New Rega Planer 8 (P8) Turntable - Apheta 2 Cartridge Combo - Thoughts


Any Thought's on the "New" Rega Planer 8 (P8) Turntable - Apheta 2 Cartridge Combo

Any Rega owners / dealers / folks familiar with the table and/or brand have any thoughts / advise about this table / brand / combo? 

I am trying vinyl again... Tried it before without much luck. Table / cart / phono set up was too finicky for me and I wasn't able to get decent sound. I sold it all and am now giving it another try.

I also chose a Sutherland Duo phonostage to match with it.

Would love thoughts, advise, ideas or feedback. I have never owned a Rega product before. Going to set it up tonight but still waiting for my phonostage to be mailed to me. Would love some feedback. 

Thanks  

System info

Rega P8 Turntable / Apheta 2 Cart
Sutherland Duo Phonostage
Simaudio Moon Evolution P-8 Linestage
Pass Labs X250.8 Amp
Magico S5 Speakers (MK II's on order)




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mulveling
Thanks for all this great information. I really appreciate it. I read about those Graham arms. Those are amazing. I know what you mean about the tubed MM/SUT set up as I came really close to getting a Allnic 1201.

I had it down to that Allnic 1201. and the Sutherland Duo. I just could not believe the write ups on the Duo.

The main reason I bought the Sutherland honestly was because I met the nicest person I have ever dealt with for anything. I just knew I was dealing with a very kind and honest person and this was before I even knew his name. It was right before Christmas and come to find out his day job is a priest.

He hooked me up with the Sutherland Duo, Audioquest Fire RCA IC and 3 Audience AU24 se cables for such an amazing price. 

Here is all the info if anyone is interested. He will hook you up. Sold me gear for wholesale / dealer cost prices and way less than private sale prices so never mind dealer prices. 
http://sonarecoeli.com/

I know what you mean about the Rega and switching carts and maybe needing shims and all that. I want to avoid all of that at all cost. 

My dealer will give me 30% off discount on the Rega Aphelion. It is the only Rega update I can make. 

Do you think it is worth me to start saving for. I don't know enough about vinyl and want to learn more and get the best system I can for reasonable to use and money. The one review says the P8 table draws more from the cart than the RP10 and that is why they are re-doing the 10. Thanks so much for the help.


https://www.musicdirect.com/phono-cartridges/rega-aphelion-mc-phono-cartridge?gclid=Cj0KCQiAvKzhBRC1...



 

@fsmithjack, may I ask how many LP's you own? I ask because if you gave up on a table/arm/cartridge (twice), I'm guessing not many. Is acquiring a large LP collection an ambition of yours? An LP player and an LP collection go hand-in-hand.

You will need not just a good LP player, but a good record cleaner (at least a vacuum system, if not an ultrasonic), a willingness to clean the stylus between LP sides, and use of an LP cleaning brush of some type with every play (for dust removal). The LP is a demanding mistress! And not cheap; new LP's are almost always twice the price of the same album on CD. Going with LP's takes dedication, and attention to detail. A Vinyl Flat is also a good idea; many used LP's (a great source of a lot of music) have become warped from poor storage by ignorant former owners (not to mention their grooves damaged by poor handling and a cheap player) , and a fair percentage of new LP's are poorly manufactured. Be prepared to have to return LP's for non-defective copies.

Those who grew up with the LP as the only serious source of music learned the LP ropes little-by-little, the knowledge, collection, and player growing together. Learning about LP's (including different pressings of the same album) is fun and rewarding, but not carefree. If you want your third stab to be more satisfying than the first two, be prepared to put some serious effort into it.

A hi-fi retailer who is expert at LP player set-up is an excellent option. Where do you live? Even if you're not in Southern California, Brian Berdan at Audio Elements in Pasadena is as good as they come. I would give him a call and see if he can help you. He sells excellent gear, and is a world-class set-up man.

bdp24

Thanks so much for this great information. As far as my LP collection is quite small. I only have about 20 brand new MOFI albums and another dozen or so older but never used ones.

To put it in perspective I have about 60,000 tracks of pristine, immaculate quality digital and I have been honing my digital system with vibration /  Isolation / cable / tech / power supplies for years and have got it to travel to a very good place. 

The reason I know my last 2 tries at vinyl were wrong were because they sounded terrible.

Perspective, I have a $50.00 USB to RCA HRT Music streamer DAC that I used to use for my laptop and cheap desk top speakers. It is an impressive little bugger. Sort of like the Audioquest Dragon Fly which is a great little performing under $100 laptop dac. 

When I plugged this in both times it sounded much better than the $20,000 analogue front ends. One had cable and impedance  matching problems and the other broken cart problems so not fair to blame the rigs but wanted to show my main choice for a Rega table/cart choice this time around. 

I was planning on getting a record cleaner and am glad you jumped in with this great advice. Please let me know what you guys think I should get to get started.

So do I clean the Stylus after record side? I did not know that?

Can you please tell what brush to get to do this and how often I should do it.

Also how about the records. What brush should I get and should I do before each listen? Do i need gloves to do this so i don't touch the records?

I bought a Mobil Fidelity record cleaning brush. Is this one ok or should I get something else?

https://www.crutchfield.com/p_406MFLPB/Mobile-Fidelity-Record-Cleaning-Brush.html?awkw=566345858099&...

Please if you can tell me what Stylus brush and what record brush and how often and maybe some other things I need but have no clue about. This is the type of info I need to know and so appreciate this.

Thanks 
Also, this will show how much of a newbie i really am but what do i do about a record clamp?

One doesn't come with the P8. I own a 2.75 pound stainless steel one but don't want to use that.

Can you guys tell me what i should do for a record clamp and how come the P8 doesn't come with one?

They also don't come with a digital stylus force weigh gauge with like VPI. I ordered one - should i use it? Yes I am a newbie but i learn quick. Thanks for the time. 
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