Parks Puffin makes it sound anyway you want.
Rega Planar 3 : Heavily upgraded yet produces a sound that I don't like
I have the Rega Planar 3 turntable for 30 years now. It had
an original everything including a 100$ nottingham analogue cartridge/stylus.
Sound was not bad but pretty basic....
A few years ago I started upgrading it. I did all the
upgrades together and the result is... not good. The sound is very accurate but it is too bright, there is almost no
Bass and drums have no attack whatsoever.
I can't eliminate where the problem is because all upgrades
are irreversible.
I know that the
Ortofon Rondo Red has a very bright sound but still...
Here is a list of the upgrades :
1. ISOkinetik ISOvert Rega Tonearm VTA Adjustment Kit
2. Cardas Litz purple phono cable
3. ISOkinetik Tonearm Low CG weight
https://www.analogueseduction.net/isokinetik-upgrades-and-parts/isokinetik-isoweight.html
4. Ortofon Rondo Red Cartridge/stylus
5 Linn Linto phono pre amp (an old but outstanding piece which has a cult following).
6. I use Rega Elicit Apmplifer
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- 37 posts total
"I tried a Ortofon Red on my Planar 3 based on all of the bang for the buck reviews. I added a spacer to help with the VTA etc. Hated the sound it was basically as you described. " Dougsat, I will make sure VTA and speed are correct of course but I do tend to suspect the cartridge. Speed was never an issue with my previous cartridge. What would be a better all around cartridge at the same price and a little bit more that could balance accurate sound that will still sound... warmish and not kill the drums ? |
You changed the cables and might have a capacitance issue. MM cartridges are very sensitive to capacitance and the wrong capacitive loading will change the high frequency balance. You have three variables you can play around with, the cartridge, the resistance load and the capacitance load. You can "tune" your high frequency response this way. I always shoot for the lowest capacitance in cables and usually play around with resistors first. Your load now is probably 47K ohms. Read this article https://www.tnt-audio.com/sorgenti/load_the_magnets_e.html A word of caution. When people note a bright sound this usually means a peak between 6 kHz and 12 kHz. Most people will not hear a peak at 20 kHz. Even a peak at 16 kHz might not be perceived as "too bright" but rather as more detail which some people like. It gives you that surrealistic Hi Fi sound. |
- 37 posts total