Post by myles on Feb 9, 2016 13:45:56 GMT
I was asked to give my thoughts on the cheap and cheerful upgrades I have made to my Rega vinyl source, so here goes!
I started off the renaissance of my vinyl enjoyment with a Trio KD-1033 with a cheap AT cart; the model number escapes me now. It was a nice looking thing, and piqued my interest enough to buy more LPs and a cleaning brush. As is always the way though, this was never going to be enough. I moved on to a Pro-Ject Debut turntable with the Ortofon OM5; once set up it was better than the Trio, as expected......well, it was an upgrade!
So, let's get to the point here. Rega. It seems like the perfect next step for a listener who doesn't want to spend much money, or indeed tinker too much. I bought a Planar 2 for £70-80, with the associated Rega cart (a Bias 2) on an RB250. Well, for a company who promote the KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid) approach, there is plenty of playing around to be done. It wasn't long before I was playing with VTF. As soon as I had it how I wanted it, I understood what the Rega 'sound' was.....not particularly stable and just easy going, inoffensive even. Just playing with the tracking force was enough to whet my appetite and investigate what more I could wring out of the deck.
There was then a period of time where a few modifications were fitted; my 'unscientific' approach to understanding the changes meant I couldn't really say which did what! I was offered an acrylteller acrylic platter for free by a kind patron of VinylEngine, and this seemed to make a little difference, although it appeared to retreat slightly further back into the Rega sound! Perhaps the glass platter was a little more brash than I thought it was. The acrylic item can't have been that bad though; it has been an ever present on all the iterations of my Regas. A Rega white belt was also fitted; I wish I had done this in isolation as it is meant to make a difference on its own. I also fitted the tungsten counterweight, and this seemed to firm up the sound nicely. This discovery started me down the path of a few different counterweights....more of that later.
As you may have gathered, I don't like to spend money on kit if I don't have to. Well, a Planar 3 came up for sale for under £100. It was in good nick apart from a lid which was in a worse state than my current one. I thought this might be the perfect opportunity to see what the RB300 arm was all about. So, lid off and swapped onto the Planar 2, glass platter also swapped across, the whole deck was then sold; for how much I can't remember but I am sure a profit was made.
It was a sad goodbye to the '2', as it had been my first introduction into how frustrating yet great vinyl playback can be. However, the '3' was now the new boss, pretty much the same as the old boss. I enjoyed playing around with it much the same as the previous deck, getting it dialled in nicely. I got wind of a guy in Argentina, Gus, who was fabricating sub-platters for those who didn't want to splurge so much cash on the Groovetracer equipment; this was definitely me! I paid about £50 for an aluminium subplatter and waited for it to arrive.
OK; first night and day moment. This subplatter arrived pretty quickly, armed with oil and a bearing. I removed the old plastic spinner, carefully followed the servicing instructions for replacing the bearing and oil, then fitted the subplatter. Then waited, and waited for it to sink down and displace the oil film to make connection with the bearing. Once it was down, the platter went on and I grabbed out my favourite record for testing new upgrades; Searching For The Young Soul Rebels by Dexy's Midnight Runners. I had always enjoyed the sound of this record even with the old sub-platter, because ignorance IS bliss after all. This first spin, waiting patiently for the intro to pass by to reveal the horns on 'Burn It Down' was a revelation. The whole LP (well, side 1 as I wanted to try some different genres) was just so much more engaging. The background noise wasn't eliminated but the pitch control offered by a comparatively perfectly round sub-platter was such that it wasn't so noticeable; also, long held notes such as the horn section parts were just so much more believable. I was gob-smacked, frankly. This sub-platter came with a red silicon belt, but it made no discernible difference to the white belt so I stuck with the original.
Back to counterweights. I have tried the Michell counterweights, the tungsten Rega counterweight and the Groovetracer low slung counterweight which I am currently using. I must say that once the tungsten item was fitted, it gave me the greatest increase in musical quality. The other two items were pretty much on a par with one another, so I stuck with the Groovetracer as I like the look of it.
I also got hold of a Denon DL-160 HOMC cartridge to replace the Rega Bias cartridge that I had hung on to for...well, too long really. The Denon was so much more detailed, and the inner groove distortion that I experienced with the Rega cart was gone. Obviously I had to give a little extra juice on the volume to make up for the output but it was an enjoyable experience. At the same time, I bought a Yaqin MS-12B pre-amp for phono stage duties. Rolling in a couple of JJ Tesla AX7s made the sound very laid back, but enjoyable nevertheless. I was falling back into the Rega sound slightly though, not that it was a problem. Both my wife and i enjoyed long listening sessions as a result of the laid back nature. She was 'sad' when I sold the Yaqin; she liked the glow coming from the rack!
I found someone selling an Ortofon 2M Blue, and having heard the legend of its wonderful synergy with the Rega arms I wanted a bit of that. My Denon went is a straight swap. Second night and day moment coming up! Once the Blue was dialled in using a protractor and digital scales, I was amazed how the sound changed. It was even more detailed, but not to the point of being analytical. It tracked really well, and dug out some interesting extra detail without picking up every bit of surface noise that my vinyl has to offer! I really like this cartridge! You would think that we are there then........utopia. Well, no. I just had to play a little extra.
I had read on Steve Hoffman forums about the Edwards Blue Belter drive belt, and how it could be an upgrade over the white belt. As Deco Audio is only in the next town over, I thought I'd drive over and pick one up. I also bought some vinyl as I was there; it'd be rude not to. Fitting the belt did make a change to the sound, but I can't put my finger on what it was so I left it on. Musical enjoyment continued.......
The one upgrade that was eating away at me was the 24v motor upgrade, and to a certain extent the TTPSU. I wasn't going to pay the prices that were being bandied around so I sat on that thought for a while. I had a few saved searches for the motor primarily, but one came up on Gumtree for about 50% of the new price. I got it, then it sat in the house unfitted for what seems like years but was actually about a year. I was deployed to the Falklands for six months so that is my excuse. When I got back, just before Christmas I decided to fit it. The only thing I needed was the sticky pads that attach the motor to the plinth. The fact that I would be using sticky pads niggled in the back of my head. Well, I could have cried! It seemed that the pads wouldn't stick to each other, or the plinth! I stripped it back again and sealed the plinth with some PVA glue, managing to snap one of the gossamer thickness motor wires in the process. Out came the soldering iron to make good the repair. My outstanding problem was that I just couldn't make it stick! I really thought that I had rendered a perfectly good deck unserviceable by trying to chase one upgrade too far!
The solution, confirmed to me by a Rega dealer, is to fit some padding under the motor to help defeat gravity but still achieve the isolated nature of the 24v motor fitment. That done, I had a good listen to Dexy's and (the final night and day moment) everything was just .....better. This description doesn't help anyone, I know, but the noise floor was just about through the floor, and everything was as tight as CD but with that analogue flavour that we all strive to describe correctly. I managed to get a TTPSU last week and I'm sure the noise is gone completely (apart from the obvious pops and cracks of vinyl that needs a clean) and all the aspects of the music are ridiculously apparent.
I'm happy....until next time. Sitting listening to Me Myself I by Joan Armatrading on vinyl unsurprisingly, which sounds pretty good to my ears.
Edited to add: I also got hold of a Shure M91ED with JICO SAS stylus from the States, which has bested the 2M Blue and is the cartridge I am using at the moment.
I started off the renaissance of my vinyl enjoyment with a Trio KD-1033 with a cheap AT cart; the model number escapes me now. It was a nice looking thing, and piqued my interest enough to buy more LPs and a cleaning brush. As is always the way though, this was never going to be enough. I moved on to a Pro-Ject Debut turntable with the Ortofon OM5; once set up it was better than the Trio, as expected......well, it was an upgrade!
So, let's get to the point here. Rega. It seems like the perfect next step for a listener who doesn't want to spend much money, or indeed tinker too much. I bought a Planar 2 for £70-80, with the associated Rega cart (a Bias 2) on an RB250. Well, for a company who promote the KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid) approach, there is plenty of playing around to be done. It wasn't long before I was playing with VTF. As soon as I had it how I wanted it, I understood what the Rega 'sound' was.....not particularly stable and just easy going, inoffensive even. Just playing with the tracking force was enough to whet my appetite and investigate what more I could wring out of the deck.
There was then a period of time where a few modifications were fitted; my 'unscientific' approach to understanding the changes meant I couldn't really say which did what! I was offered an acrylteller acrylic platter for free by a kind patron of VinylEngine, and this seemed to make a little difference, although it appeared to retreat slightly further back into the Rega sound! Perhaps the glass platter was a little more brash than I thought it was. The acrylic item can't have been that bad though; it has been an ever present on all the iterations of my Regas. A Rega white belt was also fitted; I wish I had done this in isolation as it is meant to make a difference on its own. I also fitted the tungsten counterweight, and this seemed to firm up the sound nicely. This discovery started me down the path of a few different counterweights....more of that later.
As you may have gathered, I don't like to spend money on kit if I don't have to. Well, a Planar 3 came up for sale for under £100. It was in good nick apart from a lid which was in a worse state than my current one. I thought this might be the perfect opportunity to see what the RB300 arm was all about. So, lid off and swapped onto the Planar 2, glass platter also swapped across, the whole deck was then sold; for how much I can't remember but I am sure a profit was made.
It was a sad goodbye to the '2', as it had been my first introduction into how frustrating yet great vinyl playback can be. However, the '3' was now the new boss, pretty much the same as the old boss. I enjoyed playing around with it much the same as the previous deck, getting it dialled in nicely. I got wind of a guy in Argentina, Gus, who was fabricating sub-platters for those who didn't want to splurge so much cash on the Groovetracer equipment; this was definitely me! I paid about £50 for an aluminium subplatter and waited for it to arrive.
OK; first night and day moment. This subplatter arrived pretty quickly, armed with oil and a bearing. I removed the old plastic spinner, carefully followed the servicing instructions for replacing the bearing and oil, then fitted the subplatter. Then waited, and waited for it to sink down and displace the oil film to make connection with the bearing. Once it was down, the platter went on and I grabbed out my favourite record for testing new upgrades; Searching For The Young Soul Rebels by Dexy's Midnight Runners. I had always enjoyed the sound of this record even with the old sub-platter, because ignorance IS bliss after all. This first spin, waiting patiently for the intro to pass by to reveal the horns on 'Burn It Down' was a revelation. The whole LP (well, side 1 as I wanted to try some different genres) was just so much more engaging. The background noise wasn't eliminated but the pitch control offered by a comparatively perfectly round sub-platter was such that it wasn't so noticeable; also, long held notes such as the horn section parts were just so much more believable. I was gob-smacked, frankly. This sub-platter came with a red silicon belt, but it made no discernible difference to the white belt so I stuck with the original.
Back to counterweights. I have tried the Michell counterweights, the tungsten Rega counterweight and the Groovetracer low slung counterweight which I am currently using. I must say that once the tungsten item was fitted, it gave me the greatest increase in musical quality. The other two items were pretty much on a par with one another, so I stuck with the Groovetracer as I like the look of it.
I also got hold of a Denon DL-160 HOMC cartridge to replace the Rega Bias cartridge that I had hung on to for...well, too long really. The Denon was so much more detailed, and the inner groove distortion that I experienced with the Rega cart was gone. Obviously I had to give a little extra juice on the volume to make up for the output but it was an enjoyable experience. At the same time, I bought a Yaqin MS-12B pre-amp for phono stage duties. Rolling in a couple of JJ Tesla AX7s made the sound very laid back, but enjoyable nevertheless. I was falling back into the Rega sound slightly though, not that it was a problem. Both my wife and i enjoyed long listening sessions as a result of the laid back nature. She was 'sad' when I sold the Yaqin; she liked the glow coming from the rack!
I found someone selling an Ortofon 2M Blue, and having heard the legend of its wonderful synergy with the Rega arms I wanted a bit of that. My Denon went is a straight swap. Second night and day moment coming up! Once the Blue was dialled in using a protractor and digital scales, I was amazed how the sound changed. It was even more detailed, but not to the point of being analytical. It tracked really well, and dug out some interesting extra detail without picking up every bit of surface noise that my vinyl has to offer! I really like this cartridge! You would think that we are there then........utopia. Well, no. I just had to play a little extra.
I had read on Steve Hoffman forums about the Edwards Blue Belter drive belt, and how it could be an upgrade over the white belt. As Deco Audio is only in the next town over, I thought I'd drive over and pick one up. I also bought some vinyl as I was there; it'd be rude not to. Fitting the belt did make a change to the sound, but I can't put my finger on what it was so I left it on. Musical enjoyment continued.......
The one upgrade that was eating away at me was the 24v motor upgrade, and to a certain extent the TTPSU. I wasn't going to pay the prices that were being bandied around so I sat on that thought for a while. I had a few saved searches for the motor primarily, but one came up on Gumtree for about 50% of the new price. I got it, then it sat in the house unfitted for what seems like years but was actually about a year. I was deployed to the Falklands for six months so that is my excuse. When I got back, just before Christmas I decided to fit it. The only thing I needed was the sticky pads that attach the motor to the plinth. The fact that I would be using sticky pads niggled in the back of my head. Well, I could have cried! It seemed that the pads wouldn't stick to each other, or the plinth! I stripped it back again and sealed the plinth with some PVA glue, managing to snap one of the gossamer thickness motor wires in the process. Out came the soldering iron to make good the repair. My outstanding problem was that I just couldn't make it stick! I really thought that I had rendered a perfectly good deck unserviceable by trying to chase one upgrade too far!
The solution, confirmed to me by a Rega dealer, is to fit some padding under the motor to help defeat gravity but still achieve the isolated nature of the 24v motor fitment. That done, I had a good listen to Dexy's and (the final night and day moment) everything was just .....better. This description doesn't help anyone, I know, but the noise floor was just about through the floor, and everything was as tight as CD but with that analogue flavour that we all strive to describe correctly. I managed to get a TTPSU last week and I'm sure the noise is gone completely (apart from the obvious pops and cracks of vinyl that needs a clean) and all the aspects of the music are ridiculously apparent.
I'm happy....until next time. Sitting listening to Me Myself I by Joan Armatrading on vinyl unsurprisingly, which sounds pretty good to my ears.
Edited to add: I also got hold of a Shure M91ED with JICO SAS stylus from the States, which has bested the 2M Blue and is the cartridge I am using at the moment.
). I've NEVER heard an RB300 sing (all original bits too) as sweetly and clearly as it does on a Space Deck.
My mate from the 80's HiFi Dave has had to sort out a good few!
