A little love for the Rega P9 Turntable

[dhizzle]

Originally Posted by Puma Cat

Dave,
Ha! I use the stock Michell clamp. It's a collet style clamp rather than the fancier screw-on Orbe style clamp that Dan just got with his Michell.

To be honest, I don't know if it makes a difference, and I've been wondering if the Rega might actually sound better w/o the clamp.

BTW, you can buy the Michell clamp by itself. I think Music Direct might sell it. In either case, you should be able to get it from Artech Electronics, the Michell
distributor.

To be honest, I'm not sure what I will do with my Rega Planar 3. I was hoping my buddy Paolo would buy it, but he's moving back to Italy, and can't use it in Europe. The old Planar 3 still sounds great, musical and engaging, but it's just not as good as the Michell. It doesn't have the warmth, weight, presence, fullness. Part of ths is due to the MM Grace, but probably partly due to the table. The SME III is a good arm, but I would expect the Rega arm or a current SME arm to be notably better (mostly because if improved stiffness and less bearing chatter). I already have a Clearaudio Concept as a mono-only deck, and it's a better TT than the Planar 3 (whether it's better than a P5 is another question). I may keep the Rega, or sell it to someone who wants to get into analog and vinyl, it would make an excellent starter deck for someone. I would like to have at least one Rega though, but a more modern one, like a P5 or better yet, a P9. Maybe put a Dynavector on it...but all that's pie-in-the-sky for now.

Puma Cat,
Do you use a matt on your Clearaudio Concept or do you go bareback? What about a clamp?

[altbrewer]

I used a Gingko with my P7, and felt there were some trade-offs. The shelf I used was on a wall with a refrigerator on the other side, and the Gingko did a good job of controlling the vibrations when the compressor went on. On the other hand, it always felt like the turntable was a moving target every time I put a record on or moved the tonearm. I also thought the table was more susceptible to movement from direct contact while on the Gingko, so, as Miner does, I left the dust cover up while playing. I also didn't try to play single tracks. I think the Gingko is good for solving problems with a poorly isolated shelf, but I wouldn't have put up with it if my shelf hadn't vibrated.

[miner]

Originally Posted by C220MC275

I looked for the weight of the REGA P9 on the web and was not able to find it.
Does someone hear knows it ?

I think that the biggest improvement and a Must do with these "light" tables is to use a suspended Gingko platform....

Not sure but I think I weighted it to be 19 lbs. I use 4 balls with the 14A platform. Attached is a photo of the solution I tried before the Gingko - with no success (P7 table pictured)

[Puma Cat]

Originally Posted by dhizzle

Puma Cat,
Do you use a matt on your Clearaudio Concept or do you go bareback? What about a clamp?

Dhiz,
I ride bareback and use my Michell clamp. GRrrreaattt sounding table.

[Fred007]

Hi,
My name is Louis and I am new on this forum.
A few weeks ago, I've trade a Rega P5 with Exact for a new P9 with the Alpheta.
After 30 hours of listening, I found the Alpheta very bright (agressive).
My preamp phono is a C-J Premier 15 S2. Of course the output is low. I have tried a MC Step-Up transformer without any improvement (ok for the output but not for the quality of the sound). Always too bright.
I think this cartridge is difficult to match.
The dealer have ordered the Rega Ios to lend me for a try.
I have two options:
A- keep the Rega Ios (if very good) and sell the C-J;
B- Change the cartridge
I would like to know if someone have experience this dilemma?
Thank you!