back and ditching the vinyl community. I can't understand why people are preferring the pops, clicks and distortion that are present even on $2500 tables. I see in the posts above that their solution was to keep dumping money into another expensive cartridge. Looks like a money pit with no bottom in sight.
I understand that some people have lots of money invested in their analog system and want to see it come back, but truth be told, any newbies out there are not going to like what they hear. Most of them are not going to be buying $2000 turntable/cartridge combos, so their experience is going to be even worse. I was hoping that with new technologies, maybe just maybe, the vinyl playback was improved since I last owned a turntable back in 1980s but it hasn't. The very same problems are still present. You are just paying more for hardware and vinyl and getting the same sub par experience.

 

Why don't you just ditch the Ania and go back to the Exact if you prefered it soundwise? Then start to do some research, go to hi fi stores and friends with turntables and listen and then try to find the MC cart that suits your ears- the Hana and Benz Micro carts are good matches when combined with Rega turntables/tonearms. As an example Benz Micro carts from the model Ace and up are really good at reducing surface noise so there are solutions to solve the problems you're experiencing.

 

I felt very much like you until i ditched expensive carts for my current cheapy cart. I have never been happier. If i have a noisey LP i usually give up on it and replace it with a well mastered CD.

 

Either something is wrong with the cart or you are playing very beat up records?

I would check with your dealer about the Ania issues.

 

The Ania apparently requires a very long run-in time before it sounds its best... like 100-150 hours.

Personally I think that's highly annoying (maybe even borderline unacceptable), but the Ania has its fans who say the end result is well-worth it. YMMV.

If you don't want to deal with the Ania run-in and you greatly preferred the Exact (sounds like you did), I'd go back to that. Don't see why you'd dump the whole vinyl experience over the Ania, when it'd be easy to just go back to a cart you liked a lot previously.

Far as ppl who keep scatter-shot throwing $$$ at problems, that isn't really the way to solve problems in any system, be it analog or digital, and you'll find ppl who do that with both. A good-sounding analog front-end doesn't have to cost a crazy amount.
.

 

None of the problems of vinyl playback have really been solved. All we can do is mitigate them. We mitigate them by being anal about record cleaning, buying records pressed at top-tier plants with low surface noise, using cartridges with advanced stylus profiles, and so on.

If you have a badly pressed record or a record that is old and dirty and scratched, it's going to have more noise than a brand new audiophile record pressed at RTI or Pallas.

I'm not surprised you are experiencing surface noise and IGD with the Ania at all. Many MC carts pick up a lot of surface noise (not to mention often lower S/N ratio from the gain necessary to use them) and the Ania only has an elliptical stylus. There will be IGD with that cartridge on certain records no matter what. What it costs is completely irrelevant.

Re: turntable technology, I'd argue that it's actually gone BACKWARDS since the 80s, not the other way around. The economies of scale and R&D budgets needed to advance it just aren't there anymore and likely never will be there again.

Now, I like vinyl, but I'm acutely aware of its playback problems and don't romanticize it the way some people do. My advice is to ask yourself if you want to try again and if it's worth it to you. If not, just return or sell your equipment and move on. Life is too short to be annoyed and unsatisfied.

Nothing wrong with sticking to digital formats for music playback. I still have way more CDs and digital music than records and it will likely stay that way for me.

 

The Ania does need a lot of time to settle in but check with your dealer as Rega did have issues with a bad batch of the Ania carts last year. Mine was retuned and I am back to using the Exact 2 on my RP8. The Exact 2 sound fantastic on my table since it was burned in.

I do now have a $750 credit with my dealer which I'm having him hold on to as I may want to upgrade to the new Hana M MC Cart. I'm luck as her is my table and cart guru and will come by my house to set it all up since he lives nearby.

 

i'll also chime in on Ania problems. i just got a replacement for what i considered a damaged or harsh sounding ania, and the brand new cart actually sounds worse! distortion, scratchy, as if it's also damaged, but it's BRAND NEW???!? I don't buy the break in period, because i couldn't listen to this thing for more than 15 minutes... at this point I really think rega may have a production problem. i'm trying not to give up, but going to try to contact them... by the way, this is on an all rega system: P3, Elex-R and RX5 speakers.. I have an older shelter 901 and it sounds RIDICOULOUSLY good, so i know it's not any of the other componants. Just wanted to give some of the other posters some credit and say "me too".

 

What is your phono pre. What do you have it loaded at? What is the gain?

 

rega fono MC set to default specs as suggested for the ania

 

Something isnt right because that isn't how the ania sounds.

 

But that's what he attempted to say, he's just echoing some of the concerns from other posters that have gotten bad sounding Anias. There seems to be a QA problem. I don't think anyone doubts that some of you have great sounding Anias. Either that, or some of you have drastically different sound expectations

 

Mine sounds great, however the elliptical picks up more surface noise than my ML cartridges.
I noticed that setting the Ania with 2g VTF removes surface noise, any less and I get ticks and pops

 

It’s saddening to learn that so may people here are experiencing issues with their Ania cartridges. Mine sounded good from the very first record on. If it improve at all with time that’s just an added bonus. (I also was able to demo a well broken in Ania before making my purchasing decision.)

I’ve received nothing but enjoyment from the Ania. If that wasn’t the case I would be spending my time discussing the problem with my dealer instead of chatting about it online. That’s who should be making things right.

Once you’ve spent your money on a product like the Ania or the P6/Ania combo you should expect complete satisfaction. The dealer should be the one to make this happen. If they can’t do so then I wouldn’ blame anyone for moving on to other options.