Rega Planar 8 owners

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by liptrot, Sep 23, 2019.

  1. KT88

    KT88 Senior Member

    I have used both the Lehmann Black Cube SE II and the Rega Aria. Both are excellent.
    -Bill
     
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  2. Lemon Curry

    Lemon Curry (A) Face In The Crowd

    Location:
    Mahwah, NJ
    Hi folks, a "post mortem" on my P8 purchase.

    I (finally!) got my Planar 8, Apheta3, and Aria.

    Feedback:
    1. I don't know if it's a defect, one poor unit or what, but the Aria was noisy. Like, very noisy. Perhaps if I saw things through and got a replacement, everything would have turned out fine. Instead my dealer suggested a brand new...

    2. ..Parasound PC3 Jr as a replacement. Having read many reviews, I took the leap, and I'm very pleased! This is a super quiet unit, and matches perfectly with the P8/Apheta. And oh yeh, (yeh yeh yeh!) has a mono button that really comes in handy.

    3. The P8 and Apheta3 sound great. So great, in fact, that I'm scrambling to make downstream improvements to truly appreciate this combo! Acoustic panels and vibration dampers are going up, each one having a positive impact on sound.

    4. Three examples of sonic perfection:
    A. Thelonious Monk -Underground. Like I invited him over to play at dinner
    B. Pink Floyd - Animals. Wow. I bought this as a teen, and never realized what was in those grooves! Amazing how we go from jazz to rock with no issue. This may be a "clinical" cart, but not so much that it won't rock!
    C. Beatles - Sgt Pepper 2014 Mono. (Had to be this one, right?). A try out for the PC3 Jr Mono button. Absolutely tremendous! The first time I really "heard" it, 100%. Until Apple gets us a better stereo mix, this is the one and it really delivers on this table!

    5. Other than the Aria, were there issues?
    Well, the Apheta3 attaches to the Planar 8 tonearm via three screws, assuming alignment will be perfect. Well guess what, it wasn't. Not off by far, but still off. I removed the third screw, and got out the protractor. Easy fix, but a fix that was needed.
    One other issue is the cue mechanism is a bit wonky. It drops the arm too fast, unless you drop the lever all the way at once, in which case it takes a long time to get to the vinyl. Almost a feature to me, in that I like the human involvement in going easy, but be aware in case it's not just my unit.
    VTR? I'm not bothering to check. Everything sounds fine for now.

    And that's the bottom line for me... everything sounds fine! My vinyl never sounded so good! The P8/Alpheta3 is tremendous and I thank everyone who weighed in on the conversation. My personal experience is that you will super-pleased with a Parasound PC3 Jr as well as a Rega Ania.

    And this is before it breaks in!
     
    Last edited: Sep 12, 2020
  3. Jofo

    Jofo Active Member

    Location:
    Finland
    Anyone tried different Stands/bases with the p8/10? Im curious about the subject because an wall mount is not really an option for me. At least in my house you can feel more vibrations on the wall than on the floor when playing music, so why wall mount?
     
  4. Lemon Curry

    Lemon Curry (A) Face In The Crowd

    Location:
    Mahwah, NJ
    I have a very basic stand that has pointed feet that make contact with a carpet, with concrete below. The P8 goes on the top.

    I found that this produced a slightly brittle sound, not what I was expecting. I added a 1" thick low-end acoustic foam platform between the P8 and table, and this made a huge difference. The brittleness was gone, and everything suddenly was sweeter.
    I'm experimenting with platter mats next.
     
  5. robertawillisjr

    robertawillisjr Music Lover

    Location:
    Hampton, VA
    I have a Planar 10 and tried the thin Symposium which was okay but I had problems fitting adjustable footers. I now have the Finite Elemente - Carbofibre SD Isolation Base (19.7" x 18.7" x 0.9") **OPEN BOX** DEMO_AFINCBASECF02 from Music Direct and found that the sound is smoother with more details. Not as hard as without any base. I found a demo which reduced the price somewhat. Some people swear by butcher block and others like the Adona granite. The problems with those is that you will need to fit them with adjustable footers. IMHO, it is imperative to get the TT as level possible (exactly level is very much preferred).

    Even an inexpensive adjustable Audio platform should be worthwhile.
     
  6. Jofo

    Jofo Active Member

    Location:
    Finland
    I have also found out that it´s extremely important to get these 100% level. My first P8 was with the Ania cartridge, and i didn´t notice any level issues with that one. ( But everyone whose thinking about buying one, dont do it!. It´s probably the worst tracking cartridge ever produced by mankind ) When i got my current P8 with apheta 2, i had an issue that the whole stereo image was sailing all over the place. It was usually over to the left ( or right, cant remember) at the beginning of an LP and then started to move towards center towards the end of the record. But it felt like every record was different, some was bang in the middle all the time and some was a lot off center.. So i thought there´s something wrong with this TT because i have not expierenced this with any other TT. I almost gave up but decided to check everything one last time and i noticed it was leaning just enough that you could see it on the level i have. So i cut a piece of paper (thick, not newspaper) and placed it under one of the feet´s and the stereo image was centered again... so it´s very critical.

    Wow, that carbon base is sick. Is the feet´s on that one coupled to the base or is there something in between? Unfortunately it´s out of my budget ( would gladly have one =) )

    IsoAcoustics zaZen Isolation Platform

    A new base from Iso acoustics, but no adjustable feet and it´s suspended.
     
  7. robertawillisjr

    robertawillisjr Music Lover

    Location:
    Hampton, VA
    The supplied footers for the Finite Elemente - Carbofibre SD Isolation Base are adjustable and replaceable by any of the more expensive Finite Elememte footers. I really like this base and glad that I stretched to get it.
     
  8. cchach

    cchach New Member

    Location:
    Mahopac, New York

    Hi! I am new to these forums so please be patient with me! I don't have a Rega Torque Wrench so what size Torx screwdriver do I use for the Apheta 3?
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Feb 22, 2021
  9. Plinko

    Plinko Senior Member

    Maybe Bill and others can chime in...

    I have a P8/Apheta 2 and trying to decide whether to upgrade to the P10 or look into the Aura phono stage instead. What is a better upgrade? I’m thinking Aura would be a bigger upgrade but no idea, really.

    Ideally, best scenario would be for a dealer or Sound Org to send a demo Aura to compare against my current phono stages. I haven’t contacted any dealers about whether this is possible.
     
    Last edited: Feb 23, 2021
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  10. Echoes Myron

    Echoes Myron Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    I would think the Aura as well. I haven't heard it yet myself but have read very positive things. If I ever upgrade my main system (RP10/Apheta 2>Aria phono>Elicit-R) my first move will be the Aura.
     
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  11. KT88

    KT88 Senior Member

    A torque wrench and a torx bit are completely different things. Rega uses hex screws on the cartridge mounts, so you'll need an allen key set if you want to change cartridges. I don't have the exact size with me, but any full set should have one that fits well enough to work. If you don't want to change cartridges, then leave it alone.
    -Bill
     
  12. KT88

    KT88 Senior Member

    I would think the Aura would be the biggest change, but the Planar 10 is a pretty big leap too. Most people get the turntable first. I don't think that's so much because they have heard both, but because an Aura citing is a pretty rare occurrence.
    :cheers:
    -Bill
     
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  13. Plinko

    Plinko Senior Member

    Thanks gentlemen. Yes, the Aura is a rare occurrence. It’s expensive and wondering how it competes with some US domestic options besides my own stages.
     
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  14. ThorensSme

    ThorensSme Forum Resident

    Location:
    Spokane
    I have not heard the Aura, but, I am using a Manley Chinook with my P8/Apheta 3. Sound is incredible. Huge step up, but I knew it would be as I was using a Fono MM Mk 3 before.
     
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  15. Echoes Myron

    Echoes Myron Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    I love my Chinook. It is a special piece of gear.
     
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  16. Jofo

    Jofo Active Member

    Location:
    Finland
    Anyone here that uses a non Rega cart on the Planar 8? Im about to get mad about the sibilance / IGD i get on certain records with the Apheta 2. And before somebody says my records are worn out then the answer is it doesn´t matter if the records are brand new or old, same problem. It tracks like a champ until halfway through where the sibilance start on certain records. Maybe that´s where the tracking error is greatest with the rega alignment? But i guess the only solution to get rid of IGD is a cart with ML/MR stylus.


    Would nice to get something that has the same character that the apheta but would track anything from start to finish. It feels kinda wrong to get a 150$ AT cart even though i think i would be more satisfied with that then having these tracking problems :D
     
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  17. Echoes Myron

    Echoes Myron Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    Interesting. I have virtually zero IGD w/the Apheta 2 on my Rega.
     
  18. JCOehler

    JCOehler Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    I have a P8 and have used both the Ania Pro and now an Apheta 3, both using the Rega three point installation without issue. With that said, in the past I have owned a Rega turntable and Rega cartridge where I had the same issue as you Jofo. What I found was even though the Rega cartridge was "new", the cantilever was ever so slightly skewed. So I removed the third mounting bolt, used an arc protractor specific to the Rega tonearm and aligned & installed the cartridge using only the two side bolts as adding the third bolt put it back into the slight misalignment causing the IGD.
     
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  19. Jofo

    Jofo Active Member

    Location:
    Finland
    Echoes Myron:
    Interesting. What tracking force are you using? Im at maximum recommended 2g to minimise the problems im having. I think it sounds better with less tracking force but that just increases the IGD problem. The antiskating i have adjusted according to soundsmith´s recommendation ( moving slowly inwards on a record without grooves ) which is just over 1 on the rega scale. I think i get more sibilance with more.

    JCOehler:
    Did you use an printed protractor or can you buy one specifically for the rega arms? Feels like i need to try that
     
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  20. JCOehler

    JCOehler Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
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  21. Echoes Myron

    Echoes Myron Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    I am using 1.87 which sounds the best. When I had my TT in for some work earlier this year, my tech actually got the best tracking at 2.5. This eliminated any sibilance I had on a couple offending records, but the sound became very hard. So after a month or so I began dialing back down to 1.87, which is where I had kept it before.

    I also keep antiskate low at 1, which on my RB2000 is the first ring.

    I use the three-point with no problem, but agree with @JCOehler to focus on aligning the cantilever.
     
  22. ThorensSme

    ThorensSme Forum Resident

    Location:
    Spokane
    So my Apheta 3 is closing in on 1000 hrs and I’m starting to think about the next cartridge for my P8. As good as the Apheta 3 is, I like trying new things.
    I’m wondering what other folks are using and having success with. Looking at carts less than $1500. Also, please mention if you are using a shim or not. My understanding is that the Apheta 3 is 16mm in height, not the 14mm of the Rega MM carts.
     
  23. Echoes Myron

    Echoes Myron Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    I think you may have a lot of life in that cart. Are you hearing any problems?
     
  24. ThorensSme

    ThorensSme Forum Resident

    Location:
    Spokane
    I don't think so. I had a moment of audiophile paranoia and thought I was hearing more sibilance than normal, but it still sounds pretty damn good!
     
  25. Echoes Myron

    Echoes Myron Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    I had two years on mine and thought I would replace it, but I took it in to my tech who said it was basically perfect. (Apheta 2)
     

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