NAD 533 c. 2000 vs 2017 Rega P6

[Ocean_of_Air]

I know the title of this thread will likely provoke some chuckles, but hear me out: I'm thinking of upgrading my older NAD 533 (with lots of existing upgrades) to a new Rega P6, and I'm wondering how much of an audible difference I'm likely to hear. Is this upgrade worth it?

My NAD 533 has been upgraded over the years with a RB 301 tonearm, a glass platter, the Rega white belt, and the controversial Ringmat (I hate the appearance, but it legitimately sounds noticeably better to me than other mats). The cart is a Nagaoka MP200.

Is it smarter just to upgrade the 533 with a Groovetracer sub-platter and call it a day for the time being, or is the current P6 a huge upgrade from my current set-up? The Neo-PSU would certainly be a nice convenience, considering I listen to a fair amount of 45s. I'd probably get a Nagaoka MP300 in lieu of the available Rega carts.

I'm comfortable with the price of the P6, but I'd also be happy to put the money towards upgrading another component in the system.

The rest of my system is: a Line Magnetic 211-IA with JJ power tubes and Gold Lion pre-amp tubes and a Parks Audio Budgie powering a pair of nicely preserved Epos ES-11s anchored by a REL T-3 sub-bass speaker.

Any opinions or advice would be appreciated!

 

[67dylan]

IMO, only you can answer if it is worth the price. Personally, I'd rather invest the money in more upgrades and more albums. You are basically very close to a P6 through upgrades to the 533. Is there really an increase in sound quality between the 2? I'd think not much. Go for anymore upgrades, like the subplatter and weight/stub (didn't read that was already upgraded).

 

[sqlsavior]

Funny you don't mention your cartridge.

I would put the money towards a London Decca Super Gold cartridge.

 

[67dylan]

He said a Nag 200.

 

[Dandy]

As the NAD is a rebadged Rega Planar 2, I guess the P6 would be an upgrade. How much more cash would you have to put in? My other question would be, Have you tried other flavours of tables, esp idler and direct drives? There's a lot of great stuff out there.

 

[Ocean_of_Air]

As the NAD is a rebadged Rega Planar 2, I guess the P6 would be an upgrade. How much more cash would you have to put in? My other question would be, Have you tried other flavours of tables, esp idler and direct drives? There's a lot of great stuff out there.

To be honest, I haven't owned any other models or drive styles. I'd welcome suggestions. I think I'm really just trying to decide which component to upgrade next, and the turntable seems like the most logical choice, since it's the component I've had the longest, followed by the speakers (Epos ES11s and REL T3). I've acquired the rest of the components within the last few years and am generally pretty happy with them, although I think I'd eventually like to upgrade to an all Leben pre-amp and amp set up.

 

[Dandy]

Do consider idler drive tables if you can, and direct drives. The former are best for bad.