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Puma Cat
10-21-2011, 01:47 AM
Tomorrow the Koetsu Urushi Vermilion arrives back from Koetsu after a total rebuild and is going back in the Gyro/SME V, so tonight I pulled the Shelter out of the Gyro and installed it in the Rega P5, which if you remember, I've been using with my 24 year-old Soundsmith "ruby-retipped" Grace F9E Ruby.

So, tonight, I broke out the UNI-Protractor, which makes getting your cartridges set up exactly right a snap. I chose once again the Stevenson geometry template.

Here's a photo with the P5 and the UNI all set up for checking zenith and overhang...

http://photos.imageevent.com/puma_cat/fujif31andf20photos/large/P5-Shelter-1.jpg

The UNI is so well-designed and adjustable, it really makes this process straightforward, and very accurate and precise. And you have choices of a multitude of geometry templates to choose from. I've got Baerwald, Stevenson, Lofgren and an SME V-specific templates.

One thing that's really nice is the linen loupe that comes with it that lets you very closely look at your alignment of the cantilever itself, not just the cartridge body.

http://photos.imageevent.com/puma_cat/fujif31andf20photos/large/P5-Shelter-2.jpg

You can see in this photo there some parallax error telling me that the camera lens (the equivalent of where your eye would be) was not optically centered with the cantilever alignment, because the left most alignment line's top engraved line is shifted to the inside of it's reflection. This tells me the camera was viewing the cantilever too much from the left, and not from "dead on". When you do this for real, you sight down the lens and check the cantilever's alignment with the central line down the middle (just in front of the cantilever) while ensuring that you are viewing with no parallax error by checking the reference lines.

Using tools like these really let's you get "dialed in" much the same way racers dial in their suspensions on their cars or bikes. :thumbsup:

Jerome W
10-21-2011, 01:51 AM
Thanks Stephen !

How do you adjust the VTA on a Rega arm ?

Puma Cat
10-21-2011, 02:01 AM
Jérôme, mon ami!

You can only adjust VTA on current Rega arms by putting shims under the three point mounting points. You can get these from your Rega dealer. They come in 2 and 4 mm thicknesses. To be honest, I haven't messed with mine. It might actually be running a bit "tail low"; the Grace was, I haven't really looked at the Shelter on the RB700 arm closely yet.

I'm just now spinning a few records to get a sense of how things are different than with the Grace. One thing that is noticeable is the Rega P5 gets tighter bass out of the Shelter than the Gyro does.

Jerome W
10-21-2011, 02:22 AM
Get it Stephen.
I have some trouble when it comes to hear différences in a range of 2/4 mm of VTA so I won't play with those either when I will change the Exact...
I'm not surprised that you get a tighter bass with the P5 compared to the Gyro. "Tight" bass is not the domain of most suspended design tables although this could be questionable with SME 20 and higher / LP12 SE and Avid Acutus : from these beasts, I never read that the bass was not tight, and I know the LP12SE pretty well to say that its bass is just perfect.
But isn't the bass of the Gyro deeper / richer in harmonics ? A bit like SS bass versus Tube bass ?

Puma Cat
10-21-2011, 02:28 AM
Hi Jérôme,
Yes, the Gyro is indeed a richer, more tube-like sound than the Rega P5. The Rega is more neutral in character, and the Gyro is sweeter and warmer-sounding, with possibly a bit more spaciousness as well. SS vs Tubes is a good analogy. What's remarkable is how close in overall performance the P5 is to the Gyro....especially when you factor in the price difference between the two tables. When you consider you can get a P5 in the U.S right now for $995, and it's this comparable to a $8,000 deck (sans cartridge), that's saying a lot about the P5.

The other thing that is surprising is how close my Soundsmith-retipped Grace is in performance to the Shelter. The Grace is every bit as detailed, perhaps a bit more sharply defined edges around the tonal and instrumental structures, but very impressive bass and imaging. The Grace might also have a warmer top end. The Shelter has an edge in decay and "hall ambience". Not sure which I cartridge I prefer in the P5 yet, believe it or not.

Jerome W
10-21-2011, 02:55 AM
Stephen,
Yes, Rega value is pretty amazing.
You won't be surprised to hear that to my ears the P9 / Exact / REF 2 combo sounds much better to my ears than my friend's LP12SE / Akiva / inboard Urika phono stage ! But actually total list prices of both systems are about the same : 16500 euros .

Puma Cat
10-21-2011, 03:45 AM
Hi Jérôme,
No, not too surprised. I'm sure the ARC Ref 2 is not too small a part of that compared to the Urika.

At some point in time, you should consider a Koetsu Urushi Vermilion for your P9....you will astonished at what that cartridge will do for your listening enjoyment!

Jerome W
10-21-2011, 03:54 AM
I will Stephen. I'm also thinking about the more affordable Sumiko Palo Santos.
The Koetsu is a very expensive cart. I would like to hear it before I sign the check.

miner
10-21-2011, 09:24 AM
Stephen,
Do you feel the price of the UNI ($750) is justifiable over the Freikert ($250) and MintLP ($110)? It certainly looks to be a well-design alignment gauge but I personally have a distaste for the price.

Puma Cat
10-21-2011, 05:22 PM
Hi Miner,
I guess it all depends on how you define the value proposition. Do I think you could get as a good alignment with the Mint or Feickert? Yes. But the Feickert is not mirrored, and does not include a loupe, so it is harder to visualize the alignment of the cantilever. I think the UNI provides a more accurate, reproducible setup and alignment with greater precision and with less effort (time plus steps). It's less painful and you have more confidence you are where you want to be. Also, the UNI provides you with the flexibility of different geometries, incl. Stevenson, Lofgren, Baerwald as well as cutom, arm specific ones.

I think of the UNI as combination of the Feickert and Avid protractor, but on steroids. So, it's a judgement call as to whether than represents a value proposition for you or not.

audiopoor
11-19-2011, 02:40 PM
Holly cow, nice pictures! You got me sitting up straighter in my seat. You got my interest, seeing the UNI set up on your tt. I'll have to check and see if it's recommended for a Linn. Do you know why different geometry templates are available? Is that just because of different tone arm lengths?

Puma Cat
12-01-2011, 01:42 AM
Audiopoor,
My apologies for not spotting your post earlier.

I have to say that I am very impressed with UNI. It allows me to get a very precise and reproducible alignment with a minimum of effort. It does have "customizable" templates for it and I am sure Daniel can make up one for you for a Linn arm.

Cheers,
Stephen aka Puma Cat aka PC

Jerome W
12-01-2011, 02:04 AM
I'm personnaly delighted with the Dr Feickert protractor. I could not imagine that setting up a cart could be as fast and easy with such a device.
I can change any cart in about 15 minutes now, and sometimes even less !

Puma Cat
12-01-2011, 02:08 AM
Jérôme, see my extended review of my P5 just posted! ;)

Jerome W
12-01-2011, 02:23 AM
Jérôme, see my extended review of my P5 just posted! ;)

Done :thumbsup: ! Very good buddy !