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Rega P8 - what cartridges have you tried and liked?

RossB said:
I've tried lots of different cartridges on my Rega RP8 and then P8 (and P10 while I had it) - Hana SL, Benz Glider and L0.4, Dynavector XX2, 20X2L, and even XV-1S, Ortofon Cadenzas Bronze and Black, Nagaoka MP300 and MP500, and probably a few others. The only one I haven't liked was the Apheta 2. The P8 is a great turntable and has the rare quality of being able to bring out the best in most cartridges. (I have had much more expensive turntables which can make even great cartridges sound dull.)

If I had to narrow down the choice for the P8 I think I would either go for the Benz Glider or the Ortofon Cadenza Bronze - both of which I still own - and both great cartridges which work very well on the Rega.



I tried a Les Davis mat on the Rega (along with many others) but still prefer the stock mat. The only other mat which is IMO competitive with the stock mat is the Collaro mat, which does sound very good.
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Wow, impressive. I much appreciate the feedback, and will look at the Benz a bit harder.

Are you using a spacer for most of these? Im actually going mount up an EMT cart tomorrow no spacer, see how it sounds!
 
Ross big thank you for feedback, sounds like your audio curiosity is even greater than mine:) Its interesting that we both felt the Apheta 2 was relatively poor. I also appreciate your feedback on the LD mat, I will now look into the mat you suggested. Out of curiosity did you think the P10 was worth the extra money over the P8. Its worth noting my biggest P8 improvement has come from running 3mm woven flat copper cable from the base of the brass bearing housing to a dedicated earth circuit. The difference was immediate and quite something to behold. On good clean recordings the music is pure and captivating. I did try the earth link connected to the base of the tone arm and it was dreadful, I briefly thought I had damaged something. Regards PB
 
spatiallyqualified said:
Are you using a spacer for most of these? Im actually going mount up an EMT cart tomorrow no spacer, see how it sounds!
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With the stock mat, you probably need a 2mm spacer. The Collaro mat is much thinner and I am currently running an Ortofon Cadenza Black without a spacer, and the arm is perfectly level.

yespsb said:
R Out of curiosity did you think the P10 was worth the extra money over the P8.
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I have commented on this a number of times before, but I preferred the P8 to the P10, and sold the P10 (just as, a few years ago, I preferred the RP8 to the RP10, and sold the RP10). My view is obviously not a universally held one, and it is really a matter of preference. The P10 sounds quite different to the P8. I found it sounded brighter and harder - and, to be fair, also faster bigger, and more dramatic - and preferred the more natural but less distinctive sound of the P8. Others - perhaps the majority - prefer the P10. I know someone who has just moved from the P8 to the P10 and is ecstatic. The difference is big enough that, if you like the P10, it is worth the extra. If you don't like it, obviously the outcome is very different. In either case, the P8 is a great turntable by any standard and one of the great bargains in audio.
 
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RossB said:
With the stock mat, you probably need a 2mm spacer. The Collaro mat is much thinner and I am currently running an Ortofon Cadenza Black without a spacer, and the arm is perfectly level.



I have commented on this a number of times before, but I preferred the P8 to the P10, and sold the P10 (just as, a few years ago, I preferred the RP8 to the RP10, and sold the RP10). My view is obviously not a universally held one, and it is really a matter of preference. The P10 sounds quite different to the P8. I found it sounded brighter and harder - and, to be fair, also faster bigger, and more dramatic - and preferred the more natural but less distinctive sound of the P8. Others - perhaps the majority - prefer the P10. I know someone who has just moved from the P8 to the P10 and is ecstatic. The difference is big enough that, if you like the P10, it is worth the extra. If you don't like it, obviously the outcome is very different. In either case, the P8 is a great turntable by any standard and one of the great bargains in audio.
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Appreciate the feedback. I looked into the Benz, unfortunately no American distributor at the moment. Hope they rectify that, I've been hearing good things about the Glider for years, and would love to try one out. Might be able to order one from Canada.
 
TheDecameron said:
Did that require arm height adjustment? It’s the one thing that put me off Rega, like DIN sockets on Naim.
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Yes, one 2mm spacer, quite easy to fit. You can now get Isotek ones (I think) which have a gap in the circle allowing fitting without completely removing the arm.
 
yespsb said:
Interested to get your feedback on the Les Davis mat.
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I really like the Les Davis mat. In the store I tried it on a P10. We listened to Mofi Brothers in arms with standard and with Les Davis and it convinced me to purchase the mat. When I got home and tried it on the P6 there was a similar level of improvement - I assume this would translate to the P8.

With the Les Davis mat there is more beef in the lower mids. Particularly shows up as more emphasis to the start of kick drums and more presence to bass guitar.

There is a greater ability to hear into the mix. I suspect it is tidier in the upper mids. This also shows as an ability to pick up overtones on acoustic guitar and more of the decay to sounds like ride cymbal and even reverb on vocals.

I also thought a brass section sounded more like 3 horns individually and less like one combined sound.

Also, while I don't have a problem with sibilance, I think there is less harshness to "s's" and also quavers on high-hat or ride cymbals.

However I can understand that other might still prefer the stock mat and the softer sound that provides.
 
Mounted EMT JSD 6 tonight, no spacers. Holy moly! I’m familiar with this cartridge in another system on an SME 15/V tonearm combo. I’d say this is within spitting distance, with slightly different presentations from the tables themselves.

Only had a chance to listen for a couple hours but the P8 took on the character of the cartridge very well. I should note, I have the heavy tungsten counter weight from Rega, which can balance carts up to 15grams.
 
Curious on thoughts. Apheta 3 vs Hana ML. Have a Hana SL on a systemdek rb300 sounds nice. Had a P6 with Ania cartridge and never got on with that. Lots of IGD so I am a bit skeptical about the Apheta 3. Lastly I have a new exact never used. Would I be crazy to put that on a P8?
 
Conster said:
Curious on thoughts. Apheta 3 vs Hana ML. Have a Hana SL on a systemdek rb300 sounds nice. Had a P6 with Ania cartridge and never got on with that. Lots of IGD so I am a bit skeptical about the Apheta 3. Lastly I have a new exact never used. Would I be crazy to put that on a P8?
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No, it's Not crazy to put your Exact on your P8, you still hear all the overall benefits of the P8 shining thru..
 
Sort of surprised to read the Cadenza's are a good match, thought they would have been too tall and preferred a heavier arm.

Thinking of one the OC9 variants next - they seem a good value proposition anyway. My AT33TG/II is decent at the minute.
 
At the risk of being burnt on the Rega cross I don't think Rega cartridges offer good value for money. Please note I am not saying they are poor cartridges because they are not but I have had the Apheta 2 & 3 and they will be my last Rega cartridges. To my ears the 3 sounds a lot better than the 2 and as far as I am aware the only difference is the stylus profile (if my understanding is not correct I am sure someone will come along and correct me).

I moved from the 2 to the 3 because I was clumsy and damaged the cantilever of the 2, then a friends child damaged the 3. At that point I sent the 2 away to America to get a new cantilever and stylus fitted. From memory it cost me £400+. The new cantilever is boron and the stylus diamond profile is of the micro ridge style.

The difference has to be heard, its a huge improvement and its tracking is so much better. Now whether the tracking is better due the stylus profile or the much thinner, lighter cantilever I don't know but the standard Apheta 2 & 3 cartridges were all too easily caught out whereas the modified Apheta 2 is never caught out.

As the Apheta 3 is circa £1,300, in my opinion it really should have a boron cantilever, a £550ish AT OC9 has a boron cantilever, the Benz Glider that cost less than the Apheta does and that is why I will continue to experiment with other brands like AT,Benz & Ortofon.
 
Haven't heard the 2 or 3 but have a rebuild Apheta (1) on my P9, love it. When it does go I think I will downsize (Rega). Not a swapper :(.
 
yespsb said:
At the risk of being burnt on the Rega cross I don't think Rega cartridges offer good value for money. Please note I am not saying they are poor cartridges because they are not but I have had the Apheta 2 & 3 and they will be my last Rega cartridges. To my ears the 3 sounds a lot better than the 2 and as far as I am aware the only difference is the stylus profile (if my understanding is not correct I am sure someone will come along and correct me).

I moved from the 2 to the 3 because I was clumsy and damaged the cantilever of the 2, then a friends child damaged the 3. At that point I sent the 2 away to America to get a new cantilever and stylus fitted. From memory it cost me £400+. The new cantilever is boron and the stylus diamond profile is of the micro ridge style.

The difference has to be heard, its a huge improvement and its tracking is so much better. Now whether the tracking is better due the stylus profile or the much thinner, lighter cantilever I don't know but the standard Apheta 2 & 3 cartridges were all too easily caught out whereas the modified Apheta 2 is never caught out.

As the Apheta 3 is circa £1,300, in my opinion it really should have a boron cantilever, a £550ish AT OC9 has a boron cantilever, the Benz Glider that cost less than the Apheta does and that is why I will continue to experiment with other brands like AT,Benz & Ortofon.
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Some sympathy with this - although I suppose Rega would make a point that they choose to invest in other elements of their carts rather than the cantilever material.

The Exact and the Ania Pro (which I'm currently running, along with occasional Benz Ace SL) seem to me to be the sweet spots - the Pro version solving the vanilla Ania's IGD issues with its Vital profile.

Why didn't you like the Aphetas? Too clinical?
 
yespsb said:
At the risk of being burnt on the Rega cross I don't think Rega cartridges offer good value for money. Please note I am not saying they are poor cartridges because they are not but I have had the Apheta 2 & 3 and they will be my last Rega cartridges. To my ears the 3 sounds a lot better than the 2 and as far as I am aware the only difference is the stylus profile (if my understanding is not correct I am sure someone will come along and correct me).

I moved from the 2 to the 3 because I was clumsy and damaged the cantilever of the 2, then a friends child damaged the 3. At that point I sent the 2 away to America to get a new cantilever and stylus fitted. From memory it cost me £400+. The new cantilever is boron and the stylus diamond profile is of the micro ridge style.

The difference has to be heard, its a huge improvement and its tracking is so much better. Now whether the tracking is better due the stylus profile or the much thinner, lighter cantilever I don't know but the standard Apheta 2 & 3 cartridges were all too easily caught out whereas the modified Apheta 2 is never caught out.

As the Apheta 3 is circa £1,300, in my opinion it really should have a boron cantilever, a £550ish AT OC9 has a boron cantilever, the Benz Glider that cost less than the Apheta does and that is why I will continue to experiment with other brands like AT,Benz & Ortofon.
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Who did the rebuild?
 
confused here you say that the emt is out of your price range then you say that you are trying a koetsu rosewood platinum as an owner of such cartridge that costs double of the emt
 
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