New to forum - Rega P3 cartridge ideas?

[Timkoff]

New to the forum. Purchased a new Rega P3 and do not want to use either the Elysis 2 or Exact cartridge my dealer has for it. I have the following gear and don’t like brittle tones:

Cayin CS-55a tube amp

Nola Boxer speakers

Cambridge Audio CXC Cd cart

Schiit Bifrost DAC

Volumio streamer

Audioquest Red River connects 

 

I have a cart budget of approx $500 CAD. 

 

Thanks for any and all insights!

[andyr]

4 hours ago, Timkoff said:

New to the forum. Purchased a new Rega P3 and do not want to use either the Elysis 2 or Exact cartridge my dealer has for it. I

 

I have a cart budget of approx $500 CAD. 

 

I'm afraid I can't offer you any MM cart suggestions but I will make one observation.  I suspect your new Rega P3 came with an arm that doesn't allow height (VTA) adjustment at the pivot end?

 

If so then, if you're not going to use a Rega cart ... you should make sure the cart you buy is the same height - from stylus to cart top - as the Rega carts.  Otherwise, your VTA is likely to be 'off'.  

 

Edited April 23, 2023 by andyr

[Steever]

6 hours ago, andyr said:

 

I'm afraid I can't offer you any MM cart suggestions but I will make one observation.  I suspect your new Rega P3 came with an arm that doesn't allow height (VTA) adjustment at the pivot end?

 

If so then, if you're not going to use a Rega cart ... you should make sure the cart you buy is the same height - from stylus to cart top - as the Rega carts.  Otherwise, your VTA is likely to be 'off'.  

 

Good advice although, Rega do claim changes in VTA don’t affect cartridges. 
I’d follow andyr’s advice or grab some shims to slide between arm base and plinth to raise the arm a mm or several if you end up with something taller than an Elys. 
 

Ortofon seems to be popular with Rega owners and you can upgrade by changing the stylus to a different diamond shape which can be convenient. 

Edited April 24, 2023 by Steever

[rantan]

3 minutes ago, Steever said:

Rega do claim changes in VTA don’t affect cartridges.

 

Yeah.

 

They are trying to cover up the fact that it is a design fault. They made it that way so as to make people buy their carts.

 

I would definitely be buying some shims, which is a small price to pay in order to avoid a Rega cart. There are so may vastly superior carts out there

[andyr]

1 hour ago, Steever said:

Good advice although, Rega do claim changes in VTA don’t affect cartridges. 

 

How fascinating!    Still, that comment by Roy Gandy is no more stupid than, say:

• Ivor T - who pronounced (quite a few decades ago!) that you didn't need to clean LPs - because the stylus just shovels the dirt out of the groove!
• and Harry W - who never used to put anti-skate on his arms!  (Bcoz it wasn't necessary).

 

Edited April 24, 2023 by andyr

[Phill451]

I‘Ve used ortofon 2m blue and bronze on rega turntables, as well as a Garrott Bros p77i. 
 

I thought they all sounded decent but the Garrott sounded best.

[cafe67]

What is your phono stage or is it built into the cayin amp . ?

 

and some suggestions here 

 

https://vinylrestart.com/best-cartridges-for-rega-planar-three-p3/

[SonicArt]

+1 for the Garrott P77i, its a fantastic cartridge for the $$ and it suits what you are looking for Tim, big warm organic sound that has good detail too. I use one on my CEC BD7000 table, it works very well with Rega arms too, had it on a fully upgraded RB330 before the BD7000, it really sang.

 

If you dont want to stretch to $690 then the K3 from Garrott is fantastic for under $500, it has a shibata style tip, musical and very enjoyable to listen to.

[Timkoff]

Thanks everyone!  I have found and nabbed a used Dynavector DV-10x5 (less than 10hrs old) for a very reasonable $375 CAD. Couldn’t pass it up. By the time taxes roll in it’s a $1200 cart new. And I am to understand it is height compatible for the Rega. Next up: grabbing the turntable and seeing how it all sounds. Pretty excited!

[Timkoff]