Anyone own a Pioneer Exclusive P3 ??

Yes, 2-4 is the range on the damping knob on the top of the tonearm which the manual recommends for the S-armpipe when using 'low-compliance' carts. Personally, I tend to set it at the low side of what the manual recommends, but it is definitely worth experimenting - it will change the sound more than you expect...

FWIW, I assume your AT 150MLX is 'low' because of the specs shown on vinyl engine (which I had recently looked at). I have not used one of those carts on one of my tables.

Willem,
Congratulation on completing your Exclusive total system.
The P3 is not easy to track down outside of Japan.

How do you find the C3 preamp,especially the onboard MM phono stage?
Is it warm or euphonic sounding or neutral?

Hi Jaspert,

I actually bought the P3 in Japan and got it shipped... Finding it outside of Japan is next to impossible.

I like the C3 alot: the onboard phono stage sound very nice to me; quite neutral, but with a bit warmth in it.. just enough.. I actually have two sets of C3/M3; one set has seen a full revision/upgrade, while the other set is fully original, I want to do some a-b testing in the nearby future.

T-Bone:
Thanks! I will try some different settings with the damping etc.. I might give it a try with the Pioneer PC-1000II and PC-70mc cart as well..

Regards,

Willem

Can these be used with USA voltage/frequency?

Andrew

The P3 is 100V 50/60Hz. It needs a stepdown transformer outside of Japan - preferably a larger one (one which can handle 300W or so). The transformer inside is supposed to be quite a bit larger than most turntables' transformers, according to the repairguy "the transformer is built for a 20W Class A amp". The back panel only says the draw is 15W, but he also has said to me that the peak power handling is quite large - lots of overhead. Because of that I would suggest more overhead in the transformer than you'd normally use with something which says 15W. YMMV...

Maybe Mr. Downunder can opine...