Rega Planar 3: Is the Exact a significant upgrade from the Elys 2?

@pip_helix 

if you have a decent system, it is always better to spend $ on more music than on equipment

that been said, it is not to say there are not better cartridges than the elys... there are many many better ones, but just not the exact if a substantial upgrade is desired

good luck

If you stick with the Elys 2 because you want to do upgrades later, you may find yourself looking at bigger upgrades than the Exact. You may decide you want moving coil instead of mm and then consider the Rega Ania.   If that turns out to be the case, as it was for me, then you might want to skip the Rega Planar 3 altogether and think about the Planar 6 with the Ania included. It doubles the cost, but at the end of your upgrade path you have a P6 instead of a P3 as your base turntable.  By the time I finished upgrading my planar 3, I realized I could have owned a planar 6 for the same money.  Although I am not unhappy with my upgraded Planar 3, it wasn’t the wisest way to do things. 

The Ortofon 2M MM line's (Red, Blue, Bronze. Black) designer(s) appear to have had Rega in mind as their cartridge shape seems to almost exactly match the angles on the tonearm. I've mounted a few Blacks or Bronzes on Rega tables with excellent results. In general, the Bronze is a little warmer, more forgiving with VTA. The Black is more accurate, detailed but requires precise VTA.

The Bronze is right under your budget.

Rega does pretty well with their MC cartridges but has really dropped the ball with their MM line. I believe Micheal Fremer has the same viewpoint.

The Exact cartridge is interesting- its low end is robust but it's not a cartridge noted for nuance. It is better than the Elys, but probably not worth the price difference. And yes, I once owned an Exact which I bought new at 50% off list. I would never have bought it at anywhere near normal price. I probably owned it under a year. 

At the end of April I bought a new Planar 3 and Ania cart.  The combo is a good match, however it's not any better than my Heybrook TT2 w/OC-9ML so I sold it. The Ania performed exceptionally well on classical music but do I think it's worth the Canadian list of $999 - no way.  I purchased it for $799 +13% tax.  
After I sold the Regas 3 weeks ago I bought an AT/33 PTGII for under $700 Canadian tax in.  not installed yet.