I had a Rega Exact and I was not a big fan. I thought the sound was kind of lifeless. That said, if you are new to turntables, I think there's a lot to be said for a Rega cart. First of all, you don't have to shim the arm in the back and you will know you have a "perfect" alignment, at least in Rega's opinion, with their 3-point mounting system. Not that aligning another cartridge is so hard, it's just that when you're new it's nice to put your mind at ease and just play records. There's a lot to be said for that.