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Goldring 1042 or Rega Exact

I currently own a Rega Planar 3 turntable with a Rega Elys cartridge. It sounds okay, but my digital front end (CAL Delta transport and Musical Fidelity A324) kills it. I am thinking of changing the cartridge, and have pretty much narrowed it down to the Goldring 1042 or Rega Exact. I am leaning towards the Exact for obvious reasons (i.e., Rega, Rega) but have read good things about the 1042. Feedback from any 1042 or Exact owners is appreciated.

As a side question, I am thinking of purchasing one of these two cartridges from Hong Kong suppliers here on Audiogon. Their feedback is extremely positive. Has anybody had a bad experience with purchasing over seas that I should know about?

Thanks in advance for your input, and Happy Thanksgiving.
mmowry

Showing 2 responses by mmowry

mmowry OP
23 posts
 
Bombaywalla - thanks for the response. I have a Rega RB300 tonearm on my Planar 3. My Planar 3 is stock and about four years old.
mmowry OP
23 posts
 
Dougdecan - Thanks for the response. Upgrading my turntable is not so much a funding issue as it is the fact that I have a wife. For the most part, I try to keep my audio purchases under the radar anymore (i.e., few hundred dollars here or there).

I was hoping to purchase a 1042 locally (although nobody seems to stock this cartridge in the Seattle area) and possibly purchase the Exact through Audiogon or Ebay. My Rega dealer suggested I purchase a Benz Micro Ace, but the cost of this cartridge is not under the radar. By the way, my Elys is about a year old. I previously was using a Sumiko Blue Point on my Rega.

I have also thought about doing the tone arm upgrades you suggested, but thought I would start with the cartridge. I also need to upgrade my phono stage at some point (Creek OHB-8SE).
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