Rega carts

[DSJR]

I still have 'my' (cough) Rega torque driver for their cartridges and it was always usefull for other pickups with crushable plastic bodies too

The Elys and P77 do seem either bass heavy or slightly dull, depending on POV and I can WELL understand the Apheta not being liked if compared with one of these, if the former carts are favourites. The truth is I think, that NEITHER approaches are strictly accurate, but if like me, you believe or know vinyl to soften and 'nice up' the dynamics of the master a bit (s'cuse grammar), which I've heard in direct comparison, the Apheta and Decca kind of approach comes as a breath of fresh air, to me at any rate. The thing with ALL lively cartridges, is to use a phono stage with loads of clean headroom. Many phono stages, even modern ones it seems, have marginal headroom, and given a tick or splat from a record played with a cartridge with rising or peaky extreme treble output and fitted with a fine-line or similar advanced diamond profile, one could be asking for trouble.

The secret is NOT to use an Apheta with typical 'HiFi' speakers with peaked up tweeters, or phasey crossovers, as this is a sure headache inducer. Used with a proper speaker designed both objectively and with many hours of listening and fine tuning, and neither approach should give a problem, just a different 'flavour' of your perception of what's right with vinyl and little of what's wrong - IMO..

[DSJR]

The main issue with fitting apheta's is the ease of which you can break the internal wiring!

You mean you were sold an Apheta in a box without the dealer setting it up for you first? What IS the audio world coming to

[Graeme]

You mean you were sold an Apheta in a box without the dealer setting it up for you first? What IS the audio world coming to

I take it you guys havent read my intro post?

I was rega's high end turntable builder and turntable department supervisor and my wife made every apheta for 18 months and did all the repairs.

[DSJR]

Sorry, I'd forgotten

[hifi_dave]

You'd have to go some to deform that clear cover enough to touch any of the internals. Also, the delicate wires are connected to the inside of the pins, so are protected from touch.

I've had no problems at all, setting up and using various Apheta cartridges, unlike some other open designs, which are more fragile. Anyway, if buying an expensive cartridge, such as the Apheta, I would expect any/every dealer to fit it on the customer's turntable.

[DSJR]

As an ex -dealer, I avoided skeletal cartridges as much as possible, 'cos if anyone was going to break one, it'd be me! Didn't stop me selling a good few Sumiko BPS's in my day though - again, another slightly 'raw' and 'dynamic' sounding presentation

[hifi_dave]

The BPS is far more 'delicate' than the Apheta, as the BPS has nothing at all to protect the vulnerable wires. The Apheta has the clear perspex cover, so giving it a touch of care, you can fit it easily and quickly. No probs.

[Andrew B]

I agree. Nude carts are just too much of a risk for me. I've played with a few nude Denons (and broken one) only to find the DL103R with a damped body was better anyway.

I also agree that the Apheta should be a safer bet than a fully nude cart. Hope I get to put that to the test one day

[Graeme]

Yeah, safer than fully nude (i also have a fully nude dl103).
Fact still stands though that broken wiring from ham fisted handling is/was the most common failure in apheta's.

[hifi_dave]

Obviously, some people shouldn't be allowed to fit cartridges, even if they own them !!!

This is precisely why Rega dealers should fit their cartridges and check the turntable before the customer takes delivery. It was mandatory until a few years ago for this to be done but standards have slipped.