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Goldring 1042 or Rega Exact

I currently own a Rega Planar 3 turntable with a Rega Elys cartridge. It sounds okay, but my digital front end (CAL Delta transport and Musical Fidelity A324) kills it. I am thinking of changing the cartridge, and have pretty much narrowed it down to the Goldring 1042 or Rega Exact. I am leaning towards the Exact for obvious reasons (i.e., Rega, Rega) but have read good things about the 1042. Feedback from any 1042 or Exact owners is appreciated.

As a side question, I am thinking of purchasing one of these two cartridges from Hong Kong suppliers here on Audiogon. Their feedback is extremely positive. Has anybody had a bad experience with purchasing over seas that I should know about?

Thanks in advance for your input, and Happy Thanksgiving.
mmowry
psychicanimal
1,738 posts
 
Stefan, such a light platter relying on AC speed regulation cannot counter static and dynamic stylus drag forces. Music will not sound right. Sorry...
stefanl
296 posts
 
I do use a form of mains power filtering I must admit, and have sat for some time with a stopwatch counting revolutions.My table deviates maybe, by about 3/10ths of a second per minute,perhaps with stylus drag it is right on spec.as the strobe looks absolutely rock-solid when I play a record.Rega believes 1-2% variation is ok.I hear more than about 1%??I saw somewhere the flywheel effect was the reason for the glass platter,but many companies market the acrylic version which is lighter, commercially,and I hear a better resolution from my machined acrylic one.Next week I will get a bigger one made to 14mm and play without a mat.A Conti of Bluenote Tables likes acrylic for its neutral character.There might be a trade-off but I think less resonance is better.VTA is all important.Stefanl
bombaywalla's avatar
bombaywalla
1,958 posts
 
Stefanl,

A. Conti of Bluenote 'tables????

AFAIK, AJ Conti is of Basis 'tables & Mauricio Azerini (spelling?) is of Bluenote 'tables.

BTW, I don't know that Basis made acrylic platters! None of them look like acrylic to me but I could be wrong!
stefanl
296 posts
 
That must be correct reference,sorry.It was off the top of my head from a thread I read on acrylic platters over at Vinyl Asylum, someone said that he had discussed the subject with Mr.Conti,who seemed to like the material.stefanl
dougdeacon
3,338 posts
 
While Psychicanimal is 100% correct, it's possible Mmowry may not have funds available for a TT at this time. If that's the case I can't imagine any TT, new or used, that would significantly better a P3 for the price of a G1042 or Exact.

His four year old cartridge may be due for replacement, depending on how many hours he has on it. If that's the case he should replace it before it starts damaging his vinyl. I have no experience with cartridges like these so I can't advise as well as you guys have.

If he's just seeking better sound and has only a few hundred to spend, upgrading his RB300 with a VTA collar, better wire, new end stub and new counterweight might give him more bang-for-buck than a different cartridge.
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