What can go THAT wrong in a Rega P3?

I have been collecting mid-level turntables for a few years; Thorens, Dual, Mission, Technics, etc.

So I was excited, 2 years ago, when a friend gave me her deceased husband's 90s Planar 3. It looked so cool! And what a fanbase it has - it must be spectacular, I thought.

What a disappointment and a headache.

It is useless at keeping correct speed, or keeping any speed stable - even to ears, let alone RPM apps. Isolation is very poor. RUmble isn't great.

Then there is that sexy arm, the RB300. It is OK - but only OK. No VTA, an antiskate that doesn't seem that effective (this may be me), and not the best sound or tracking ability. And mediocre wiring.

I've ended up doing a pile of tweaks - making a DIY isolation base, attaching the motor to the isolation base, adding a plastic thrust plate to the bearing, adding a DIY fluid damper to the arm. These have made slight improvements, and the sound is OK - but again, only OK (compared to a Mission 775S, a Thorens TD160, a Dual 1009, or even a humble Technics SL-D2).

That's it, I'm a-gonna sell her. Thanks for this thread, made this decision a bit easier.

 

Well, for the record, minutely tuned with an Exact and equipped with the PSU, I don't have fluctuations in speed (measured at 33.3/33.4 rpm as per app) and the cart is actually shining, with less than 0.5db imbalance between channels. YMMV, but what cart are you using? For example Grados are known to be hum suckers on Regas, definitely. A few others that a I forgot, as well. The good is that once properly set up, it's a great TT with a very nice sound. The down is that AFAIC setting that up with anything other than a Rega cell is a Russian roulette enterprise. Might be good, might be really bad.

 

So, just to get this straight, after the ominous thread tittle choice and initial bashing of Rega cartridges and including the possibility of turntable wiring issues by others, it turned out to be a faulty Audio Technica cartridge? And the proper installation of a Rega Exact cartridge results in excellent sound?
-Bill

 

I have had no trouble installing all sorts of cartridges from many different brands on many different Rega tables. All cartridges do require proper set-up and alignment to get proper performance returns.
-Bill

 

What it seems strange is that he tested more than one cartridge, all of them with wrong balance.

 

Apparently most cartridges - even those cartridges costing upwards of $3000! - will have major channel imbalances, unless meticulously aligned and adjusted.

Setting Up A Phono Cartridge

 

Not sure why the attitude, but it's a free world. It remains a fact that the first Elys 2 had -3db to the left, the first Exact -1.5, and the AT -5.5 (but it did have a physical problem). I have no problem acknowledging that when a Rega cart is proper, it's really good. Just the QC does really suck, apparently.

 

On a P3? Shims at the ready!

 

Why do you need shims to adjust VTF?

 

Unless the recent models come with it, the only way to modify the vertical alignment was to add a 2mm spacer.

 

I was talking about VTF, not VTA. ))

 

I've misspoken.

I knew one was a PITA on my old Rega!

 

I understand ... but three in a row ...

 

Just to restate something that was mentioned earlier, as it seems some folks do not realize this.........basically ALL cartridges will have some channel imbalance.

Look at the specs of your carts to see (if they are posted).


The popular Hana carts are around 1.5-2 db. Most Ortofons are around 1 to 1.5 db (unless you get up to the big money carts which are around 0.5 db). Most of the AT carts are listed around 1 db......etc/etc/etc.

 

Happens with me all the time! )))
But seriously, I had quite a wrong balance on my cart until I dialed proper weight (2 instead of 1.5)

 

Agreed, that's why I didn't make a fuss about the first Exact that had -1.3/-1.5 roughly, until it just broke I kept it like a year and half+.
But 3db, and obviously 5.5db, were just unacceptable.

 

Yeah, I nearly sent my deck back (a super OEM variant) but started messing around with the counterweight, anti-skate and the vertical alignment dial then it all started to sound much better.

VTA at 6mm (max), counterweight at 2.5g and anti-skate 2.5 - 3.

 

it seems some folks do not realize this ... ... i use vinyl since early 70s, and in a standard maded cartridge you will not hear imbalance in your speakers. If you can clearly hear it ... that's simply wrong.