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Got a Rega P3, now what? - Page 2

post #16 of 19
8/19/09 at 7:37pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by pedalhead View Post
Well I received Dream Theater's Black Clouds and Silver Linings on vinyl today & am now doing an A/B comparison with my flac rip of the CD & really there's no contest. The vinyl sounds seriously muffled in comparison, far less involving, treble rolled-off and no space in between the notes/instruments. If this is the kind of difference I should expect from a modern album, I really can't see myself listening to vinyl in preference to my digital system, which isn't exactly high end either (yet!). Wondering now whether I've just wasted a load of ££ getting this TT!
Lots of people prefer digital to vinyl. That being said, there shouldn't be as much difference as you indicate. The sound stage of the Exact is slightly narrower than normal, but there's no way it can be described as muffled and rolled off. That's a description of the Elys. The Exact is quite lively and involving. In some systems it could be considered bright.

Do you know how many hours the cartridge was used? It's possible the stylus is worn which would definitely sound muffled. The stylus may also need cleaning.
Are you using the third mounting screw? This tightens the sound up and ensures correct alignment.
Do you have the VTF set for 1.7 to 1.8 grams?
Is the table mounted on a firm support that doesn't transmit vibration?
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post #17 of 19
8/19/09 at 8:20pm
From my perspective the biggest difference I found lies in the quality of the vinyls themselves. My TT was a yard sale bought $5 Technics SL-DD22. The Vinyls are also from a couple of garage sales with some of them in pretty bad shape. When I play some of these the pops and crackles are incessant and unbearable at the least. I have a couple of good ones among them, Billy Joel's Stranger and Styx's Pieces of Eight. The difference when I play these are remarkable and sound near cd quality. Though the current gig is just to satisfy my curiosity for the vinyl setup, I just may get a few new records rather than upgrading the hardware or parts of it.
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post #18 of 19
8/20/09 at 5:04pm
Thread Starter 
Cheers guys. A bit of progress, I think the Dream Theater LP might be part of the problem, as other albums I'm listening to don't have those issues to the same degree. Patti Smith's Horses came through today, and it suits the format well I think. Comparing to my flac CD rip, the LP has a bit more "soul" in the vocals, if you know what I mean. I think the two formats compare more favourably in this case as there's not much in the way of soundstage in the recording anyway. I won a copy of Sugar's Copper Blue on ebay a couple of days ago, which should be arriving tomorrow. I can't wait to try that out, not only because it's one of my all-time favourite albums, but also because there was quite a bidding war on that copy...it's apparently quite rare to find on vinyl these days.

With regards to TT setup, the vendor actually said I should set VTF to 1.5, bias 1.25. I've checked the destructions, and you're correct so I've set both to 1.75. The TT isn't on the best of tables, but it's not too bad. Unfortunately, the floor in this room is suspended wood, and the walls are cathedral-style stud/plasterboard (check out the "Bat Barn" link in my sig), so there's no suitable solid fixing point for a decent shelf.

Edit - oh and yes, fortunately the cart is already mounted with three bolts
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post #19 of 19
8/21/09 at 4:21pm
Your room is terrific. Unfortunately it's probably the worst environment possible for a Rega. The best part of any Rega is the arm. The table part is average, which is why there are so many upgrades available for it. It's very susceptible to wavering, vibration and acoustic feedback which will muddy the sound.

If you feel that vinyl has potential you may want to look at a suspended deck down the road (which would suit your room better). You could also look at obtaining a Gingko Cloud isolation platform which would clear up some of the problems with your Rega.
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