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Alternative phono stage for Rega P8 with Ania Pro MC (not Aria Mk3 or Graham Slee Reflex C)

Peter McDermott

Peter McDermott

pfm Member
Hi Everyone,

I 've recently bought a Rega P8 that replaces my P6. it's my first time with moving coil cartridges.

As part of the deal I bought the Aria Mk3 phono stage.

The turntable is fantastic but I'm not sure about the Rega phono stage. Main reasons being that it's a bit noisy in my system. There is quite a lot of white noise/hiss from the speakers when its in use, and a slight hum within the unit itself.

My first step was to try the Graham Slee Reflex C via their loner scheme. This is much quieter (no noise from the unit itself and far less white noise/hiss too) than the Rega. On the downside it may not be quite as alive in its presentation as the Rega.

So, I was wondering if anyone had experience of using other phono stages with the P8/Ania Pro.

My budget would be about £1,100 (current price of the Aria Mk3). I don't need MC and MM capability, MC only is fine.

I was expecting some noise but not quite as much as I get with the Rega. I have put in on the lower gain setting.

Help much appreciated.
 
Did you not want to try the Accession MC? It is only slightly above your budget, but with a few more posts on their forum, you can get a 10% discount.
 
CageyH said:
Did you not want to try the Accession MC? It is only slightly above your budget, but with a few more posts on their forum, you can get a 10% discount.
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Hi @CageyH thanks for that. I am thinking of trying that next via the loaner scheme if it's available. I'm going to keep the Reflex C for another week or so.
 
The Aria should be on high gain for the Ania Pro and you shouldn't be getting any noise. You're always going to get a bit more low level background hiss with a low output moving coil cartridge but it certainly shouldn't be noticeable or at all intrusive. I have the Pro with the Aria and it's very quiet.

I like the Aria but I like Graham Slee as well. Different but still very good. If you like the musical presentation of the Aria I'd investigate the noise as it shouldn't be there. Maybe a fault or something else in the system. My CD player causes a slight hum.
 
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Thanks @Mr Pig will have a look. I'm not getting a hum through the speakers and you can't hear what I'm describing as white noise when a record is playing. With the Graham Slee I would describe it as low level background hiss, with the Rega it's the same noise but a lot louder.
 
Peter McDermott said:
Thanks @Mr Pig will have a look. I'm not getting a hum through the speakers and you can't hear what I'm describing as white noise when a record is playing. With the Graham Slee I would describe it as low level background hiss, with the Rega it's the same noise but a lot louder.
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You're always going to get some low level hiss with a low output MC cartridge. No way around it. Just compare it to the background noise you hear when the needle hits the record. If it's totally swamped by that, don't worry about it.
 
I've been a phono stage roundabout recently . And whilst I can't make a recommendation based on your table and cart , I can say the quietest stage I had here was a Whest , it is truly silent no matter what the gain setting .
 
Mr Pig said:
You're always going to get some low level hiss with a low output MC cartridge. No way around it. Just compare it to the background noise you hear when the needle hits the record. If it's totally swamped by that, don't worry about it.
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That's a very fair point. I've swapped the Graham Slee back to the Rega stage and once the needle hits the groove there's no sense of any extra noise, just the music.
 
I think the Rega edges the Graham Slee, though the latter is quieter.

I'm happy for more suggestions from members of other phono stages they have used with this combination of turntable and cartridge. Appreciate that may be a limited number of people of course.
 
Peter McDermott said:
I think the Rega edges the Graham Slee, though the latter is quieter.
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Have you checked to see if noise is being picked up by cables etc? Without hearing it it's impossible to know if what you are getting is normal or not but if all is working correctly you should not be getting any obtrusive background noise.
 
Peter McDermott said:
I think the Rega edges the Graham Slee, though the latter is quieter.

I'm happy for more suggestions from members of other phono stages they have used with this combination of turntable and cartridge. Appreciate that may be a limited number of people of course.
Click to expand...

WIth P8/Ania Pro, I've used DV P75 (in PE mode, enjoyed it, even though Rega MC carts aren't ideal for transimpedanec stages), an RSL stage (which was excellent, also transimpedance, no longer made), and a Chord Huei; which I still have and use with my P10/Apheta 3 or my Sony/AT VM740ML MM cart. I did home dem an early Aria, which, whjile I liked the sweetness of it, was the only stage I've ever had a hum problem with in my old flat.

Hiss is one thing, and I pretty much expect it, but the dreaded RF hum is another and plagued me very much about a year ago when we moved into a new house. I think something was damaged in the move, but was lucky enough to be able to exclude the deck/arm, the cart, the phono stage and amps. It's much better now that I've trial and error-ed my plug arrangements.

Having used some pretty high flying stages with other deck/arm combos, I rate the Huei quite highly as an all-rounder, and the fact that the user can make adjustments on the fly (ie without dip switches etc) is very helpful. But a good P75 is the standard answer in these cases, and it's no slouch.
 
When I returned to vinyl and bought my RP10 I bought an Aria mk2 and had no noise or hum issues (I may have used a ground cable between phono and amp, I can’t remember to be honest). I thought the Aria was very good and may be all that many people need but changed to a Gold Note PH10 when one came up at a good price, I’ve since added a PS10 to it and have no plans to look at phonos again.

In the past I tried several I thought were so so (Linn Linnto, Michell ISO/Hera, Benz Lukaschek PP9, Sonneteer Sedley and others I’ve forgotten) settling on an 834P Deluxe for many years sometimes with MC3 step-up. The Aria wasn’t at that level but the GN either solo or as a combo is stunning to my ears.
 
early said:
I've been a phono stage roundabout recently . And whilst I can't make a recommendation based on your table and cart , I can say the quietest stage I had here was a Whest , it is truly silent no matter what the gain setting .
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Thanks for this. Which Whest model was it?
 
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