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Do I Have the Wrong Cartridge?

I recently got back into playing vinyl on my Linn Axis (fully serviced), but needed a new cart. Since 80% of my listening is on an ARC CD3 and not knowing how often I’ll use the TT, I set a budget of only $300 on a MM and went to my local HiFi shop. They recommended a Rega Elys II.

Now to my problem...I listen to classical music and it sounds awful with this cart; strings and brass are harsh and music sounds thin overall. All my LPs are top class, pressed in Germany and Holland.
To test my TT, I played some Rock albums and they all sounded excellent; great dynamics, wide soundstaging. Records played were a wide variety; Led Zeppelin, Jeff Beck, Mahavishnu Orch, Kraftwerk.

So I ask you, can a middle of the road cartridge like this Rega only sound good on a particular style of music? I was told this Rega was a good all-around cart and BTW, it’s non-returnable.

Looking for any explanation and advice.
Many thanks.
128x128lowrider57
zd542
5,339 posts
 
You sound like you really know what you are doing, and with Al's help you'll figure it out. Reading through the thread though, I notice 2 things that may be worth mentioning. First is break in. I find all the time that a new phono cart can literally sound defective until its broken in.

The other issue is the Rega cart itself. I'm not too familiar with Rega's carts, but I do remember something about them needing to be aligned using Rega's own spec's and not the industry standard spec's (It starts with a B but I can't remember the correct term.)

Either way, I'm sure you'll figure out what the problem is.
lowrider57's avatar
lowrider57 OP
5,417 posts
 
Thanks, Zd542, maybe it's just breakin. I'll have to hope that the alignment is correct since I carried my TT into the Rega dealer for the setup.
zavato's avatar
zavato
1,404 posts
 
The Elys is a good cartridge though I would have also considered an Linn Adikt or a Grado, but in my expereince, those tend to hum near the inner grooves. The Rega cartridge is not particularly high, thus I am wondering whether the arm is too high which would knock off tracking angle. Also, verify VTF using a good quality scale. I have had the Shure for over 25 years and it works well. A couple of years ago I splurged on a $300 digital scale from the UK. Guess what, my Shure scale and the fancy $300 scale were a match in readings thus I sold the UK scale.

My own experience with 1980's classical recordings, particularly on the DG label, was that they sounded bright, harsh and thin. If this is what you are basing things on, maybe the Elys is showing you exactly what's on those records.
truman
167 posts
 
In a nutshell, your phono stage doesn't have enough headroom for your high output MM. Your cartridge is minimal, the phono stage inadequate for your dynamic classical recordings. Perhaps go back to a lower output quality cartridge, I'd say. Or, a better phono stage.
Try one courtesy of your dealer or get a new dealer.
onhwy61's avatar
onhwy61
5,236 posts
 
The Rega is a very high output cartridge, but if it was overloading the phono stage it would do so on the rock recordings just as easily if not moreso than the classical records. The same goes for issues of gain and capacitance settings. Other Rega user do not mention a long break-in period.

The Rega is designed for Rega tonearms with a three point attachment method. That geometry is designed to minimize end of record distortion at the expense of higher distortion level over the entire disc side. It is possible that this distortion would more noticeable on classical recordings. Talk to your dealer about what geometry they used to align the cartridge. It is something of a longshot, but it might point you in the right direction.
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