A suitable cart and possible practical tweaks for a Rega Planar 3...

I had the Goldring E3 on my P2 as well as Hana EL. Both fit perfectly without the need for spacers. The Hana EL was a step up from the Goldring but in your price category I’d look for the Hana SL at $750 new if your phono stage is up to the task to handle these low output MC cartridges. If not, Hana EH or SH high output MC should do the trick.

The low-output Hana MC's sound better than  the high-output versions. The Shibata SL is an easy recommendation.

Replacing a very old cartridge is a good idea since the suspension is likely to be very tired. However, there are various theories and opinions about how to apportion your spending for an analog setup. One viewpoint is to spend in approximately the following ratios, 30% for the table, 30% for the tonearm, 30% for the phono stage and 10% for the cartridge.  When you consider the cost of a current model Planer 3 with tonearm, a $500 to $800 cart seems to be way over the top and may not provide the best bang for the buck..

While I am not an expert, I suggest that you spend a lot less on the cartridge and upgrade elsewhere. There are many upgrades out there for Rega tables, better belt, better power supply, better bearing/sub-platter, better main platter. Take a look at the Groove Tracer and Tango Spinner sites. 

Another thing to consider is that for moving magnet carts the Accurus P10 has a fixed capacitance of 270 pf. If you assume that the phono cable capacitance is somewhere from 50 to 100pf, then your total will be 320 to 370 pf. Picking a cart that wants to see a low total capacitance in the 0 to 200 range will be a bit of a mismatch that can result in a lot of brightness. One older phono preamp that is very adjustable and upgradable is the Jolida JD9 which is a tube hybrid (solid state input and tube output). It can be bought used for about $400.

I would go with either Goldring 1042, Dynavector 10x5, and add Rega Exact (not Elys). All excellent, good matching with your arm and no need to think about mm or mc low or high output.

Even if at later stage you want to improve elsewhere (phono stage, upgrade path for P3), you would still have a good cartridge ready for the task.

You cant go wrong with the Dynavector 10X5, it is a amazing sounding combo with the RB300 tonearm. However, the key to great vinyl is the phonostage. I really liked the Rega P3 with the Dynavector using a Musical Surroundings Phonomena II , this was a very musical sounding package with great dynamics and excellent pace. This is all elevated by platter and sub platter/ bearing upgrades via Groovetracer.com :-)

Another tweak I liked a lot for the Rega P3 is the Mapleshade maplewood platform with 4 of their isoblocks underneath the platform, these are made of cork and rubber, they work very well. this tweak substantially reduces the noise floor of the table to new levels of quietness.

Enjoy

Matt M

As for the tweaks to this Rega table…, sell your old Rega, add the money you were going to spend on tweaking this old turntable and buy yourself a newer and better table like VPI, MoFi, Clearaudio or Marantz. You’re going to get a better turntable with all possible adjustments that can accommodate pretty much any cartridge  I wouldn’t spend a $1 tweaking this Regs but hey that’s just me  

Include the Audio Technica OC9 series in your search. Other than cart, time to consider a current generation Rega or something else. Modding that series of Rega is a waste of money that could go to a P6 which is considerably better.

Used a modded P5 when that series was still in circulation.

Another vote for the DV; I used the 23RS with great success for many years.  One task you should do that's extremely inexpensive and definitely overdue if you haven't done it yet:  Change the bearing oil, clean the pulley, clean the sub-platter and install a new belt.

I wrote a very lengthy post on how to do that here some years ago, so you may be able to find it in the archives.  Either way, it's a simple job guaranteed to drop your noise floor and maintain accurate speed. 

Good hunting for your new cartridge and happy listening!

Tweaks?  Buy a record clamp, as it will improve the SQ dramatically on a Rega. . . And look at isolation footers of some sort.

Tweaks? Take the rega and trade it on a VPI.