Not getting enough volume with my new MM cartridge

Rick, It sounds like your dealer is not hip to what all the others here are telling you: if you don't have enough gain from that combo, there must be something amiss. For him to tell you to use a higher gain linestage (or whatever it was) is evidence that he is missing the point. As someone else mentioned, one thing that could reduce apparent gain is if the two channels are out of phase with each other. For example, your cartridge could be internally wired out of phase. A simple experiment would be to reverse the leads for one channel (either one but NOT both) at the cartridge pins. It's worth a shot.

For what it's worth, the P5 tonearm is an RB700.

Thanks for all the input! I will give you an update when I here back from REGA! Also, my dealer mentioned there might be a way to get additional gain from my K-1Xe on a givin input. Hopefully, I will get this sorted out.

Thanks again!

Mingles and Miner42, thanks for that. It does sound like the cartridge might be faulty. Regards, Fap.

FYI, when dealers sell a Rega deck with a Rega cartridge you should get a good discount. When I bought my P5 with the Exact I paid $425 for the cartridge, it listed at the time for $550. Mine played fine through my Rotel preamp with an onboard phono stage which I was told was the Rega MM/MC phono pre installed in the preamp (RC-1090).

Rick, if the cartridge is indeed defective, you'll have to work with the vendor you bought it from. Depending on their warranty and return policy, you might not be able to switch to a different cartridge. The Exact is supposed to be very good, but I don't have any experience with it. If you want to try something different, make sure it's compliance is a good match with your tonearm. I think the P5 has an RB600 which is medium mass.

Fap, his previous vinyl set up didn't have this problem, which suggests it's something with this particular cartridge.

G'day all, interesting. My only thought is that if the preamps use a simple one op amp feedback or other design then perhaps the overall voltage gain may be just slightly lacking, givng the results you have observed.

My present DIY phono stage (the ESP P06) has an additional gain stage which is the better approach, in my opinion. Interestingly enough even with this high level of overall voltage gain my M97xE MM cartridge still needs a bit of a volume control push, but the M97xE is known for being slightly low output for a MM cartridge, despite the healthy published output 'specs'.

I suspect that your preamps are ok, just slightly low output. The single stage phono stages I've built all have this 'issue'. Although a single op amp can develop very high gain, for 'quality' reasons the voltage gain is often 'throttled' back a little. Regards, Fap.

Thanks for the input. I re-checked the wiring and all is in order. I called REGA and they are currently at CES in Vegas. I called my local dealer and he recommended a variable output MC phono stage using the lower output setting! The cartridge sounds fine when I turn my pre-amp to 2-3 o'clock except for a slight hum when I lift the stylus. I am thinking that I possibly have a bad cartridge. I just don't like having to turn my volume up that loud to get to a decent listening level. Should I live with this cartridge, or try getting a new EXACT cartridge, or try something different all together? If they take my current cartridge back. I spent about $550 for my current cartridge.

This doesn't make sense. The Exact has an output of 6.8-7.2mV which is one of the highest I've heard of. As others have suggested, double check the wiring. Follow Rega's guide:

http://www.rega.co.uk/downloads/Exact.pdf

Have you done any troubleshooting? Have you tried plugging your phono stage into another input on your Ayre? Have you tried different interconnects? I know these steps may sound ridiculous, but it's a process of elimination. If you're absolutely certain the wiring is correct and your equipment is fine, there's something wrong with the cartridge. If that's the case, contact the vendor and ask for help. Good luck!

Check the wiring and your cabling. I,m using that cartridge with a graham slee reflex era gold and a Musical Fidelity Tri-Vista 300 and for referance level for playing CD,s thru the Esoteric DV50s is with the volume at 9 oclock , with the lp's on most is only to 10 oclock to be as loud and on well recorded dynamic lp,s it is almost the same as cd,s. I would start with checking the wiring and cabling first. What input are you using on the pre-amp to put the phono through ?

Dear Rick: There is no reason for that because that cartridge has enough output level other that the cartridge is out of specs ( faulty ) r wired in a wrong way.

Regards and enjoy the music.
Raul.

I would call the Rega importer since the cartridge and phono are both from them. They should be the most informed about their products. Not always true but good place to start.