New cartridge or stylus for Rega P1

whiskywheels

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I'm thinking it's time to renew, andI was assuming I'd get the Ortofon 5E. Do you have any alternative recommendations in this general price bracket, as I'm always looking for improvements? Also, do I really need to replace the cartridge, or will just a stylus do?
 

fatboyslimfast

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It's up to you - you could go for the 10E stylus, which should make a noticeable difference to detail retrieval, and has the benefit of being a direct replacement for the 3E, so no fiddling required.

Apart from that, if you wanted a brighter sound then the Ortofon 2M Red would make a good upgrade - but make sure you are confident about aligning the cartridge correctly, or get a dealer to do it for you. Also watch out for the cartridge tags on Rega arms if doing the work yourself - they can be a little brittle if you don't treat them with care.
 

whiskywheels

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chebby:

whiskywheels:The cartridge supplied with my table was an Ortofon 3E. I'm thinking it's time to renew, but the 3E doesn't seem to be available anymore, so I was assuming I'd get the 5E.

According to Rega the P1 was supplied with the OM5E.

Upgrade to the OM10 stylus (no re-alignment necessary) for £47.

Or go mad!

You're quite right of course about the 5E, and as soon as I clicked on 'post' I edited my text with the correct number! Thanks for the links; it looks like you're saying there's no need to upgrade the whole cartridge, just the stylus?
 

fatboyslimfast

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That's absolutely it - the OM cartridges use the same body, but with progressively better diamond shapes on the stylus, allowing for better fit in the groove and therefore detail retrieval.

Therefore an OM5E with a OM20E stylus is the same as buying an OM20E.
 

whiskywheels

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Ah, got it. Thenks!
emotion-2.gif


You may also have an answer to my other post here "Phono amp specs" !
 

whiskywheels

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As instructed by Chebby, I 'went mad' and got the OM 20 stylus, at a special discount price shown on Chebby's link.

I was wary about upgrading the stylus on my basic table, but was delighted and surprised to be able to hear a substantial improvement in the sound with the 20. There's more clarity and detail, and also the bass sounds firmer. Given that I was due to change the stylus anyway, this seems like a cost effective and worthwhile upgrade, so thanks everyone for your help and advice.
 

gbhsi1

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chebby:It will sound even better after about 20 - 30 hours playing time.
Mine is just sounding sublime now...don't think I have reached the 20-30 hour mark as yet :)
 

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