turntable advice- Rega Planar 3

Ive just bought a Rega Planar 3 from my uncle, it's fitted with a linn K9 and I beleive it is roughly seven years old. Everything appears to be working correctly, ive certainly enjoyed many hours listening so far.

My questions are as follows, what are my upgrade options. The K9 is a fairly low cost cartridge is it not? can significant improovements be made for reasonable outlay? Also what about "upgrading to p3 spec", is this worth it? Ive heard mixed things about the origin live mods, is it true that rega themselves frown upon the origin mods, saying they damage etc?

Any thoughts and experiences would be greatly appreciated, thanks in advance

 

buy more vynal ,ive been meaning to change the 200 arm (s shaped jobbie) and possible upgrade the motor on my p3 for a while now,o and change the lowly bias cartridge for something a bit more exotic,but well it sounds very nice as it is

 

THe k9 is fairly respectable, though a bit long in the tooth. The problem with the rega is that they are fairly difficult to upgade, or I should say they have reached there upper limit in their design. Thas why they sound as good as they do. You could look to improving the base on which it sits. There are all mana of supports[pun] that might be tried. A simple sandbox might provide the environmental isolation that the rega lacks [pun] . If you go the light stiff route Ikea's Lack table is hard to beat on a DIY front. If you go the mass and lousey route the TNT flexy is another DIY option. As for cart upgrades at the lower end there a muchness its really what ever your tastes is for. As for arms anyserious upgrade would really deserve a better motor unit.

This is not to say the P3 is in anyway a poor TT, it excellent and offers real value for money and stand the test of time as yours clearly does.

 

Well, they would, wouldn't they?

 

I've done the Origin Live counterweight mod on a RB600 and it gave instant improvements,tighter bass,better defination,clearer midband,and it certainly doesnt damage the arm,it's so easy to do and will take 5-10 mins.

The cables arn't to good on the RB300 the 600 are much better,so for around £115 you could do the Incognito arm rewire,they also do an acrylic platter.

For around £85 you could get the latest motor upgrades from Rega,and add a Heed off board power supply.

For a very nice MM cartridge try a Shure V15mkv,it is a very good cartridge for the Rega,it will easily see off a Goldring G1042.

 

I had a K9 fitted in a Linn Axis. It never really got me excited about music. Swapping to a Dynavector 10x5 made a big improvement

The cheapest way to upgrade the Rega arm is to buy a secondhand replacement already wired with higher quality cable, then sell your existing RB300 on eBay.

Standard RB300s fetch about £80. Rewired 250s/300s can be had for less than £100. I bought an RB250 with factory fitted Audio Note cable for £90. Next step is the counterweight upgrade.

Good luck.

Hex

 

On reflection, I'm really happy with the deck as a whole, i just think that the K9 is what may need changing, especially since the stylus im using is not in the best nick and apparantly they are not available anymore. I'll have a look around, although it seems i probably need to spend £100 for a decent cart at a guess, so i might have to wate

 

Or you could just have the Rega tungsten weight for the same kind of improvement (luckily my Planar 3 had this when I got it second hand).

A rewire on the other hand definitely makes sense - might just have mine done one day.

The motor upgrade is a no-brainer, but ONLY if either your suspension's wearing out (pulley bends in when a new belt is used) or the glue on the pulley's gone (nice slippage). I had the motor upgrade done and got instant better everything - including better tracking (oddly enough).

The RB200 arm though is fairly cool looking; if I had that arm I'd probably stick with it

 

The K9 was aptly named.

 

C'mon, James, it wasn't THAT bad (I had one for years and it did good service). Not that I would exchange it for the Klyde MC now in place...

 

:lol: :lol:

I have two vintage carts, not sure if they are any good, a Shure V15 III LM without a stylus and an older Shure M75 ED with stylus.

IS the V15 worth trying, im not sure if this is a good version of the V15, id have to try and find a stylus, which is no easy task surely?

 

I had a V15 IV, and styli are now impossible to get. However, I have the feeling that it's still possible to get them for the III.

 

The V 15 III is not worth spending a single penny on a replacement needle. Far better to spend the dosh on a good modern MM system from Goldring etc.

The M75 is even worse.

 

I have to say I totally disagree with that,I lived with both the top Goldring 1042 MM and the Shure V15MKIII and the Shure absolutley kills the Goldring.Try to get it retiped.

 

Ive done the Michele tecno mod top an RB300
60 quid spent well i think

 

The V15 that i have has a replacebale stylus, im a bit confused really, my grandfather has a V15 of some sort on his LP12, which i think is MC, of the type that would need re-tiping and im fairly sure that what i have got is a poor relation, afterall, it came off a Dual 721. Its possible that he put this on the deck when he had it i suppose.

In any case, where does one get a stylus for a shure from???????

where do i start?

£35 According to here, is it gonna be worth it???

http://www.musonic.co.uk/stylishure.htm

 

Hi, The Shure is V15 is a MM it always has been,the best version is the mkIII,which you have for £35 it's a no brainer,I have one on a P25 and it's good cart,as i said I found it far better than the Goldrings,you wont regret it.

 

I agree. It's a good cartridge and, if it's not to your taste, you can sell it for considerably more than the stylus cost.