Excellent sounding cartridges for Rega P3/24?

I think I have decided to try the Clearaudio virtuoso wood. What do you guys think? Looks like it comes in about about a 10 on the resonance chart with my tonearm. Plus it got has gotten some killer reviews...

String...sent you an email

I thought the high output Ebony was so good that I HAD to get the low output LP. At first it was very disappointing. It really took over 100 hours to break in...I guess that means it will take a very long time before it breaks. Its a very durable cartridge, and now sounds even better than the high output that I was so in love with before. I have a Superscoutmaster with 10.5i arm, optional heavy platter and rim drive. I use it in the balanced mode because my electronics (all Ayre) are completely balanced.

Good Lord String that's a 3,000 dollar cart man...that's 3 times what my TT is worth...lol. Thanks though....I bet it did sound good. What are you running now String, TT cart and phono?

I had a P25 with lots of mods to the arm and ran a Benz Ebony High Output. It was wonderful. ..jaw dropping good.

Does anyone have any other DIRECT experience with this TT and some different cartridges and could maybe recommend me one or rent me one for a try out? LOL...seriously

Fido,

I've used a Maestro Wood in an RB300 with good results. However, bass/mid-bass can get a bit fullblown with the combo - I've found this to be the case with many carts in the RB300. One notable exception is your Rega which may actually tilt a bit the other way.

Good Luck,

Marty

When one is tuning up an Indy 500 race engine, the parameters are absolutely critical. When tuning a Honda Civic, if the screw is in or out by a bit, it doesn't matter. We are talking on this thread of a good middle of the road cartridge that will surely run fine in almost anything. One doesn't expect to see an Indy engine in a Honda Civic (a very good car by the way...)

>>That arm will pretty much accept anything<<

That can be said of almost every tonearm.

Will it accept a Zyx Universe?
Sure

Will it accept a vdH Colibri?
Absolutely

Will it optimize each of them?
Far from it. Won't even come close to revealing the full potential of either cartridge.

Beware of bad advice such as this. A tonearm and cartridge need to be matched closely so each of them performs optimally.

I know it is not what you asked but wouldn't a better phono pre amp be a better upgrade. I heard some rega decks with benz Ace, it is a good sounding combo. I prefer Lyra over Benz but that is just my personal view. I could very well live with a rega/benz combo. If you stretch you budget somewhat benz has a veru good phono pre amp, and when you buy a benz cart you might get a good deal on the phono pre.

Some time ago I did a shoot out between some phone pre's. The benz pre and the Array PH-1 (there now is a PH-2 available) were the best I heard.

Fido:
I had also been looking at the Ortofon 2M black but then I read a post that said this cartridge is not a good match with the Rega tomearm.

If you check the tonearm chart for the Rega RB300, you'll see that it shows 8-11 Hz as the "good" range. The Ortofon 2M Black weighs 7.2g and you can figure about .5g for mounting screws. Its compliance is 22.

So if you look at the Resonant Frequency Evaluator, you'll see that an RB300 with 8g worth of cartridge and hardware, with a compliance of 22 (10-6 cm/Dyne) comes in just at 8Hz, which is theoretically in the "safe" zone.

Audiofeil, an experienced dealer and A-gon poster, places the ideal resonant frequency at 10 Hz, but that doesn't necessarily mean that 8 Hz is "bad." He did state that 7.23 Hz (which it would be on a Technics arm) would be too low. It looks like the 11.5g effective mass of the RB 300 is at the upper limit, and lighter arms such as the Hadcock and VPI JWM9 would line up with a 9-10Hz resonant frequency.

It's my understanding that the VPI JMW9 arm is compatible with the Rega armboard.

Thanks Synthfreek...I forgot to say I am using the Rega MM Fono preamp. I had a Bellari VP 129. I like the Rega better. It has more gain and my amp doesn't clip and cut off when I crank it up a little...lol Although the Bellari is a nice sounding little preamp too. Does the 10x5 sound smooth up top, no harshness or mechanical clankiness? Good bass too?

Thanks Johnnyb53..I will continue to investigate the Ortofon 2M black then.

I have the Dyna 10x5/P3 combo w/ the Bellari VP129 tube pre and it is a GREAT budget setup.

I wouldn't take a little Internet "buzz" or speculation based on the tonearm mass/compliance formula to rule out the Ortofon 2M Black. At the very least, talk to somebody at Needle Doctor or Acoustic Sounds. I believe there are several online vendors that sell both Ortofon and Rega products.

10 Hz may be the ideal resonant frequency, but the tonearm database matching grid seems to indicate that anything from 8 to 11 Hz or so is ideal. The 2M Black on an RB300 comes in at about 8 Hz.

And another thing: The formula may be able to give you the resonant frequency, but it can't tell you how strong the resonant frequency is, because that depends on other factors such as tonearm design and damping. I'm not sure how vulnerable the RB300 is to mass/compliance resonances.

There are certainly some designs that can dampen most of the resonance back down. For example, a cartridge's damper brush (such as is on the Shure M97xE and was on the V15 series) reduces the resonant hump by around 5 dB. Ditto for tonearms with fluid dampers. I'd rather have a 0 to 1dB resonant hump at 8 Hz than a 5dB hump at 10 Hz.

My brother is running the Benz Micro medium output Glider with the Rega P3 / RB 300 combo. His phono stage is the ARC PH3. The combination of these components is very musical - excellent value for the money.

Thanks Roole....I will investigate the 10x5 I have heard some good stuff on that one too.

Stringreen: Yes, that is good advice and that actually is my logterm plan. I am just muddling through right now til I can afford to splurge on a nicer TT.

I have found that audio components have a company sound. I suggest you find a sound you like and get as close as you can to the top of the line. That arm will pretty much accept anything.

Maybe Dynavector 10x5. Some say that this is the best cartridge for Rega P3. This is high output MC cart, so you can use it with MM input.