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Left Phono quiet on Planar 3 RB300

PinkFushy

Member
Hello, i posted this on another forum but did not get much response and i figured it might just not be the right forum so i decided to finally make an account on here.

I just bought myself a second hand Planar 3 with RB300 and a p77 cartridge for £180. The problem im having is that the left channel is a lot quiter than the right and a HUGE loss of treble and detail, actually some instruments and parts in songs are completely gone. I have tried resoldering the left plug because a few wires were loose but nothing changed... It is my first turntable so i do not have any set up experience but it looks fairly level and i did a ruff re calibration of the counterweight and anti skating but nothing changed.
Im sure it is the turntable and not the preamp or amplifier so im really hoping some body can help me out.

I spent a lot of money on the turntable so im really hoping i dont have to buy a cartridge and dont know anyone that has a cartridge i can use. and even if i did it would probably be something cheap like a AT91 / 95 so it wont sound anywhere near as good as the p77 (which is what i paid for)

I do have the option to return it to seller but im really trying to avoid doing this because it was a very big deal and distance on buses getting it from him in the first place.

Anyway i hope some body has an idea of how this could be fixed.
 
if your sure its the record player , then put the right channel cartridge clips on the left cartridge tags and if sound is okay then the arm cable is broke , if the sound is still the same then cartridge is broke .
 
Swop the red and green wires at the headshell/cartridge for the blue and white. If the duff channel swops over, then it's the cartridge, which is the most likely culprit.

Also, before you do that, try giving the stylus a proper clean.
 
Thanks for the responses guys, when i swapped over the cartridge wires the bad sound transferred to the right speaker.
So does that mean the arm cable is broke or the cartridge?
Can anything be done to fix it? I really hope it can be fixed because I cant really afford any new bits anymore

EDIT: i took a picture of the cartridge and it looks a bit crooked to me, could that be the problem? or would it not be such a drastic change?

IMGP9494.jpg
 
Could still be the wiring or the cartridges. From the sound description, it's more likely to be the cartridge.

The cantilever/stylus look a but crooked and that could be the problem. Have you tried cleaning the stylus ?

If that doesn't help, can you use a meter or buzzer to check the wiring ?
 
I do not have a buzzer/meter to check the wiring but can get one by Tuesday...
I think im going to just get a nice new fresh cartridge

I just got in contact with the seller and got a very friendly reply telling me not to worry and he will pay 50% for a new cartridge if i need it. nice guy.

Now i dont want to take the piss and get something pricey so im thinking maybe a AT95e or M97xe or Grado Black or something? any other recommendations?

Hopefully that will fix everything and i can finally enjoy my Rega
 
I do not have a buzzer/meter to check the wiring but can get one by Tuesday...
I think im going to just get a nice new fresh cartridge

I just got in contact with the seller and got a very friendly reply telling me not to worry and he will pay 50% for a new cartridge if i need it. nice guy.

Now i dont want to take the piss and get something pricey so im thinking maybe a AT95e or M97xe or Grado Black or something? any other recommendations?

Hopefully that will fix everything and i can finally enjoy my Rega

Here in the states many owners of Rega Planar 3s have had the RCAs on the tonearm cables replaced with say something along the lines of Cardas Audio - as a few of said friends had this happen to them while listening to their systems as well.

In regards to cartridges - I'd say look at the Rega Carbon at the very least or something along the lines of one of the Clear Audio cheaper ones - as someone whom has owned a few Rega's and Grado's in my day, I can say there are moments where one does encounter the Grado hum thingy as the motor of said tables are located differently then other - placing it directly underneath the platter itself and merely to close to where the record/tonearm resides/plays, whereas in other designs the motors are placed far left out of said path and don't effect the magnet within these cartridges themselves.

As always - just food for thought.
o_Oh
 
...when i swapped over the cartridge wires the bad sound transferred to the right speaker.

So does that mean the arm cable is broke or the cartridge?

It is definitely a cartridge fault then, however, before deeming it to be broken try reseating the removable stylus assembly.

Craig
 
Ok so i took out the stylus assembly and wow.....
Im guessing this is not normal and i can safely assume it has something to do with the cartridge working like crap....

bent.jpg


Im going to go halves with the seller and get a Shure m97xe or a Ortofon 2m Red.......OR get a Jico SAS stylus for my A&R p77 cartridge...

Dont really know much about this type of stuff but in the £70-90 budget i think these are my best bets..I dont want to spend any more because the guy is already being so nice and generous spending 50% i dont want to take the piss...so i think £35-45 each is fair

Any recommendations still welcome.
 
That would explain your problem.

Try an Ortofon 2M Red. A little bit more than your budget but very good and works well with the Rega.
 


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