P1,2,3: the best Rega for the job

I now have the Rega P3-24 with the Rega Exact II cartridge, and I recently added the Rega TT-PSU power supply. For many years before this, I was very happy with my NAD 533 table and Goldring Elektra cartridge. The NAD 533 is a re-badged Rega Planar 2, and I really enjoyed it. However, to my ears, in my room, with my system.....the Rega P3-24 sounds better in every way than my old set-up.

Just my two cents, but if you can afford the P3-24 now, you can add the TT-PSU later on, and then you'll have a truly terrific analog front end. Good Luck, and Happy Listening !!

And now, the cartridge!

Through a fortunate turn of events, I now have a P3-24 on the way for what it would've cost me to drive the hundred miles to my nearest Rega dealer, pick up a P1, and buy me and my wife a decent meal.

Now...I need a cart. I have an AT 440mla from a previous experiment, but I don't want to install a spacer and this cart is supposed to be really sensitive to VTA. So I'm looking for something that would do good with my fledgling setup skills and no VTA adjustment. LPGear says great things about the Grado Gold on a P3-24, supposedly Grado hum is a thing of the past with the new Rega motors. I'd like to try a Black or maybe a Blue based on all the good and relatively few negative things I've read about Grado carts.

The Ortofon 2M red is another obvious choice but I see as much printed against this cart as for, plus I'm not sure about VTA, though otherwise mounting would appear a no-brainer.

Last is the AT95e which a nice fellow at Music Direct said he wouldn't steer me away from. Nor would the P3-24 review at Stereotimes where Mr. Paul Szabady concluded that it wouldn't make sense to spend more on a cart until the table was properly isolated with a better mat and powered by a TT-PSU.

What would you guys do for a Ben Franklin or less?
Thanks!

I would suggest one of Rega's, then you don't have to worry about a spacer, etc. Nothing wrong with the table isolation or felt mat either, assuming you have a good surface for the table and it is level. I have no vibration problems at all with my P5 on top of my audio rack (Sanus). The Exact 2 sounds good on my table, but that is quite a bit more than your stated price range. I have also heard the Elys on a P2, which was nice. I would also highly recommend the TT_PSU.

Cartridges below or around $100 for RB301 tonearm.

Denon DL110 high output moving coil

Goldring 1000 series moving magnet, if you can find one in your price range.

Sumiko Pearl moving magnet

Ortofon X1-MC (discontinued - on sale <$100) high output moving coil

FWIW I have a spacer on my Rega P9 with a Shelter 90x. It sounds nice.

Don't be afraid of a spacer. I have used a few different carts on the P9 (Shelter 90x, 901 and Denon DL160) and they were all a good fit with the spacer.