Starter - Rega RP1 or RP6 instead

[bartwuster]

Hi everybody,

I'm currently setting up my first hifi system, bought my KEF LS50, and after asking for opinions on amplifier, I'm almost decided on Marantz Pearl Lite.

Now I'm considering TT, so I thought on buying Rega, but the question is, should I go for RP1 as this is my first TT, and to be honest, I've never operate one before, so my experience with TT is as good as none.

Or, should I go for RP6 straightaway, as currently my local dealer is doing a bit of promotion for RP6. Although the price will not be as cheap as RP1, but definitely tempting enough.

My listening room is roughly 15m2, and I listen to most music genre; jazz, progressive rock, female vocal, math rock, etc..

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[respe]

If you can stretch to it go for the RP6. Failing that RP3 and a after market subplatter at some point, I would however suggest you try and get a deal without the rega cart, and go for a Ortfon or Nagoaka. Rega only make one cart I would want to live with, and its not a MM.

 

[stevebrock]

Go straight to an RP6, probably you will get addicted and wish you had gone for the 6 if you just get the 1 first.

Buy the deck without cart and stick a Nagaoka MP150 or MP200 on and let the fun begin!

 

[Al ears]

If you already own vinyl then do what stevebrock suggests but make sure the amp you get has an inbuilt phono stage.

If you don't own any vinyl then not quite sure why you would go for a turntable but if this is the case go for the cheaper turntable with the suggested cartridge (or a Denon DL-103R) and spend the difference on some new and expensive vinyl.

 

[MakkaPakka]

The post implies that you don't own any records in which case - unless you have a banker's bonus to spend - go for the RP1.

Getting a vinyl collection that warrants an £800-odd turntable will take a considerable amount of time and expense. In the mean time that £600 could have made a lot of difference elsewhere.

I too was weighing up the RP6 but in the end common sense took over. I simply didn't own enough records to warrant a deck of that price so bought an RP1 which, after six months, I don't regret at all.

 

[Al ears]

The post implies that you don't own any records in which case - unless you have a banker's bonus to spend - go for the RP1.

Getting a vinyl collection that warrants an £800-odd turntable will take a considerable amount of time and expense. In the mean time that £600 could have made a lot of difference elsewhere.

I too was weighing up the RP6 but in the end common sense took over. I simply didn't own enough records to warrant a deck of that price so bought an RP1 which, after six months, I don't regret at all.

Pretty much what I was trying to, poitely, suggest.

If you have no vinyl then you have no reference so why upfront that much on a turtable , good though it may be?

...and why stop there, there is always the RP10

 

[bartwuster]

If you can stretch to it go for the RP6. Failing that RP3 and a after market subplatter at some point, I would however suggest you try and get a deal without the rega cart, and go for a Ortfon or Nagoaka. Rega only make one cart I would want to live with, and its not a MM.

Hi respe, thank you for the reply, I'll look into the cart recommendation.

Go straight to an RP6, probably you will get addicted and wish you had gone for the 6 if you just get the 1 first.

Buy the deck without cart and stick a Nagaoka MP150 or MP200 on and let the fun begin!

Hi stevebrock, read a lot about Nagaoka recommendation, the only problem is I don't know if I can buy it here in my country, but will try to look for it, thanks.

If you already own vinyl then do what stevebrock suggests but make sure the amp you get has an inbuilt phono stage.

If you don't own any vinyl then not quite sure why you would go for a turntable but if this is the case go for the cheaper turntable with the suggested cartridge (or a Denon DL-103R) and spend the difference on some new and expensive vinyl.

The post implies that you don't own any records in which case - unless you have a banker's bonus to spend - go for the RP1.

Getting a vinyl collection that warrants an £800-odd turntable will take a considerable amount of time and expense. In the mean time that £600 could have made a lot of difference elsewhere.

I too was weighing up the RP6 but in the end common sense took over. I simply didn't own enough records to warrant a deck of that price so bought an RP1 which, after six months, I don't regret at all.

Hi Al ears and MakkaPakka,

Thank you for the reply.

Yes, I don't have a single records at all, just started to buy and collect it.

All this while my source is my laptop with tonnes of music collection, connected to external DAC, and into amplifier and mostly using headphone, or old Jamo floorstander Cornet 175.

Music format is either FLAC, ALAC or for rare music collection, I might have to settle for mp3, but with minimum 320kbps.

I might heed to both of your advice; opted for a cheaper TT for now, build a good vinyl collection throughout the years and maybe upgrade in the future, but really, the RP6 is very tempting..lol

I can't remember the Denon cart model that my dealer propose to me the other day, but the cost is almost the same as the RP1 price itself, do you think it is a good move to buy a cartridge at this price when the TT itself cost the same? This actually what triggers me to go for RP6. Also to the fact that the dealer told me why settle for RP1 when throughout the years my vinyl collection cost will be more than the RP1 itself, better go for RP6 then.

That is just his thought, so as I'm confused on what route to go, I decided to start this thread.

Again, thanks everybody for the reply, really appreciate it.

 

[MakkaPakka]

It's worth remembering that ebay is awash with second hand CDs nowadays. Virtually everything comes in at under £4 with many at under £2. These will all play perfectly, can be ripped and require no attention.

Vinyl on the other hand is going to cost you at least £7-8 second hand because of the postage costs and then you've got to hope the condition is ok - you will need to clean them properly. New vinyls will be about £13-20 and I'd recommend cleaning those too.

Which deck you choose should come down to a realistic assessment of how many records you're actually going to buy. Will you spend £12 on the record when the CD is £2? Will you spend £12 on albums you already have on MP3/FLAC?

Incidentally, not so long ago, RP6s were being sold as factory seconds on ebay for £549 (no cart). Most people who bought seconds felt they were perfect. Another batch of seconds could well crop up again in future so don't feel like whatever your dealer is offering is a once in a lifetime bargain. The RP1 will hold a steady resale value if you choose to make a change later on.

 

[bartwuster]

It's worth remembering that ebay is awash with second hand CDs nowadays. Virtually everything comes in at under £4 with many at under £2. These will all play perfectly, can be ripped and require no attention.

Vinyl on the other hand is going to cost you at least £7-8 second hand because of the postage costs and then you've got to hope the condition is ok - you will need to clean them properly. New vinyls will be about £13-20 and I'd recommend cleaning those too.

Which deck you choose should come down to a realistic assessment of how many records you're actually going to buy. Will you spend £12 on the record when the CD is £2? Will you spend £12 on albums you already have on MP3/FLAC?

Incidentally, not so long ago, RP6s were being sold as factory seconds on ebay for £549 (no cart). Most people who bought seconds felt they were perfect. Another batch of seconds could well crop up again in future so don't feel like whatever your dealer is offering is a once in a lifetime bargain. The RP1 will hold a steady resale value if you choose to make a change later on.

Hi MakkaPakka,

Thanks for the advice. I think I'm biasing towards RP1 now, and spend the extra money upgrading my current DAC as most of my music files is on my hardisk.

For cart, if I can't manage to get the Nagaoka, what other budget but good cartridge will you recommend?

Thanks.

 

[MakkaPakka]

Afraid I haven't used enough to put forward a meaningful recommendation but Nagaoka and the Orofon's are what's usually recommended. I am planning to change to [probably] the Nagaoka MP-110 at some point but am not really in a big hurry to do so as the Carbon sounds good to me.

 

[Jim-W]

The Rega Carbon is perfectly fine for the RP1 and, like Makka suggests, if you should choose to upgrade, the Nagoka would be the best cartridge. You'll get a far more of a balanced sound than with cheap Ortofons which, to my ears, are rather shril and lacking bass. Having said that, changing a cart on the RP1 is an extremely delicate operation-there's a glued junction which is easily damaged-and unless you really know what you're doing, it's better to ge a pro to do it for you.

 

[Jim-W]

The Rega Carbon is perfectly fine for the RP1 and, like Makka suggests, if you should choose to upgrade, the Nagoka would be the best cartridge. You'll get a far more of a balanced sound than with cheap Ortofons which, to my ears, are rather shril and lacking bass. Having said that, changing a cart on the RP1 is an extremely delicate operation-there's a glued junction which is easily damaged-and unless you really know what you're doing, it's better to ge a pro to do it for you.

 

[MakkaPakka]

Oh yes, I had some problems with the initial RP1 I recieved. I had to change the cartridge repeatedly and re-test. Eventually with all these changes I managed to snap the tone arm cables that live inside a small foam bung in the tone arm.

You need to be very careful with this as pulling the tags off the cartridge can be fiddly (they're stiff).

 

[respe]

As you don't have any vinyl, before you buy any deck, have a real hard think about it. What is the availability of used or new vinyl in your part of the world. How much space do you have to store it properly, can you be bothered with cleaning every piece if vinyl you buy on a decent wet cleaner.

Add up the cost of the deck, cartridge, phono stage, and possibly a RCM, that would let you build one decent streaming system and a stack of CD's to add to the list of your current stock.

I would not wish to deter anyone from buying into Vinyl, I have well over a thousand, and keep adding to the collection, but I really do not know if I would join the club if i where new into it.

 

[nima]

First things first: you will need a decent phono stage/board, before you need a better deck then RP1. RP6, IMO, is a waste of money in your case. Best thing to do is, forget about Marantz (even if it has phono input, you will need a better phono stage soon), go for Rega Brio-R, that has good phono built in, get RP1, it probably comes with the Carbon cart, that will be OK for some time. Get some LPs and enjoy. Upgrade the cart latter if there is a need for that.

 

[bartwuster]

Afraid I haven't used enough to put forward a meaningful recommendation but Nagaoka and the Orofon's are what's usually recommended. I am planning to change to [probably] the Nagaoka MP-110 at some point but am not really in a big hurry to do so as the Carbon sounds good to me.

Hi MakkaPakka, thanks for the advice.

The Rega Carbon is perfectly fine for the RP1 and, like Makka suggests, if you should choose to upgrade, the Nagoka would be the best cartridge. You'll get a far more of a balanced sound than with cheap Ortofons which, to my ears, are rather shril and lacking bass. Having said that, changing a cart on the RP1 is an extremely delicate operation-there's a glued junction which is easily damaged-and unless you really know what you're doing, it's better to ge a pro to do it for you.

Hi Jim-W, thanks for the reply, I'll take note about the delicate operation on changing the cart.

As you don't have any vinyl, before you buy any deck, have a real hard think about it. What is the availability of used or new vinyl in your part of the world. How much space do you have to store it properly, can you be bothered with cleaning every piece if vinyl you buy on a decent wet cleaner.

Add up the cost of the deck, cartridge, phono stage, and possibly a RCM, that would let you build one decent streaming system and a stack of CD's to add to the list of your current stock.

I would not wish to deter anyone from buying into Vinyl, I have well over a thousand, and keep adding to the collection, but I really do not know if I would join the club if i where new into it.

Hi Respe, for used and new vinyl, there is a lot of seller selling it here so it's not an issue then.

Thanks for the advice, but for me, it's either vinyl or I'll just maintain with my current method; FLAC files from hardisk, I'm not very fond of CD.

First things first: you will need a decent phono stage/board, before you need a better deck then RP1. RP6, IMO, is a waste of money in your case. Best thing to do is, forget about Marantz (even if it has phono input, you will need a better phono stage soon), go for Rega Brio-R, that has good phono built in, get RP1, it probably comes with the Carbon cart, that will be OK for some time. Get some LPs and enjoy. Upgrade the cart latter if there is a need for that.

Hi NIma, thanks for the head up on Brio-R. Although I'm enjoying listening to it with Rega RS1, but I prefer the pairing of LS50 with Marantz, which leads me to the decision of buying the Marantz.

 

[greg238sqn]

I was left over 400 LPs and didn't have a TT. Decided to upgrade my whole system, initial plan was a Debut Carbon, DC6T SE and Rotel amp. I emailed What Hifi asking if they would work together. They suggested they wouldn't and i should go for the RP3 Brio-R and RS3s. I addition my first system and they didn't gel, then played around with the combination and settled on their suggestion. That was until the wife pointed at the RP6 and wanted to listen to it, we were listening to Erasure who we’d seen in concert, the difference was as if we were back in the audience and she cried( the poor shop assistant didn’t know what to do)!!

If you are serious about getting into vinyl then the RP6 (I have the Exact Cart) will save you money in the long run i.e... No need to upgrade.

 

[bartwuster]

I was left over 400 LPs and didn't have a TT. Decided to upgrade my whole system, initial plan was a Debut Carbon, DC6T SE and Rotel amp. I emailed What Hifi asking if they would work together. They suggested they wouldn't and i should go for the RP3 Brio-R and RS3s. I addition my first system and they didn't gel, then played around with the combination and settled on their suggestion. That was until the wife pointed at the RP6 and wanted to listen to it, we were listening to Erasure who we’d seen in concert, the difference was as if we were back in the audience and she cried( the poor shop assistant didn’t know what to do)!!

If you are serious about getting into vinyl then the RP6 (I have the Exact Cart) will save you money in the long run i.e... No need to upgrade.

Hi greg,

Thank you for the reply. To be honest, I haven't bought anything yet, still undecided on which one to buy..lol

Your point on saving money in the long run is one of the reason I'm thinking of RP6, but as other's have pointed, unlike you, I don't even have a single LP to begin with, so I'm not really sure if I'll be making a right decision on buying the RP6.

Thanks.

 

[Hi-FiOutlaw]

If i were you, I would buy a RP1 or RP3 and spend the rest in used vinyl records and a washing records machine, like knosti.

 

[letsavit2]

How bout the one in the middle, the rp3. Maybe without cartridges stick a at95e on it for now then start collecting and playing records. Then at least you get the better arm, an arm than can move onto a gyro deck etc if your record collection grows.

 

[drummerman]

I guess it all depends. If you're minted, then buying an RP6 will hardly make a dent.

On the other hand, to spend that amount of money on a media which you are unfamiliar with is somewhat ... risky. Having said that, Rega's hold their value well so whichever one you choose, you're unlikely to loose much.

I would agree with the poster who said go down the middle (and the middle is still expensive). My advise would be to get the RP3 if you must have a new turntable and see how the collecting will go over the next year or two. In any case, the cartridge/stylus is arguably more important all else being level.

It's work intensive and can be expensive. Certainly not for everyone but personally I love it.

regards

 

[AlbaBrown]

Whether you intend to get into vinyl from scratch, or have a small collection already, don't get the RP1.

It is awful.

Like the Essential MK1 from Project, the RP1 is fine way to kill any interest in vinyl. Both are leaden, noisy, and uninspiring decks to listen to.

All the usual cliches about negative vinyl experiences (surface noise, speed instability, overly warm etc) are glaringly obvious with them.

A great turntable will sound organic and genuine, something the RP3/RP6 or Project Debut Carbon SB will be more capable of acheiveing and that will ensure that vinyl will be something you will thrive upon. Not merely a flash-in-the-pan purchase

 

[Taylor1974]

Ignore the last post, the RP1 is a decent enough turntable. I bought one when they first came out and haven't regretted it at all. Prior to that I was listening to CD's with a Rega Brio amp and Arcam CD73 player, the RP1 sounds so much better than CD's through the CD73. Also it won't kill your interest in vinyl, since buying this deck I have bought tons of albums and love listening to them

 

[Daz B]

I have a Rega P1 which is the older version to the RP1, which is of a lesser quality.

I have had this for 7 years and really enjoy the sound it reproduces.

All I would say is buy a budget deck to start with a build up a nice vinyl collection.

If money is not a issue then go for the RP6.

 

[bemaniac]

Way to slander the RP1 lol it's a fantastic piece of kit. I've been sat on the floor flipping brand new vinyl over all weekend. I did buy the Rega Fono Mini to run into my ZXR soundcard and then carefully adjusted the level on the computer to avoid too much noise. You only get a bit of hum at the end of a record anyway when the volume is high and that was the same in store on the rp3 and rp6. Records aren't silent between tracks you know they all crackle even if you spend £10000! rp1 = excellent.