Rega Elys question

[Craig B]

Craig, innovators or not, money talks, Rega are surely faced with the fact, building MC's generate more profit than a mid-priced MM.

Their Bias cartridge were around RRP €125.
Thats maybe €20-25+ in manufacture cost(pure guess), while a Carbon is most likely 1/3 or less in the numbers they purchase.

I've no idea what Rega's profit margins are, however, I imagine them to be more or less sufficient to allow them to have continuously marketed limited production, hand-built in house phono cartridges since 1987. They are not audio-technica, nor are they Ortofon; selling prices must include cost of production, and it is primarily through economies of scale (combined with cheap labour in the case of the absolute cheapest mass production items) that market prices are brought down (at least according to my Lipsy, Sparks and Steiner from Economics 101). Regardless, one makes one's choice and one pays the asking price.

That Rega actually make phono cartridges, and tonearms, and turntables, and CD players, and amplifiers, and loudspeakers, plus manage to supply all of the accessories one might ever need, still amazes me after all of these years. If nothing else, they have to be exceedingly good at relationship management, as doing all in-house would be impossible for such a small company.

 

[Lee T]

I have now sorted this problem. After resetting the tone arm etc... the sound improved markedly but the biggest improvement has come from buying this Vinyl Record Cleaner Kit by SPINCARE | Record Cleaning Machine Includes Washer Solution Drying Rack & Accessories | Cleans 500 LPs & Protects Labels: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics & Photo I cannot underestimate the improvement this has brought to the SQ. I sold off most of my vinyl 10 years ago after sitting in a cupboard since 1990 but i did hold on to a few & after cleaning them with this the sound has gained new life. The improvement is quite startling.

 

[Lee T]

One quick question. Is the tracking force & bias of 1.75 the same with the old Elys 1 cartridge. I have both set to 1.75 with this older Elys 1 cartridge.

 

[Mr Pig]

One quick question. Is the tracking force & bias of 1.75 the same with the old Elys 1 cartridge. I have both set to 1.75 with this older Elys 1 cartridge.

On most cartridges the best bias setting is lower than the tracking force.

 

[Lee T]

On most cartridges the best bias setting is lower than the tracking force.

So where would you place the bias.

 

[Mr Pig]

So where would you place the bias.

There are a couple of ways you can work out roughly where it should be. I like the Soundsmith method. I've found that the bias typically ends up about 1 lower than the tracking force but you need to check it.

 

[Lee T]

There are a couple of ways you can work out roughly where it should be. I like the Soundsmith method. I've found that the bias typically ends up about 1 lower than the tracking force but you need to check it.

I'll take a look later.

 

[gerlando]

you must use a record with no grooves (not engraved) or a test record and check that, placing the cartridge on the part with no grooves, it doesn't move forward or backward, but remains perfectly stable.

 

[Lee T]

After using vinyl for the past couple of weeks it has reinforced my view that cd is far superior.

Even my budget Rotel RCD-02 outstrips this deck in every department & my Naim kicks it into dust.

Thanks for all the info here, much appreciated BTW.

Enjoyed the experience but back to cd for me.

 

[gerlando]

After using vinyl for the past couple of weeks it has reinforced my view that cd is far superior.

Even my budget Rotel RCD-02 outstrips this deck in every department & my Naim kicks it into dust.

Thanks for all the info here, much appreciated BTW.

Enjoyed the experience but back to cd for me.

 

[Mr Pig]

Enjoyed the experience but back to cd for me.

Which Naim CD player do you have?

 

[PerF]

After using vinyl for the past couple of weeks it has reinforced my view that cd is far superior.

Sound like you didn't get the vinyl deck or cartridge or whatever optimized.

CD is good but vinyl would win IMO.

 

[gerlando]

There is something wrong with your analogue setup.

 

[Mr Pig]

There is something wrong with your analogue setup.

CD can sound decent but I've never heard any CD player that can compete with a similar level of turntable. When my turntable is on song the CD player does not get used.

 

[Lee T]

There is something wrong with your analogue setup.

Set up as per Rega instructions. It has been set up to the nth degree, believe me. Vinyl has it's plus points over the cd's i have played (mainly the Who, Stones, Beatles & some vintage electronica) but cd has it beat in terms of clarity, detail & dynamics IMO. Timing seems Vinyl's strong point. My Rega Planet does not match up to the Planar but the Naim (cd5i) has it well beat.

 

[Tiernoise]

A late 90's planar 3 with an Elys cartridge (into what phono stage?) I am not surprised CD would mostly sound superior.

 

[Mr Pig]

My Rega Planet does not match up to the Planar but the Naim (cd5i) has it well beat.

Strange. The CD5i is an ok CD player but nothing special. I've had a CD3.5, CD5XS and CDX/XPS and none of them match up to a good turntable. I've heard the CDS players many times too and neither do they.

CD players can make an impressive noise, tight powerful bass etc, but when it comes to musical insight and realism a good turntable wins every time.

 

[tenpercenter]

After using vinyl for the past couple of weeks it has reinforced my view that cd is far superior.

Even my budget Rotel RCD-02 outstrips this deck in every department & my Naim kicks it into dust.

Thanks for all the info here, much appreciated BTW.

Enjoyed the experience but back to cd for me.

This doesn’t surprise me based on my experience. It’s much more expensive to get vinyl to sound as good or better - compared to a competent digital set-up (Mac Mini / Audirvāna with a Chord Mojo DAC) in my case. I would estimate you need to spend 3 x as a minimum….

Ultimately, the best vinyl set-up with the right recording does sound wonderful but the gap is very much recording dependant - and closing.