Help buying first analog rig - Clearaudio Concept or Rega P6


I am in the process of purchasing my first major analog rig since I was teen back in the 80's. My system has been digital. I had a period of about 8 years where I did not do much with audio as we were moving and building a new home. Shortly after our home was built, but before the basement was finished and the alarm was installed, we had a break in. Among the many things other things taken, they took a box of my CD's, basically all my SACD's. So when I the basement was finished and got setup again it prompted me to get into streaming. I have a dedicated listening room which is pretty big 16 x 25 and 9' ceiling on a concrete slab (i know that helps with turntables) with laminate flooring and area rug. My System is pretty straight forward digital.
-Innuos Zen mkIII to stream and play my ripped CD's along with other hi-rez digital I have purchased and some DSD's
-Chord Qutest fed with a Shunyata Alpha USB from the Zen
-PrimaLuna EVO 400 integrated
-Sonus Faber Sonetto VIII 
-Purist Audio Venustas Luminist Speaker and RCA  cables, Shunyata Venom NR V10 power cables

The only small stack of vinyl I own is what I had as a teen, 80's rock which I may listen to occasionally, but I plan on buying new vinyl. I listen to a lot of Jazz - Coltrane, Davis, etc, a lot of modern bluegrass mostly female vocal like Sarah Jarosz, Sierra Hull, Alison Krauss.
The 2 tables that I seem to have gravitated towards are:
-Rega P6 with Hana EL 
-Clearaudio Concept wood with the black satisfy arm and either their Concept MC or Maestro V2 cartridge.

I know the Concept does not come with a dust cover, no big deal for me, I can always add one down the road.

Phono pre
-Sutherland KC Vibe
-MS Phenomena 2+

My budget was originally 3000 for the table/cart and pre, but I really like the concept wood ascetically, it would fit nicely in my rustic/industrial decor which has a lot of wood. I know its not about ascetics, but I am just not crazy about the look of Rega, but it does get great reviews. My rack is butcher block and iron pipe, so the table would sit on the top shelf next tot he PrimaLuna. I am the kind of person that does not mind tinkering and I understand the inconvenience of records vs digital, but I am looking for the natural, openness and beauty that vinyl brings to the system. What am I missing?
128x128jmphotography

Showing 2 responses by hshifi

Hello,
First I love the Sutherland KC Vibe. What I don’t think many know is he now has a new TZ Vibe now.This is a Micro LOCO preamp. MC only. The Little LOCO won the over all analog award back in 2018 or 2019. Same topography just scaled down. I asked the store where I was demowing the Little LOCO from to see if they could order one a TZ Vibe so I could demo it.  I think I am the first customer to listen to this preamp in the world. At $1400 it is very good. It has less weight in the sound than the Litttle LOCO but that might not be a bad thing. The other thing I love is no dip switches for setting up the MC cart. Plug and play. I was told by Ron Sutherland there are jumpers inside for the gain. + or - 6db. Which you can change it on the fly. Also, you can hook up two MC TT at the same time because there is no voltage on the inputs it reads the current instead. As far as the table I really love the Rega line a lot. Aside from the VTA they are fantastic tables. Hell, John Darko has a P2 with a ZU cart on it. If you are going to get a MC cart not made by Rega I would go with the Hana SL instead. For $750, this thing is a bargain. Regardless of the table you choose. Also as far as the fixed cables on the Rega it is not a big deal. Even MC says every connection you make degrades the sound. I believe in supporting our brick and mortar Hifi stores. If you want to listen to the P6 or the Sutherland TZ Vibe and you live near the Chicagoland area this is where I buy my gear:
https://holmaudio.com/
BTW, I am demoing the Rega P6 with the Ania MC cart on the Sutherland TZ Vibe right now. I do have to say the Ania Pro MC cart was better and I think worth the extra money due to the Diamond stylus. I hope this helps. 

Hello,
Bad call. All of these manufacturers are raising their prices due to inflation. Get a VPI Prime 21 in wood. You can order their cart (AT Art 9 plus) for a few more bucks along with a weis cable( Nordost Blue Heaven) same price for wood or black. New Gimbal arm is very good. Pull the trigger or get ready with more money.