Rega Planar 3 turntable + Rega Exact 2 cartridge = Perfect match???

Guys, Iā€™m so freaking happy right now! I got my turntable repaired and Andrew was so nice and aligned and fitted my cartridge and Iā€™m absolutely over the moon right now! I loved him and he looked after me so well too! It was only AUD$125 for the repair and fitting etc too! šŸ˜šŸ˜šŸ˜

I had pre-drinks at mine last night before going out and we were spinning so much good stuff and just drinking and dancing in my room and it was šŸ‘ŒšŸ‘ŒšŸ‘Œ

17C8E235-8AF7-4F15-908B-924A3E4EEC30.jpeg
 
If you email them this is an option, and what Iā€™d go for.

Walnut base with a white top...

View attachment 83761
I love your taste Joe! Iā€™ve actually always thought youā€™ve got really good visual taste when it comes to speakers and a turntable! And have SMEG appliances too, so you definitely have a good eye for attractive things! šŸ˜

@Mather is the other person on here who stands out with having good visual taste in Audio equipment/furniture! šŸ’Æ

I can imagine a lot of vinyl nerds in general just having such good taste! I really want the MoFi Ultradeck! Looks slick, bold and sexy! šŸ’Ž
 
I love your taste Joe! Iā€™ve actually always thought youā€™ve got really good visual taste when it comes to speakers and a turntable! And have SMEG appliances too, so you definitely have a good eye for attractive things! šŸ˜

@Mather is the other person on here who stands out with having good visual taste in Audio equipment/furniture! šŸ’Æ

I can imagine a lot of vinyl nerds in general just having such good taste! I really want the MoFi Ultradeck! Looks slick, bold and sexy! šŸ’Ž

Hahaha! Cheers Nathan! I do really actually love design, I think simple fictional design with clean lines really can be beautiful.

Did I tell you I bought new speakers before Christmas? The Q ones just ended up being too hefty a price tag so I ā€œsettledā€ for these instead! They really do sound every bit as good as they look too!

Let's See What Makes Your Vinyl Spin!
 
Guys, Iā€™m so freaking happy right now! I got my turntable repaired and Andrew was so nice and aligned and fitted my cartridge and Iā€™m absolutely over the moon right now! I loved him and he looked after me so well too! It was only AUD$125 for the repair and fitting etc too! šŸ˜šŸ˜šŸ˜

I had pre-drinks at mine last night before going out and we were spinning so much good stuff and just drinking and dancing in my room and it was šŸ‘ŒšŸ‘ŒšŸ‘Œ

View attachment 84016
How is it?
 
How is it?
I absolutely love it Dukey! It honestly feels like Iā€™ve got so much of my joy back, having my turntable and being able to spin vinyl again! The sound is definitely improved with the Rega Exact cartridge; the sound is much more detailed and my tonearm is better too because itā€™s being aligned properly! I couldnā€™t be any happier! šŸ˜šŸ™Œ

Iā€™m about to go to sleep but Iā€™m smiling in bed hugging my pillow being so happy because Iā€™m already thinking about making a gourmet breakfast and then just spinning vinyl all day taking it easy! Itā€™s gonna be my last Sunday at home before moving out, so itā€™s just gonna be a lazy, vinyl Sunday! šŸ™ŒšŸ¤—šŸ§ø
 
I absolutely love it Dukey! It honestly feels like Iā€™ve got so much of my joy back, having my turntable and being able to spin vinyl again! The sound is definitely improved with the Rega Exact cartridge; the sound is much more detailed and my tonearm is better too because itā€™s being aligned properly! I couldnā€™t be any happier! šŸ˜šŸ™Œ

Iā€™m about to go to sleep but Iā€™m smiling in bed hugging my pillow being so happy because Iā€™m already thinking about making a gourmet breakfast and then just spinning vinyl all day taking it easy! Itā€™s gonna be my last Sunday at home before moving out, so itā€™s just gonna be a lazy, vinyl Sunday! šŸ™ŒšŸ¤—šŸ§ø

When are you moving Nathan? Youā€™ll have to show us a pic of your set up and all your vinyl in the new place.
 
Hahaha! Cheers Nathan! I do really actually love design, I think simple fictional design with clean lines really can be beautiful.

Did I tell you I bought new speakers before Christmas? The Q ones just ended up being too hefty a price tag so I ā€œsettledā€ for these instead! They really do sound every bit as good as they look too!

Let's See What Makes Your Vinyl Spin!
Sounds like you definitely appreciate Scandinavian design as their designs are generally minimal and functional have an emphasis on neutral colours!

Iā€™m looking at your setup and speakers again and I love it! Iā€™m actually so happy for you! You must be such a happy boy having all of that goodness to yourself!!! šŸ˜Š
 
When are you moving Nathan? Youā€™ll have to show us a pic of your set up and all your vinyl in the new place.
Next week on Thursday! But Iā€™ll actually move stuff on the weekend and I think Iā€™ll be moving my vinyl setup a week after that Iā€™ll be thinking about which records I want to bring as I wonā€™t be able to fit everything! Lease starts next Thursday but I wonā€™t actually sleep there until Monday or Tuesday I think! Iā€™m in no rush to sleep there as Iā€™m still working in the suburbs! šŸ˜‚

I think my turntable and vinyl will stay in my room for at least a few weeks after I move! Itā€™s going to be such a big job moving all my vinyl stuff into the apartment! šŸ¤ŖšŸ˜³

I will be taking a picture of my room after itā€™s all done! Iā€™m leaving all the posters in my room and my bed and pretty much everything is staying there! Instead of posters, Iā€™m going to be having a massive Canvas art of FKA Twigsā€™ debut album LP1! I love that album, the album art and it will be such a bold statement for my beautiful room in the city! I cannot wait to show you it after itā€™s done! šŸ˜šŸ˜šŸ˜
 
Just a quick question, not sure if this would be the right thread or not..

I currently run my Rega Planar 3 through a Cambridge Audio AXA35 amplifier with a built in phono stage.

My question is whether buying a separate Phono Stage, such as the Rega Fono MM MK3 would make any discernible difference to the sound quality.

It sounds great at the moment, but wasnā€™t sure if this would be a worthy enough upgrade? Or if Iā€™m better off upgrading the cartridge to an Exact first? I currently use the Elys 2.
 
Just a quick question, not sure if this would be the right thread or not..

I currently run my Rega Planar 3 through a Cambridge Audio AXA35 amplifier with a built in phono stage.

My question is whether buying a separate Phono Stage, such as the Rega Fono MM MK3 would make any discernible difference to the sound quality.

It sounds great at the moment, but wasnā€™t sure if this would be a worthy enough upgrade? Or if Iā€™m better off upgrading the cartridge to an Exact first? I currently use the Elys 2.
I don't have experience with the Cambridge, but I'd imagine you'll get more bang for your buck upgrading from the Elys2 than switching phono stages.

I've read the Exact 2 isn't much of a value if you live in the US. Think it sells for around $600. I know many Rega owners run the AT540ml or AT740ml cartirdges and prefer those to the Exact. And I believe there is no VTA adjustments required for those Audio Technica cartridges.

I'm currently running an Elys2 on a Rega RP40 and plan to upgrade to Audio Technica microline stylus once the Elys wears out. I'll probably go with the 740. I have the 540ml on a second turntable and it is an incredible value. It sounds waaaay better than the Elys2 and is about $50 cheaper.
 
Last edited:
I don't have experience with the Cambridge, but I'd imagine you'll get more bang for your buck upgrading from the Elys2 than switching phono stages.

I've read the Exact 2 isn't much of a value if you live in the US. Think it sells for around $600. I know many Rega owners run the AT540ml or AT740ml cartirdges and prefer those to the Exact. And I believe there is no VTA adjustments required for those Audio Technica cartridges.

I'm currently running an Elys2 on a Rega RP40 and plan to upgrade to Audio Technica microline stylus once the Elys wears out. I'll probably go with the 740. I have the 540ml on a second turntable and it is an incredible value. It sounds waaaay better than the Elys2 and is about $50 cheaper.
Thanks for the reply. Iā€™ll have to check out those cartridges. Theyā€™re similarly priced to the Exact here in the UK too.
 
Just a quick question, not sure if this would be the right thread or not..

I currently run my Rega Planar 3 through a Cambridge Audio AXA35 amplifier with a built in phono stage.

My question is whether buying a separate Phono Stage, such as the Rega Fono MM MK3 would make any discernible difference to the sound quality.

It sounds great at the moment, but wasnā€™t sure if this would be a worthy enough upgrade? Or if Iā€™m better off upgrading the cartridge to an Exact first? I currently use the Elys 2.
Definitely upgrade the cartridge first. The Elys 2 isnā€™t great. If you were to keep the Rega, youā€™d also have to be careful of what phono stage you buy- Regas are super high output (around 7 mV) and some phono stages will get overloaded.
 
Definitely upgrade the cartridge first. The Elys 2 isnā€™t great. If you were to keep the Rega, youā€™d also have to be careful of what phono stage you buy- Regas are super high output (around 7 mV) and some phono stages will get overloaded.
Yeah I think Iā€™ll go with a cart upgrade. As for the phono stage, Iā€™ll probably stick to a Rega one anyway so hopefully there wouldnā€™t be any issues.
 
So did you like the Rega Exact!? The Nagaoka MP-200 stylus is cheaper than the Rega Exact 2 stylus, so I might look into that actually! It's like AUD$200 cheaper and that's a big difference! Even though you said the Nag MP-200 is very easy to replace the Rega Exact with, I'd probably struggle because I'm so bad when it comes to stuff like that!

I'll do a bit of research with the Nagaoka MP-200! I'll look at reviews and will also look more in depth into reviews of the Ortofon Blue, as they're around the same price in Australia!

Thanks for the comment Rowan! šŸ™ šŸ˜‡


Yeah, that's what I've heard by looking into forums! I like the Elys 2, but I might end up feeling like "actually, the Elys 2 was pretty crap" after I upgrade my cartridge to something better like the Rega Exact 2 or the Ortofon Blue cartridges!

Thanks for the comment HiFi Guy! It gives me a bit more peace of mind with you just confirming that a lot of people like the Rega Exact 2, as you're the ultimate vinyl audio hardware expert! šŸ’Æ
Try a MC cartridge, you get better sound from it.
 
Try a MC cartridge, you get better sound from it.
Thanks for the reply! I actually need to get a new cartridge soon! Iā€™m using the rega exact now, but definitely would like to try a new cartridge!

What exactly is an ā€˜MC cartridgeā€™? Is that the name the cartridge brand, or the name of the actual cartridge?
 
Thanks for the reply! I actually need to get a new cartridge soon! Iā€™m using the rega exact now, but definitely would like to try a new cartridge!

What exactly is an ā€˜MC cartridgeā€™? Is that the name the cartridge brand, or the name of the actual cartridge?

Itā€™s a different type of cartridges. The ones you will have been using to date will have been MM, or moving magnet. MC are moving coil. Itā€™s to do with the method they use to generate the electrical signal from the movements of the cantilever. MC tend to be used by the more expensive higher end designed, but thatā€™s not to say that and MM canā€™t be outstanding either.

One thing though if you want to try an MC you need a phono stage capable of it, most built into amps are not.
 
Thanks for the reply! I actually need to get a new cartridge soon! Iā€™m using the rega exact now, but definitely would like to try a new cartridge!

What exactly is an ā€˜MC cartridgeā€™? Is that the name the cartridge brand, or the name of the actual cartridge?
Itā€™s basically Betamax to MMā€™s VHS
 
Back
Top