Cartridge Upgrade for Rega P-25 Table

Thanks for your ideas Mofi. I have owned Dynavectors before so I was thinking about the 17D3. Have you used any of the Denon 103 or 304 cartridges?

I looked at some other posts, including yours, and may do some upgrades on the Rega P-25.

I have not upgraded the P-25 at all. I will look into the Cardas Blocks and arm rewiring. Based on the numbers below I will have $1349 (479+870) of upgrade plus trade value in the P-25.

For another $250 I can buy a used VPI Scoutmaster currently on Audiogon. Would that be a better decision?

175 Rewiring (Cardas)
269 Tonearm Cable (Cardas)
35 Myrtlewood Blocks (Cardas)
479 Total

870 Audiogn BB Value for P-25

Thanks for your thoughts and ideas as I work through this.

Thanks for all of the input. I am still looking for a deal on a dynavector cartridge right now.

Thanks for the info Naubil. I will see if that is someting my dealer can do and the cost.

Thanks Mofi. I will look for one of those.

Mofi - I ordered a Dynavector 17D3. Will I need a spacer for the tonearm?

Made an inquiry to the Heed importer and waiting to hear back.

Thanks for your help.

Jim Perry

I received and installed the Dynavector 17D3. I used a DB Systems protractor for the setup. It was challenging with the almost invisible cantilever on this cartridge. Bass and detail are much better than the Benz Micro MC-20E2 L that it replaced.

Thanks to everyone for their comments.

I am trying to contact the importer for HEED power supply for the Rega TT, but he has not responded to my e-mails yet

Thanks for the referral. I will give them a call.

Thanks Nabil. I just received this message from a Heed retailer

Heed Orbit has not been brought into the US market now for a couple of years, ever since Rega went to their new motors. While your Planar 25 would benefit from one, I'm afraid there are none to be had.

So I will see if a used one show up on Audiogon (not likely) or decide whether to change table up the Rega line or to another brand.

Any thoughts on what works great with a Dynavector 17D3. I saw some B stock rega 7 tables for sale at $1,800 or ...?

Thanks for your thoughts on the upgrade. A couple of questions:

Is the P7 a really significant upgrade over the P5?

Also, is the P9 a really significant updrade over the P7?

The arm upgrade look very cool.

I like the Aronov a lot, really quiet and sounds great.

Thanks Nanbil. I am deciding what to do here and taking my time over, for me, a difficult decision.

Things never go quite as planned. I ended up with a Shelter 901 and a Basis 2000 turntable with a Basis modified Rega RB-300 arm. I also made a number of other changes to the system along the way.

Thanks to everyone for their input and help with this process.

Jim Perry

Thanks for the comment. I have a couple of cartridges I had retipped by Soundsmith and I think they may be better than new. Nice to know they can do my Shelter with good results also.

You should post up your system. It sounds like we have a number of components in common