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Best MM Cartridge for Rega Planar 8

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Achab View Drop Down
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Joined: 02 Mar 2019
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    Posted: 03 Oct 2019 at 9:13pm
Hi Everyone,
I'm currently running a Rega P3-24 with TT-PSU, white upgrade belt and new Exact Cartridge and was thinking about a TT upgrade.

After long, painful, readings through forums, thorough consideration of my income flow and bitter awareness of the limited amount of time I can dedicate to actual listening to my records, which means without reading a book at the same time or playing chess with my son in the meantime, I've opted to move to the recent Planar 8 TT.
Being a mechanical engineer myself I've liked Mr. Gandy's technical approach to vinyl reproduction which, according to reviews, seems to be rewarding in terms of performance.

That said I've started wondering about which cartridge to partner it with: I'm not a big fan of MC cartridges since it seems that in order to get best performance out of them I'd need to shell out much more money than I'd make sense to do due to the above mentioned constraints: limited "quality time" and not so huge vinyl collection (about 100 LPs of different genres).
Moreover, I'm not so keen in spending too much time in playing around with cartridge alignment neither on first installation nor when stylus has worn out.

I'd not bother You with my Phono Pre considerations since it should be clear enough which brand I've chosen (still need to decide between Reflex M and Accession though).

So I'd either go with a replaceable stylus MM cart or will stick to the Exact.
My, so far, favorite ones (which I don't have the chance to listen to close to where I live) are:
Ortofon 2M Bronze or Black
Goldring 2500 or 1042
Nagaoka MP200 or 300

All of these Exact alternatives seems to be quite demanding in terms of setup which is something that I'm a little afraid of since not all resellers are skilled enough to set up them in a proper way (including correct shims height for VTA adjustment etc.) not to mention that none close to where I live in Italy will let me audition any alternative to Rega Ania.

Did some of You try one of the mentioned cartridges on a Planar 8? What are Your impressions?
Thanks a lot for any advice!




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Aussie Mick View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote Aussie Mick Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 03 Oct 2019 at 10:42pm
Hello!
  I use the RP8 and have experience with the 2M series. The Bronze was for me a significant step up from the Exact, giving me more detail, subtly and image solidity. I then bought the stylus only 2M Black and used it interchangeably with the Bronze for some months. They provided a lot of joy in that time used with a Reflex M. I experimented with shims as well, using the excellent and easy to install/remove Acoustic Signature ones. https://acoustic-signature.com/zubehoer/rega-spacer-set/

After a year or so I decided to try out MC because a friend was willing to part with his Rega Apheta 2 for a price I couldn’t say no to. I purchased an Elevator EXP and the Apheta 2 the same day. It’s still the set up I run a few years later. No worry about shims either. It really is a brilliant match for the RP8. 

When it eventually wears out I’ll see if I can afford the same again. If not, I’ll be looking to get back to the 2M Black one of the Hana high output models. 
Cheers,
Mick.
Rega RP8 - Apheta 2 - Accession MC Enigma PS -Solo ULDE (Focal Utopia) - PS Audio M700 - Fical Kanta No2
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