If I were to spend some of the kids inheritance

[Oxfordian]

Were I to decide to spend a bit of the kids inheritance to improve my listening experience, where would people suggest I go taking into account the system as stated in my signature?

To note;

1. Listening room is 3rd bedroom in a 4 bed modern town house so not overly big, a sofa bed is used as my bum perch when listening and also serves as an emergency bed when needs arise.
2. Vinyl is my preferred medium albeit CD’s are played via the 6000cdt, streaming is very much only used as a last resort and I have no interest in improving that source.
3. Budget could be between £2k and £3k but the lower the figure would keep the Mrs sweet.

Now there is nothing that I dislike about my system, it sounds just fine to my aging ears but we all have that thought that I could get better if………., so taking my kids money how would the wise ones on this forum spend it, which direction would they go.

My only thought is to maybe upgrade the cartridge from the Elys 2 up to the Exact, if anyone has a suggestion on how to spend the kids inheritance and improve my listening experience please chip in. If the best way is to buy more vinyl then that is just fine, I can get a lot of LP’s for £2k in the weeks and months ahead.

The system I have was put together with the help of my local HiFi dealer when I lived in Kent who let me borrow stuff to try out, so I was able to listen before I spent the cash which was great, and incredibly beneficial.

I will be interested to see if there are any suggestions on what to do.

Thanks in advance.

 

[jjbomber]

a sofa bed is used as my bum perch when listening and also serves as an emergency bed when needs arise.

Upgrade to a proper settee!

 

[nopiano]

It looks on paper to be a nicely balanced setup given your modest listening space. You might find a great benefit from a better turntable - a higher level Rega, or a Michell GyroDec SE maybe, especially as LPs are your main source.

Folk respond very differently to better turntables, so try to audition a couple. Yours isn’t too tricky to take along as it has no springs.

A dealer might px your Planar 3 or they’re easy to sell used as they’re so popular.

 

[Oxfordian]

Upgrade to a proper settee!

Fair comment, the sofa bed isn’t the most comfortable.

 

[Oxfordian]

It looks on paper to be a nicely balanced setup given your modest listening space. You might find a great benefit from a better turntable - a higher level Rega, or a Michell GyroDec SE maybe, especially as LPs are your main source.

Folk respond very differently to better turntables, so try to audition a couple. Yours isn’t too tricky to take along as it has no springs.

A dealer might px your Planar 3 or they’re easy to sell used as they’re so popular.

I like this idea of upgrading the TT, only ever had Rega for vinyl so maybe a R8 with a top drawer MM cartridge, but a Michell looks very different and maybe a change wouldn’t hurt.

Thanks for the suggestion.

 

[camcroft]

I like this idea of upgrading the TT, only ever had Rega for vinyl so maybe a R8 with a top drawer MM cartridge, but a Michell looks very different and maybe a change wouldn’t hurt.

Thanks for the suggestion.

This is my turntable it has certain Rega parts I don't know what the cost of one is as I bought mine second hand. They are made by https://iceniaudio.co.uk it might be worth having a chat with the guy who makes them.

 

[Oxfordian]

This is my turntable it has certain Rega parts I don't know what the cost of one is as I bought mine second hand. They are made by https://iceniaudio.co.uk it might be worth having a chat with the guy who makes them.
View attachment 4612

A great idea, thanks for sharing this.

 

[Al ears]

Yes, I agree with most here. Certainly a cartridge upgrade and I would even move away from those Rega cartridges to something like a Nagaoka or a Goldring G1042 and possibly a new turntable like a good second-hand Michell or even Avid or Roksan

 

[Al ears]

Yes, I agree with most here. Certainly a cartridge upgrade and I would even move away from those Rega cartridges to something like a Nagaoka or a Goldring G1042 and possibly a new turntable like a good second-hand Michell or even Avid or Roksan

Also meant to add upgrading your Rega Fono might also be a plan.
The Hegel / ATC combo I wouldn't change

 

[Oxfordian]

Yes, I agree with most here. Certainly a cartridge upgrade and I would even move away from those Rega cartridges to something like a Nagaoka or a Goldring G1042 and possibly a new turntable like a good second-hand Michell or even Avid or Roksan

This is one idea that appeals immensely, it is not an overly expensive upgrade and would give me time to consider further options whilst I enjoy an improved soundstage from the remainder of my existing set-up.

I presume that the G1042 or Nagaoka would not fit directly onto my tonearm not being a Rega cartridge and that some adaptation would be required?

 

[jamesrfisher]

This is one idea that appeals immensely, it is not an overly expensive upgrade and would give me time to consider further options whilst I enjoy an improved soundstage from the remainder of my existing set-up.

I presume that the G1042 or Nagaoka would not fit directly onto my tonearm not being a Rega cartridge and that some adaptation would be required?

Sort of, I have a Nagaoka on my Rega. Fitting the cartridge does not require any adaptation and will fit directly onto the arm.

However as these are slightly larger than rega cartridges the arm can sit at a slight angle. To counteract this you need to fit a spacer where the arm attaches to the main board. Not sure how old your TT is but there are two types:

a) for older arms

Rega | Stainless 2mm Shim

2mm stainless shim for older Rega tonearms RB250 / RB300 that mount using a nut on the underside. Not for three point arms. Made in England.

www.rega.co.uk

b) for newer

Rega | 2mm Three Point Arm Height Adjustment Spacer - Stainless

Some other manufacturers cartridges may have a deeper body than Rega cartridges, these will sometimes require the use of the three point spacer. Made in England.

www.rega.co.uk

 

[Oxfordian]

Sort of, I have a Nagaoka on my Rega. Fitting the cartridge does not require any adaptation and will fit directly onto the arm.

However as these are slightly larger than rega cartridges the arm can sit at a slight angle. To counteract this you need to fit a spacer where the arm attaches to the main board. Not sure how old your TT is but there are two types:

a) for older arms

Rega | Stainless 2mm Shim

2mm stainless shim for older Rega tonearms RB250 / RB300 that mount using a nut on the underside. Not for three point arms. Made in England.

www.rega.co.uk

b) for newer

Rega | 2mm Three Point Arm Height Adjustment Spacer - Stainless

Some other manufacturers cartridges may have a deeper body than Rega cartridges, these will sometimes require the use of the three point spacer. Made in England.

www.rega.co.uk

Thanks for the reply.

My RP3 is just under two years old so I guess that I would need option (b).

 

[Rui]

i think it´s directelly assembled ,don´t know that much the rega turntables but some have a higher position to level the cartridge at more height ,the goldring or nagaoka which i´ve used since their 70´s cartridges. The MP-300 already as a sound that is good ,but i would go for the grado gold III presige series which as from 10hz to 60 khz already very high quality capable of reading all recorded in the vinil if memory doesn´t fail me and already sold cheaper, they used to be more expensive and the diference in quality is better than the Goldring sujested at a detail level that is already a good cartridge and stylus if it could be your choice ,as i said before i don´t really know that much rega turntables only know one model but don´t remenber which it is ,this friend who uses it , was used to listen to a lot of good music this in a sanyo turntable all in metal but i never saw him change the stylus once , this vinil imported from UK´s Gemma records at low prices ,while the vinil could be much thiner than what we were used to have, the sound was better at a dynamic level, but also depended of the system one had. I had more high´s at +1 level than others at +5 level the maximum , the diference being they had modern systems at the time and i was using a old 76 system but a good one, it depends also in your taste in sound, as an example i remenber when listening to U2 the LP Boy that i enjoyd a lot the sound of all instruments but when recentelly i heard the cd ,i didn´t like it at all but one afternoon i searched for the record and there it was in the midle of the maxi-single section ,when playing it i notice the sound(again) of the cd was horrible, there were those Irish kids playing bass, six string guitar and drums with some percussion, i remenber going to Barcelona in their war tour and remenber listening to a perfect sound with a very well known song "i Will follow"(still don´t know what he´ll follow )but the sound was amazing and i thought with age i just don´t listen to this type of music, That´s when i refer having found the record and being amazed by it´s sound but not all had average or good turntables most the young people had old wooden system´s that didnt use diamond tip stylus some even had a system which it seems like a pen that when it arrives to the end of a record side ,one droped from a considered big fall for a record and never saw one of them cleaning a record and i used to clean in the right direction every record i heard and the turntable was always clean , maybe that´s why my older records most of them from the 70´s makes less noise than some new i´ve bought 4 years ago at the most, also why i critisize so much new turntables by it´s sound having already what i thought it were good cartridges, sorry to get out of topic but i start to drift ,must be the age

 

[Oxfordian]

no it´s directelly assembled ,the goldring or nagaoka which i´ve used since their 70´s cartridges. The MP-300 already as a sound that is good ,but i would go for the grado gold III presige series which as from 10hz to 60 khz already very high quality capable of reading all recorded in the vinil if memory doesn´t fail me and already sold cheaper, they used to be more expensive and the diference in quality is higher than the Goldring sujested at a detail level that is already a good cartridge and stylus if it could be your choice

Thanks for the input, appreciated.

 

[jamesrfisher]

Thanks for the reply.

My RP3 is just under two years old so I guess that I would need option (b).

Yes

 

[Oxfordian]

Also meant to add upgrading your Rega Fono might also be a plan.

Any suggestions to get me started please, seen these things priced at £40k on my dealer's website which is a bit above the kids inheritance allowance, true others are below that but what is good and worthy of further investigation and maybe testing.

 

[Al ears]

Any suggestions to get me started please, seen these things priced at £40k on my dealer's website which is a bit above the kids inheritance allowance, true others are below that but what is good and worthy of further investigation and maybe testing.

Yes, they can go for stupid money can't they?
From personal experience the MOFI Studiophono at around £350 or a second-hand Tom Evans Microgroove X would be good starting points as both are excellent devices and these along with a cartridge upgrade should add noticeable sonic improvement.

 

[Al ears]

This is one idea that appeals immensely, it is not an overly expensive upgrade and would give me time to consider further options whilst I enjoy an improved soundstage from the remainder of my existing set-up.

I presume that the G1042 or Nagaoka would not fit directly onto my tonearm not being a Rega cartridge and that some adaptation would be required?

they will fit the tonearm but may require a shim underneath the arm to get correct VTA, depends on the type of tonearm you have fitted. It's not a big deal and should be a simple fit.

 

[Oxfordian]

Yes, they can go for stupid money can't they?
From personal experience the MOFI Studiophono at around £350 or a second-hand Tom Evans Microgroove X would be good starting points as both are excellent devices and these along with a cartridge upgrade should add noticeable sonic improvement.

On the list for consideration, I like the Mofi a good competitive price, it gets some great write ups, now researching the Tom Evans.

E-mailed the team who helped me put my system together and they have come back with an Ortofon 2M Black cartridge along with a Lehmann Audio Black Cube Standard, this surprised me as I expected them to suggest a Rega cartridge and a better Rega Fono stage as they were quite bullish about Rega when I purchased the system.

Hopefully others will chip in with some suggestions for me to research.

Thanks for suggestions.

 

[Al ears]

On the list for consideration, I like the Mofi a good competitive price, it gets some great write ups, now researching the Tom Evans.

E-mailed the team who helped me put my system together and they have come back with an Ortofon 2M Black cartridge along with a Lehmann Audio Black Cube Standard, this surprised me as I expected them to suggest a Rega cartridge and a better Rega Fono stage as they were quite bullish about Rega when I purchased the system.

Hopefully others will chip in with some suggestions for me to research.

Thanks for suggestions.

you might find dealers change their minds depending on how much money they thin k they can relieve you of....
Having said that you might find the 2M Black to be overly analytical, the Bronze is the best value for money in my opinion.

 

[Oxfordian]

you might find dealers change their minds depending on how much money they thin k they can relieve you of....
Having said that you might find the 2M Black to be overly analytical, the Bronze is the best value for money in my opinion.

Thanks for the feedback, my musical tastes have changed, maybe that should be mellowed as I have got older, a bit of Holly Cole or Eva Cassidy puts a greater smile on my face than listening to a bit of Quo or similar from my younger days.

I am finding some early jazz from the 60’s beautifully relaxing this has resulted in my choice of new material to adjust accordingly. Sure a bit of music from my formative years courtesy of messr’s Rossi, Parfitt, Holder and Lea will always make me smile but whereas I would listen all night to them now it’s just an LP before reaching for something a bit more easy going.

If the 2M is going to be a bit analytical then that maybe a touch OTT combined with the Hegel.

Whilst this is an ‘If’ scenario at the moment, there is serious intent on seeing if I can get a bit more out of the system I have, changing the cartridge and phono stage seems a sensible and not too costly way of finding out whether I can hear an improvement. After all I don’t need to sell anything to get the new cartridge or phono stage, if things don’t work out then I can take a step backwards, regroup and look at other options.

Appreciate your input.

 

[plastic penguin]

Were I to decide to spend a bit of the kids inheritance to improve my listening experience, where would people suggest I go taking into account the system as stated in my signature?

To note;

1. Listening room is 3rd bedroom in a 4 bed modern town house so not overly big, a sofa bed is used as my bum perch when listening and also serves as an emergency bed when needs arise.
2. Vinyl is my preferred medium albeit CD’s are played via the 6000cdt, streaming is very much only used as a last resort and I have no interest in improving that source.
3. Budget could be between £2k and £3k but the lower the figure would keep the Mrs sweet.

Now there is nothing that I dislike about my system, it sounds just fine to my aging ears but we all have that thought that I could get better if………., so taking my kids money how would the wise ones on this forum spend it, which direction would they go.

My only thought is to maybe upgrade the cartridge from the Elys 2 up to the Exact, if anyone has a suggestion on how to spend the kids inheritance and improve my listening experience please chip in. If the best way is to buy more vinyl then that is just fine, I can get a lot of LP’s for £2k in the weeks and months ahead.

The system I have was put together with the help of my local HiFi dealer when I lived in Kent who let me borrow stuff to try out, so I was able to listen before I spent the cash which was great, and incredibly beneficial.

I will be interested to see if there are any suggestions on what to do.

Thanks in advance.

If I was you I'd look at Rega Planar 6 and get a better phono stage. It would be the lower end of your budget and it would keep the Mrs happy.

 

[Oxfordian]

If I was you I'd look at Rega Planar 6 and get a better phono stage. It would be the lower end of your budget and it would keep the Mrs happy.

The thought of getting a better turntable had crossed my mind, but if I went for the RP6 is it a noticeable step up in performance from my current set-up, would the RP8 not be a better long term purchase?

Also, cartridge, MM or MC for the RP6, Rega or 3rd Party?

The RP6 with maybe the cartridge and phono stage suggested by @Al ears earlier in the thread would be very budget friendly but would I hear a noticeable improvement? On the other side the RP6 would or could form a better base for further upgrades at a later date.

Interesting suggestion, thanks.

 

[Al ears]

The thought of getting a better turntable had crossed my mind, but if I went for the RP6 is it a noticeable step up in performance from my current set-up, would the RP8 not be a better long term purchase?

Also, cartridge, MM or MC for the RP6, Rega or 3rd Party?

The RP6 with maybe the cartridge and phono stage suggested by @Al ears earlier in the thread would be very budget friendly but would I hear a noticeable improvement? On the other side the RP6 would or could form a better base for further upgrades at a later date.

Interesting suggestion, thanks.

Don't know about the rest but don't even think about MC cartridges unless you have over £500 to spend on it....

 

[Oxfordian]

Don't know about the rest but don't even think about MC cartridges unless you have over £500 to spend on it....

What is so special about a MC Cartridge that you have to pay an additional chunk of money to get something with similar sound quality to a good MM cartridge? Is there any tangible benefit of buying a MCC and associated phono stage.

Thanks.