Buying a new TT today

TT is on a flat stone slab.  Perfectly level with meter.

Thanks for the tips and I will certainly look into it. I was trying not to do all these audiophile type improvements like cables. Are you using the stock cable for the power supply?  I always get upgraditis on that. 

I  started looking at after market mats and so confusing,  I called Rega UK this morning and the tech guy told me under no circumstances should I swap out the mat that's made specifically for the P10's ceramic platter. So glad i did that.  Maybe I'll ask Rega tomorrow about replacing the stock cord. 

Congrats AJ and Mammoth Guy for joining the Rega club! I would love to try the RB3000 but it isn't being sold separately at the moment and the Rega dealer who let me buy the RB880 separately before it was available as a stand alone purchase, hasn't even received a P10 yet, so you beat him to the punch. Now you have no where to go if you want to upgrade your table in the future you're at the pinnacle....maybe cartridge or phono stage?

AJ - I've never been a real tweaker and don't get sucked in by big expensive cable upgrades and other nonsense. Rega designs their tables not to be tinkered with. I guess if you have isolation problems, you should try to remediate them, but the rubber feet were put on the table for a reason. On the P8, you can't replace the power cord from the PSU to the TT as it is hard wired into the table. Same for the tt interconnecting cables. You'd have to completely rewire the whole arm (which Rega just redesigned, so I'd leave it alone). Mats are very important, and Rega put a lot of thought into it - so trust them. I don't know who you are talking to at Rega, but the sales guys at the US distributor don't know much. If you talk to their tech guys who fix them (can't see that happening except for abuse), they will give you the real deal about what you can do to improve the sound (and what won't). They are very nice, and not super serious. They know where Rega cuts corners and aren't hesitant to relay that information. The point of this pursuit is to enjoy the music. 

I know sometimes that is tough as we all get obsessed by it at times, but if you read Van den hul's FAQ on their website, it talks about a lot of these things and has plenty of humorous insertions to keep you alert if you choose to read it. They are about the most serious engineers out there and they don't want anyone to lose sleep over an enjoyable avocation. Here is the link: https://www.vandenhul.com/faq-cables-and-phono/. Happy reading - the hifi tips white paper is interesting, the others can get a bit technical, but still worthwhile. After reading it, you'll never move a cable again.

@264win

Please post up the rest of your system so I can tell you how you have made bad choices! And I will!!!I will be the first on this thread to tell you that as I have said before you are telling half truths, so you know what the other half is right? And please make sure that you post up right here on this thread the rest of your system! I’m waiting!

Yeah, tell me where i’m wrong and why anyone need a Belt-Drive turntable like Rega / Pro-Ject and all that ... if DD are cheaper and better? My argument is logical (price/performance and usability), what is yours ? I prefer vintage top of the line DD turntables to new Technics, but i do not recommend what i use to people just because i use it, so new Technics is always better than Rega and Pro Jects turntables (in my opinion). Now you tell me ...


This what i have if you wish to see it like that:

*Turntables: Luxman PD-444, Denon DP80, Victor TT-101 ...

*Tonearms: Reed 3p "12 Cocobolo, Fidelity Research FR-64fx with n60, Fidelity-Research FR-64s with b60, Lustre GST-801, Technics EPA-100 mkII, Denon DA-401, IKEDA IT-345

*Mats: Micro Seiki CU-180, SAEC SS-300, The Mat (Sakura systems).
Clamps and record weight: Micro Seiki ST-20, Noritake.

*Cartridges LOMC: FR-7fz, IKEDA9c III, Miyabi Standard, Victor MC-L10, Argent MC100, Grace Asakura ONE, Dynavector KARAT 17d2 mkII, Ortofon MC2000... and many more.

*Cartridges MM/MI: AT-ML180 OCC, AT-ML170, Grace F14 and Grace LEVEL II (all models), Stanton CS100 WOS, Pickering (all top models), Pioneer PC-1000 mkII, Grado XTZ, Technics p100 c mk4 ... and many more.

*Phono stages: Gold Note PH-10 with PSU-10, WLM Phonata Reference, JLTi ...

*SUTs and Headamps: ZYX CPP-1, Luxman 8020, 8025, 8030 (toroidal silver suts) ...

*Preamp: Pass Labs Aleph L (passive/active model), First Watt B1 (passive).

*Power Amps: Fisrst Watt F2J (current source amp for full range speakers), Yamamoto A-08s with NOS 45 tubes.

Speakers: Zu Audio DRUID (upgraded to mk5) with full range drivers (101db).

*Cables: Stereovox Colibri, Stereolab Matser Reference, Stereovox Firebird, Signal Cable Silver Resolution, Zu Audio Mission mk3 ...

*Connectors: WBT Nextgen, Xhadow RCA, KLE ...

aj523,

"...I was trying not to do all these audiophile type improvements like cables. Are you using the stock cable for the power supply? I always get upgraditis on that.

I started looking at after market mats and so confusing, I called Rega UK this morning and the tech guy told me under no circumstances should I swap out the mat that’s made specifically for the P10’s ceramic platter. So glad i did that. Maybe I’ll ask Rega tomorrow about replacing the stock cord."


I’m sorry but reading that made me feel a little sad. Please tell us you’re joking.

Or else I’m puzzled why you feel that you can get a better result than Rega themselves can after over 40 years of R&D.

The P10 is currently the end result of all of that research and work.

You seem to be highlighting many of the pitfalls that I myself encountered in my audiophile journey.

If you enjoy this sort of thing, fair enough, but I would rather just enjoy the music and leave the R&D to those far better qualified and with far more advanced resources than I could ever have.

Nowadays if I wanted a record player I would look no further than the already technically excellent Technics SL12GR for exactly those reasons.

I’m guessing that the OP too decided to cut this Gordian knot when he made his decision to buy the Marantz TT-15S1.

When someone must change almost everything on a turntable that came as "the end of research" it is pretty funny. 99% of the turntable threads on audiogon are about those rega and pro-ject and almost always there is a problem with something or user must upgrade everything step by step (or can't adjust something) to use a brand new turntable he bought from the dealer. Is it a game or something?