New cartridge required for Rega Planar 3

[Lost Angeles]

I have a Rega Planar 3 with an A&R E77 cartridge and not sure which Rega arm but I think its the RB250. The package cost me £188 in 1986 and the arm was £90+ if bought on its own. Does anyone know if it is the RB250.
I now need a new cartridge.
I would like something that is open and revealing and not bass heavy as my speakers are good for bass anyway.
Option 1. Spend up to £50 on a new cartridge.
Option 2. Spend up to £100 on a new cartridge.
Option 3. I am due a small bonus at work soon and I know someone who has a Musical Fidelity phono amp and power supply which cost him about £480 3-4 years ago, (I don’t know which model) which he is prepared to sell to me. How much is it worth?
Is this liable to be any good and if I was to buy this then how good a cartridge would my turntable and arm take.
Your views and opinions needed so as I can weigh up my options over Christmas and buy in the new year.
Thanks and rock on

 

[fatboyslimfast]

Firstly, Arm - is it straight or S-shaped? If it's straight, then it's an RB300 (the 250 was on the Planar 2). If it's S-shaped, it's probably an R200.

Cartridge wise, I would probably look at around £60 for something like the Ortofon 2M Red, or £75ish for the Audio-Technica AT-440ML. They are the best around in that price bracket IMO.

I think you would hear a world of difference from your E77, and as such may not need the phono amp. What amplifier are you currently using?

 

[Lost Angeles]

fatboyslimfast:Firstly, Arm - is it straight or S-shaped? If it's straight, then it's an RB300 (the 250 was on the Planar 2). If it's S-shaped, it's probably an R200. Cartridge wise, I would probably look at around £60 for something like the Ortofon 2M Red, or £75ish for the Audio-Technica AT-440ML. They are the best around in that price bracket IMO. I think you would hear a world of difference from your E77, and as such may not need the phono amp. What amplifier are you currently using?

Thanks for your reply

The arm is straight so it must be an RB300.

My amplifier is an Audiolab 8000A which was also bought in 1986 and is going to be replaced next year possibly with a Roksan Caspian or something equivalent, which will probably not have a Phono stage and I will need a phono amp then, which is why I wondered about the Musical Fidelity.
What's the difference in sound between the Ortofon and Audio Technica

 

[chebby]

1st before anything else. Find your nearest Rega dealer and buy a couple of drive belts. (One for spare) If you have not replaced one since 1986 then you will notice an immediate difference! These should be renewed every few years if in regular use. (Do this even if the old one looks OK)

An Ortofon 2M Red for £65 will give a great lift to the sound compared to an old E77. The body design of the Ortofon 2M range is designed to fit very easily on Rega RB300/250 headshells and are a doddle to align.

The Ortofon 2M Cartridges (and many other non-Rega designs) are a little deeper than the Rega cartirdges so you may need to adjust the height of the little curved armlift/queueing platform. You will need a 1.27mm allen key for this task. (To loosen/tighten the tiny grubscrew). These are available on ebay. Just search on ebay for 1.27mm and allen.

Another excellent performer - in the Rega RBxxx arms - has always been the Goldring 1012 GX cartridge but they are a little pricey now and a bit of a 'legacy' product. The newer Goldring 2xxx series (like the 2100 and 2200) would probably be a better bet.

Forget your friends phono-amp. Whatever it is selling for. I don't think it would be appropriate in this set-up. If you really need a decent phono-stage then Rega have a couple of good ones (Fono MM and Fono-Mini for £180 and £60 respectively) or you could buy a Cambridge Audio 640P for £80 from Richer sounds.

Chances are that the phono stage you are already using in your existing amp is fine and will easily reveal the superiority of a new cartridge. (I seem to remember the Audiolab phono stage was very good.) The new Roksan Kandy K2 integrated amp has a built-in MM phono stage (not sure the Caspian does) so that may be worth considering as your amp upgrade next year.

 

[fatboyslimfast]

Yep, I'm with all Chebby's comments there. I would give my vote to the Ortofon personally, but a very good call regarding the new drive belt...

 

[Lost Angeles]

Thanks you guys for your comments on this.
I will get a new belt and a Ortofon 2M Red from Superfi in the new year, I've got loads of old tobacco tins full of Allen keys so no problem there.

 

[Lost Angeles]

To Fatboyslimfast and Chebby. Thank you, I bought some new belts and an Ortofon 2M Red and am delighted. I've played loads of my old albums and they sound fabulous. I played some Trapeze albums that I hadn't played for 20 years and I can't believe how good they sound, and reading on another thread that I only need to replace the stylus to upgrade to the next level has pleased me even more.

 

[chebby]

No problem. Glad you are happy with it. Thanks for the update.

 

[GeoffreyW]

I also have a Rega Planar 3/R200, circa 1983, and have been using a Dynavector 10x4, circa 1985. This still sounds ok to me, but would it be time for a cartridge change, please? The Ortofon 2M Red sounds like a good starting place, as a new 10x5 is a bit beyond my reach. The rest of my system is: Naim 72/140, Rotel RCD955AX cd player, A&R Arcam Alpha tuner, Denon DRW twin cassette deck, all fed through Tacima 929, out via Naim NAC A4 cable to Royd Doublet speakers. By the way, my ears are 65 years old, but still seem to work quite well, and music fom Hendrix, John Martyn, Mahler 5, Pink Floyd, swing, to Elgar & Vivaldi.

 

[the record spot]

Depending on whether you like a forthright presentation with a full and detailed, but not bloated bass, with a fine midband and an outgoing top end (without being harsh) then the AT440MLa is a steal for around £90. Superb cart and I can't recommend it highly enough, but you HAVE to like the kind of sound it offers. It's anything but a lazy presentation; it gets you totally involved in the music, no question.

 

[Don Guess]

How about a Denon DL110- goes well with that deck..