Rega Owner's Thread

[RumpyLover]

@KBOO7 well I ordered the Michael Lim isolation base along with an outboard box kit for the motor pcb. This will be interesting! Hope i’m up to this!

 

[jrtrent]

Anyone willing to share thoughts on phones preamps? These things rapidly spiral out of control when one is researching them!
How far should I stretch for the P6 with the Ania cartridge? $500? $1000? $1400? More?

Just curious to know if you've come up with something you like. Earlier you had written, "Looking for one with a defeatable RIAA filter, so I can record using software filters." I hadn't previously heard of the idea of using a phono stage without the RIAA equalization, and no phono stage I've owned has had that feature. I love the built-in phono stage of my Audio by Van Alstine preamp (though I've only compared it to stand-alone units up to the $1000 price point), and if I needed a stand-alone unit, I'd look first at their $500 Vision Q model. If I needed defeatable RIAA equalization, I'd call them to see if they could include that as a feature in my particular unit.

 

[Paul_R]

Just curious to know if you've come up with something you like. Earlier you had written, "Looking for one with a defeatable RIAA filter, so I can record using software filters." I hadn't previously heard of the idea of using a phono stage without the RIAA equalization, and no phono stage I've owned has had that feature. I love the built-in phono stage of my Audio by Van Alstine preamp (though I've only compared it to stand-alone units up to the $1000 price point), and if I needed a stand-alone unit, I'd look first at their $500 Vision Q model. If I needed defeatable RIAA equalization, I'd call them to see if they could include that as a feature in my particular unit.

I missed looking at Audio by Van Alstine. I just sold my ancient old tube DAC from them. Loved it to death, but I am developing an allergy to tubes.

I have albums coming out of my ears here; some inherited, some garage sale finds, many just from the decades ago when if you wanted to buy some music, an LP was your only choice. Recording them preserves the beautiful vinyl sound, but also makes them so convenient to listen to digitally. And I admit, the thought has entered my head of selling some of these off for beer money. I figure an ancient album might sell for a few dollars if I include a lightly restored digital version with it. Just taking out the clicks and pops and maybe getting rid of a bit of groove damage here and there.

So, when I looked, I have things like 10" records with Marian Anderson on one side, and Thelma Carpenter on the other. Neither of which uses RIAA equalization. Most strangely, it appears that the Marian Anderson songs use Decca 1955 equalization, and the Thelma Carpenter (and the Harmonizers!) tracks use Oiseau-Lyre equalization. How they got that on the same record, well, that's beyond me. The album is an old Royal issue (LP 61), and Royal was a very strange company in any case.

That disk is also pretty noisy.

So, recording it directly to a digital format (I use 24/192K AIFF files) without equalization at all makes it much easier to get rid of the pops, click, some other types of noise. If I applied RIAA equalization through a Phono amp, it would stretch out clicks and pops in time, and make them that much more difficult to get rid of without ruining the sound.
As well, I can record the entire album to one large AIFF file and process just one file to get rid of the clicks and pops. It is unpleasant to listen to in that state, but it does far less damage when I use the software to remove a click. (Or tell the software to do that automatically. Not unusual to get 10's of thousands of clicks and pops in a small audio file.

Of course, it is pretty trivial to bring the one AIFF file back into the recording software, split it into individual tracks, apply equalization, and save out to disk. That sometimes takes less time to do than it did to type this sentence. Also, if I flub it, I can just start processing it again, from the copy of the original recording I handily saved. (After having to re-record a couple of albums.)

So, there are a few lower quality phono preamps out that will do this. The Graham-Slee Accession for $1500 is a wonderful choice. The Seta Picolla at $2500 is an even better choice, and the third one is again out of England, but for the life of me, I cannot remember the name right now. It is very slick indeed. Also in the > $2000 cost range.

If one knows exactly what equalization curves they will be using, the iFi iPhono has about a half dozen curves it can be set to, and it sounds great. ($500).

Oh, the route I wound up choosing? Well, I prefer to listen to the Rega Planar 6 with the Rega Fono preamp, but for recording purposes, the software RIAA equalization is more accurate. Also, the software I use (Pure Vinyl) provides about 60 equalization curves, as well as the capability to create custom curves. Since applying the curves is not destructive, I can listen to the playback to determine if I have the right equalization or not as many times as I need to. Even change the equalization on the fly. It makes a huge difference!

I have the turntables setup with some custom cables (From Channel-D, available online at a very reasonable cost) that match the input characteristics of my carts. The MM carts on the little AT LP120UX have a 47 KiloOhm resistor in the cable, as well as correct grounding. The MC cable for the Rega has a 100ohm, and the correct impedance.

They both terminate into a PreSonus 1810C USB audio interface, the MC into an instrument jack, and the MC into a set of microphone preamps. It sounds a bit complex, but Pure Vinyl on a little Mac grabs the sound, applies the correct equalization, and returns it - same idea as a tape loop.

I do have to have the Mac running to listen to a record, but since most of the time I am recording the record I am listening to, that kind of works out.

When I finish up this recording task, I will go back to using the Rega Fono, or perhaps upgrade to a Seta or Graham-Slee. At the moment, it sounds good through this setup. About the only thing I can't do (yet) is run it through the de-click and de-pop process in real time. There are ways to do that though. Maybe someday.

Oh, I should have mentioned, I can't tell the difference in the 24/192K recordings and playing the LP on the Rega. That is the goal I was aiming for. Vinyl sound goodness, and digital easy.

-Paul

 

[RumpyLover]

@KB007. Well, I've decided to go with the Michael Limm isolation base and outboard PCB box for my upgraded 24v motor on my P3. Also went with the stainless adjustable feet to raise the height of the TT to clear the motor and add additional isolation. Received everything last week however, it looks as though I'm going to have to lengthen the motor and of/off switch wires to have enough to play with for the external PCB mod. Waiting now for some rubber inserts Michael indicates I need due to the OEM rubber feet on my table. He has been very helpful answering questions along the way, and is sending extra wire with the rubber inserts for me to use to lengthen the existing motor and on/off wires. This is getting way deeper than I planned but, looking forward to moving ahead. This all started with a simple re-tip of my Dynavector 20B from Sound Smith for the table!

 

[KB007]

@KB007. Well, I've decided to go with the Michael Limm isolation base and outboard PCB box for my upgraded 24v motor on my P3. Also went with the stainless adjustable feet to raise the height of the TT to clear the motor and add additional isolation. Received everything last week however, it looks as though I'm going to have to lengthen the motor and of/off switch wires to have enough to play with for the external PCB mod. Waiting now for some rubber inserts Michael indicates I need due to the OEM rubber feet on my table. He has been very helpful answering questions along the way, and is sending extra wire with the rubber inserts for me to use to lengthen the existing motor and on/off wires. This is getting way deeper than I planned but, looking forward to moving ahead. This all started with a simple re-tip of my Dynavector 20B from Sound Smith for the table!

Good stuff. Extending the switch wires is simple. When you did the 24V upgrade, did you not do the TTPSU as well? Michael is a very nice guy and most of the mods on my P6 came from him.

 

[RumpyLover]

Good stuff. Extending the switch wires is simple. When you did the 24V upgrade, did you not do the TTPSU as well? Michael is a very nice guy and most of the mods on my P6 came from him.

Did not do the TTPSU this go around. The 24v motor and Michael Lim mods, combined with a Reference Groovetracer subplatter, Rega Reference Belt & cartridge re-tip have taken me beyond what I was originally planning to spend. Thinking I should notice a significant sonic difference already (I sure as heck better!) then maybe go from there. I agre, Michael has been very helpful and has answered all my questions. Looking forward to getting the rubber foot extensions so I can move forward.

 

[KB007]

Ahh, that makes sense then.

 

[RumpyLover]

I was working on my Planar 3 Michael Lim mods this evening. Got the feet mounted and started laying out and “dry fitting” the motor base and pcb locations. I thought I would test the Rega 24v motor by plugging it in, figuring it would run continuously (see my pic). However.... nothing. Do the switch wires need to be connected in order for the motor to run? Thanks.

 

[Mr Z 2u]

I was working on my Planar 3 Michael Lim mods this evening. Got the feet mounted and started laying out and “dry fitting” the motor base and pcb locations. I thought I would test the Rega 24v motor by plugging it in, figuring it would run continuously (see my pic). However.... nothing. Do the switch wires need to be connected in order for the motor to run? Thanks.

View attachment 1522823

I have not see the wiring diagram but I would think so. With them not attached the circuit is probably open.

 

[dysmike]

I have not see the wiring diagram but I would think so. With them not attached the circuit is probably open.

Agreed, jumper the posts.

 

[Mr Z 2u]

I had an old Pioneer PL-518 a friend gave me many moons ago. Its feet were rotted as they often are on those and it needed a new stylus. I picked up a cheap Ortofon Omega to get it working and it served my purposes, which were very minimal, just fine. I mostly had a collection of vinyl from growing up a metal head in the 80's and I had picked up in one way or another most of that on CD or digital formats so the LP's just kinda sat there and there is only so much better those can sound ya know. In the early 00's I started collecting a few more here and there from various thrift stores and one speaker repair shop in town. I got the first three SRV studio albums for like $1 each and was all happy playing them and my wife asked why I would want to listen to them on vinyl when I already had all of them on CD. Sat her down and did so A-B testing with those and also Donald Fagen's The Nightfly...now she gets it. She is smart enough to pick up on my favorites really well and sift thru my collection to see what's there and not. She started buying me reissues from Clapton, Pink Floyd and such cause she is a killer gift giver.

The veneer on the Pioneer was starting to separate and bow and I couldn't glue it back down...so I thought I would just make a new plinth and I kinda half-assed it with some oak ply and miter cut oak trim on the edges. It didn't come out pretty but it was functional. I always meant to make another but never got around to it...then one day a few weeks back I came across a Planar 3 on craigslist super cheap. It needed a cartridge and an oil change but was otherwise in great shape.

For now, I put the Omega on and it sounds so much better than the Pioneer did that I haven't bothered to replace it. I bought a Tangospinner kit cause I don't care for plastic and I am a sucker for shiny metal...man did that open up the sound. I replaced the felt cause it was too fuzzy and I prefer cork. I want to isolate the motor next along with making a new plinth. I know there is no reason to make a plinth but I like wood grain vs black plastic veneer so I am going to for purely aesthetic reasons and because I love woodworking and DIY. I will probably make another at some point because I have a couple of ideas that I want to try but the first one will just be dimensionally the same as the stock but maybe a little thicker. Primarily going to be black walnut with some maple and bloodwood features and a high gloss nitro finish. I'll post pictures along the way. Bought the walnut this morning and I will start milling it flat this weekend...may even get all glued up, depends on how much I get left alone to work I won't be able to finish it because I haven't found any spikes I like yet but I am not in a rush.

Soonish I will be redoing my home office and I will move it in there and out of the media room. There is no good place to put it and access it easily in there and its second floor as well so it's picking up a lot of vibration from the floor. In my office, I will hang a wall bracket which should help a lot with that issue. In the office, I will run it to my old Denon AVR5600 and a pair of the first generation Klipsch RF7. This is another reason I haven't jacked with a new cartridge yet. Once I get all that set up I will consider options. I dont want to spend a ton on one honestly. Kinda a dont know what you are missing kind of thing.

 

[RumpyLover]

Agreed, jumper the posts.

Thanks @Mr Z 2u and @dysmike. Jumpering the terminals did the trick. Motor runs good and I have installed longer motor wire leads to give me more flexibility in locating the pcb box. Got the switch wires from the plinth lengthened also. Now just need to solder them to the pcb. Taking it slow and balancing between work, summer outdoor stuff and a million other things! Got the Michael Lim feet installed also.

 

[RumpyLover]

I wanted to say thanks to @KB007 @dysmike and @Mr Z 2u for your helpful posts along my journey. My vintage early ‘80’s P3 mods are complete and I’m loving the drastically improved sound. KB007 was the primary “instigator” who suggested I consider the Michael Lim motor isolation base, which lead me down the rabbit hole of:

1. SoundSmith retip of a Dynavector 20b LOMC (originally the only thing I was going to do).
2. M Lim motor isolation base
3. M Lim aluminum isolation feet (needed for additional plinth height for proper pully alignment)
4. Rega Reference white rubber belt (what’s the new motor without a belt upgrade)
5. Rega 24v motor upgrade (this and the belt were “the only” mods I was going to do until KB007 planted his seed)
6. Groovetracer Reference sub platter (what the heck, I can eat cat food for a couple weeks)

Thank you KB007!! Glad I went the extra mile and got out of my comfort zone from a DIY standpoint (although I really am a hack with a soldering iron!). Ended up having to replace motor wire leads with longer ones (perfect matching replacements from M Lim) and splice/lengthen the on/off plinth switch wires. Amazing quiet background, dead steady speed, more separation and air between instruments. Just a really nice listen. Here are some pics.

 

[KB007]

I've never been called an "instigator" before - I kinda like it

Glad you were able to put all the pieces together and get it done. The sound from the upgrades must be very nice. Just for fun, try the GT sub p[latter with the old steel bearing and you'll see just how much difference even the ceramic bearing from GT makes. It's amazing just how much noise and micro-vobrations exist and how much better things sound once you eliminate as much as possible.

Congrats on your "new" P3.

 

[RumpyLover]

I've never been called an "instigator" before - I kinda like it

Glad you were able to put all the pieces together and get it done. The sound from the upgrades must be very nice. Just for fun, try the GT sub p[latter with the old steel bearing and you'll see just how much difference even the ceramic bearing from GT makes. It's amazing just how much noise and micro-vobrations exist and how much better things sound once you eliminate as much as possible.

Congrats on your "new" P3.

Glad you took the term in the positive spirit in which it was intended!! Have a good 4th Of July Holiday.

 

[nsamm22]

Anyone willing to share thoughts on phones preamps? These things rapidly spiral out of control when one is researching them!
How far should I stretch for the P6 with the Ania cartridge? $500? $1000? $1400? More?

Thanks,
-Paul

rega synergy is real - why not stay in the family, and get either the Fono MC or Aria MM/MC preamp? Of course better can be had, but I've got the Fono MC with the Ania and I really don't think one could do better in the $500 range if using a Rega TT and cart

 

[Legrace]

"How far should I stretch for the P6 with the Ania cartridge? $500? $1000? $1400? More?"

IME don't stretch too far. I got an expensive pre to go with my RP6 and while the noise floor dropped, afterwards I could also now hear distracting bearing noise, ie noise generated by the platter shaft turning against the bearing. One step forward, two back. Maintaining hardware balance is important.

 

[seannc]

I recently purchased a lightly used Planar 3 (2016) with the Elys2 cartridge. I was getting frustrated dealing with various mechanical problems with my 70s era direct drive turntables and chose this beautiful Rega. Some of the negative comments I've read online may have had an influence on me, but I was mildly disappointed with the sound and switched out the Elys2 with my AT120e. I'm enjoying the Rega more since I've switched out the cartridges. The music sounds more alive, more vibrant, more detailed. Am I crazy? I know the Elys2 is a good cartridge and I believe in the "Rega synergy" mentioned above. And I know the AT120e is decently regarded but not exactly audiophile quality. Anyway, to my ears this is a good match and I'm loving my vinyl!

 

[StuartB]

Hello guys. I joined the Rega TT club. I recently picked up very nice, low hour RP6 with a full complement of GrooveTracer upgrades and an Exact2 cartridge. I am really pleased and I feel like I am listening to the music more, and the equipment less. I would be interested in advice on maintenance and recommendations on cost effective tweaks.

 

[Msom22]

Hello everyone. I am finally joining the Rega TT club as I'm picking up my new P2 turntable this Friday. I'm excited to finally get it after many months of research and look forward to any tips I can use from these threads.