Rega apheta replacement

[Graemevw]

The inevitable eventually happened and my rega apheta is no more.
I have been very happy with this cart, I liked everything it did and it did nothing I didn't like.

I have temporarily put my diy modded dl103 back in my system but now need a new cart.

My insurance paid out so I have up to £1000 to spend.
At the moment auditioning anything is impossible.

Has anyone got any recommendations for carts that may better my old apheta?
Safe bet is to pay a little more and order an apheta 3, but what else is out there these days?

Thanks.

[Graemevw]

Oh, audio technica at1009 arm in a Lenco l70. Denon sut, valve Phono, mainly rock based music.

[Jac Hawk]

Audio Technica Art9 is a worthy contender, I’m very happy with mine

[Graemevw]

Audio Technica Art9 is a worthy contender, I’m very happy with mine

Just had a quick look, sounds interesting.
I'll search the net for reviews, see if I can get some kind of idea if I'd like it (pure guesswork really!)

Thanks.

[Graemevw]

Anyone got any experience of the eat jo no.5?

Has anyone on here owned an apheta and can offer any advice as to how they compare to other similar priced carts?

[graham67]

I have been very happy with this cart, I liked everything it did and it did nothing I didn't like.

The answer is obvious Graeme, another Rega Apheta!!

[Graemevw]

The answer is obvious Graeme, another Rega Apheta!!

I'm leaning that way.
Should be what I like, but better :)

[Jac Hawk]

To be brutally honest, whatever you choose at the £1k level should be competent, it's just working out the sound you prefer and what will be the best match to the rest of your equipment.

[Graemevw]

To be brutally honest, whatever you choose at the £1k level should be competent, it's just working out the sound you prefer and what will be the best match to the rest of your equipment.

I agree.
My system is set up to be quite fast and dynamic. As I mostly listen to rock/indie/electro I value that kind of sound. I am staying clear of anything that has repeated reviews mentioning warm, smooth, silky or mid range.

It's looking like I'm narrowing it down to...
Apheta 3
Ortofon cadenza blue
Maybe save some money and go ortofon quintet black s
Or eat jo no.5 (but that would require a new headshell too)

I'm open to any other suggestions though.
The audio technica art9 may be too high compliance for my arm.
Everything is either over, or under my £1000 ideal budget at the moment though.

[walpurgis]

If you like a fast and incisive sound, look at the ZYX R100 02H if you can find one. The attack is almost Decca like, but with possibly a bit more power to it, extremely lucid too.

[Graemevw]

If you like a fast and incisive sound, look at the ZYX R100 02H if you can find one. The attack is almost Decca like, but with possibly a bit more power to it, extremely lucid too.

Sounds interesting, I'll look it up. Thanks.

Edit, at work, so just a quick Google.
Sounds like I may like it. What's the deal with the yatra version? Not found anything that tells me what the difference is yet.

Edit 2, seems compliance is as high as the art9?

[walpurgis]

What's the deal with the yatra version?

I've owned that one as well. It offers a more 'romantic' sound like the R50 Bloom and not the explicit nature of the R100 02H, which for rock etc. is the one to have in my view.

I've not found ZYX MC's particularly arm fussy, but they do need careful setup because of the stylus profile.

[Jac Hawk]

it's a pity we are in lockdown Graeme, Chesterfield isn't a million miles from me and in normal circumstances i would offer to bring my Art9 over so you can have a listen, in my opinion if the money is burning a hole in your pocket and you can't wait till restrictions ease then shelling out north of £1000 on anyone's recommendation would be silly and you should go with what you personally have heard.

[Graemevw]

I've owned that one as well. It offers a more 'romantic' sound like the R50 Bloom and not the explicit nature of the R100 02H, which for rock etc. is the one to have in my view.

I've not found ZYX MC's particularly arm fussy, but they do need careful setup because of the stylus profile.

Thanks, good info.

[Graemevw]

it's a pity we are in lockdown Graeme, Chesterfield isn't a million miles from me and in normal circumstances i would offer to bring my Art9 over so you can have a listen, in my opinion if the money is burning a hole in your pocket and you can't wait till restrictions ease then shelling out north of £1000 on anyone's recommendation would be silly and you should go with what you personally have heard.

Thanks for the offer, very kind.
I may well wait until I can audition some, I have my denon to use for now. I've messaged a local shop too as I think they are still doing appointments.
I'm in no major rush, but if I get used to having the extra money in my account I won't want to spend it!

[Lurch]

I've recently picked up a 50hr dealer ex-dem Hana ML to try as the reviews & owners comments have been so positive. I now see why its got the praise it has.
It's a very dynamic, rich, full bodied sounding cart but not uncouth with it. Great extension at both frequency extremes, fast nuanced punchy bass, a beautiful midrange, and detailed airy treble. Separation and sound staging are excellent.
I originally thought the ML would probably, be at best, be a sideways move from the Axia S I was running especially putting the £995 ML up against a cart whose final rrp was £1900ish.
Far from it, it resoundly beat the Axia (to my ears in my system) and easily met the expectations gleaned from the reviews.
As Hifi+ said, 'This is the best £3k - £4k cart you can buy for £1k.

[Graemevw]

I've recently picked up a 50hr dealer ex-dem Hana ML to try as the reviews & owners comments have been so positive. I now see why its got the praise it has.
It's a very dynamic, rich, full bodied sounding cart but not uncouth with it. Great extension at both frequency extremes, fast nuanced punchy bass, a beautiful midrange, and detailed airy treble. Separation and sound staging are excellent.
I originally thought the ML would probably, be at best, be a sideways move from the Axia S I was running especially putting the £995 ML up against a cart whose final rrp was £1900ish.
Far from it, it resoundly beat the Axia (to my ears in my system) and easily met the expectations gleaned from the reviews.
As Hifi+ said, 'This is the best £3k - £4k cart you can buy for £1k.

They do seem well regarded. I read a few reviews but kept seeing things like this being said (although not always with the apheta comparison)

'The balance is richer than with Rega’s fast and lean MCs which makes for a warmer presentation'

The thing is I didn't find the apheta lean in my system. Fast yes, dynamic yes, but not lean.
If I replace it with something alot of folks call 'rich' or 'warm', I don't think I'll get on with it.

I may be wrong though, I'd like to hear one and see what I think.
I liked the aphetas speed and punch. I liked the fact it did t gloss over anything that sounded hard.
Even though my speakers have 2" metal dome tweeters, my system is all valve, and I use SUTs, so warmth etc that will help with SS or bright systems may start sounding a bit thick in mine.

This is all guesswork though as I've not spent much time listening to other carts in the aphetas price range.
I only got the apheta as my wife (at the time) built it!

[Lurch]

I'm also all valves except MFA Passive Pre. PS is a BigBottle mk3 (2x pcc88, 1x ecc83) and amps are Icon Audio MB845SEs. The richness I mention above is in relation to the level of detail coming off instruments or the room, giving spacial clues
Deffo not thick and warm, not a hint of syrup anywhere.

[Graemevw]

I'm also all valves except MFA Passive Pre. PS is a BigBottle mk3 (2x pcc88, 1x ecc83) and amps are Icon Audio MB845SEs. The richness I mention above is in relation to the level of detail coming off instruments or the room, giving spacial clues
Deffo not thick and warm, not a hint of syrup anywhere.

That's reassuring!
The hana is the only cart I've seen that is pretty much on the nose of my 1k budget, that seems like a good buy/bargain.
Plenty of 750-850 'bargains' and a few 1250 contenders, but not much around 1k seems to get much fanfare apart from the hana's.

I'll check its compliance and put it back on the shortlist, see if I can't hear one at some point.

[Graemevw]

Hmm, seems the hana may have too low compliance to suit my arm.

This seems to be a common theme. Maybe I should switch back to my tangential air bearing arm.

[mikeyb]

Im using a Hana ML on my Fidelity Research FR64fx at 20mg mass and it sounds ace, best I’ve had out of the following (not in any particular order)

Ok I’ll admit my system has changed a bit too.

Ortofon Kontrapunkt B
Zyx r100 twice
Decca Gold
Decca Supergold
Ortofon MC25FL
Ortofon 2m Black twice
Shure 97XE
Shure M55E with Jico SAS stylus
Ortofon 2m Blue
AT 33PTG II
Denon 304 II
Denon 103
Denon 103R
ZU Denon 103 grade 2

There’s just something about the Hana that just sounds right in my system, if only I’d tried one earlier I’d have saved a lot of grief and money.

[Graemevw]

Im using a Hana ML on my Fidelity Research FR64fx at 20mg mass and it sounds ace, best I’ve had out of the following (not in any particular order)

Ok I’ll admit my system has changed a bit too.

Ortofon Kontrapunkt B
Zyx r100 twice
Decca Gold
Decca Supergold
Ortofon MC25FL
Ortofon 2m Black twice
Shure 97XE
Shure M55E with Jico SAS stylus
Ortofon 2m Blue
AT 33PTG II
Denon 304 II
Denon 103
Denon 103R
ZU Denon 103 grade 2

There’s just something about the Hana that just sounds right in my system, if only I’d tried one earlier I’d have saved a lot of grief and money.


This is good. 20g is the same effective mass as my at1005.

So, the kontrapunkt b is similar (fore runner) to the cadenza blue right?

You seem well placed to compare the cadenza blue, xyz r100, decca super gold and the hana.
You think the hana is better (for you) than the others? How did their presentation compare?

Ever heard an apheta?

Thanks for commenting, not many folk have hear this range of carts in an arm of similar mass to mine :)

[mikeyb]

I listen to mostly rock and electronic from the 70s to present day.

I always felt the Ortofons and the Zyx carts were a bit too HiFi for me, plenty of detail, good deep impactful bass but no guts if you know what I mean.

The Deccas I really liked but my Bigbottle BB3 stage is better on MC than MM, they excelled on boogie factor and vocals in particular sounded real.

The Hana gives me the the best of all the ones mentioned but with the meat on the bones if you like, which I always think you need for rock, on electronic you get great pace and impact. The bass has a sound and a feel to it I didn’t get with any other cartridge.

Funnily enough I also like my current spare, the Denon 103R, different to the Hana but there’s something about the Denon 103r, probably suits the high mass arm with its low compliance. I keep one as my backup in case anything happens to the Hana, but I haven’t looked at anything else since buying the Hana so something must the right.

Would I buy another when this one dies? Yes, I’m sure I will.I

Edit: forgot to say you’ll notice Lurch and I have own the same phono stage and I’m all valve too with Herron Audio VTSP2a pre into Primaluna Dialogue Premium HP Power amp [emoji6]

[Graemevw]

I listen to mostly rock and electronic from the 70s to present day.

I always felt the Ortofons and the Zyx carts were a bit too HiFi for me, plenty of detail, good deep impactful bass but no guts if you know what I mean.

The Deccas I really liked but my Bigbottle BB3 stage is better on MC than MM, they excelled on boogie factor and vocals in particular sounded real.

The Hana gives me the the best of all the ones mentioned but with the meat on the bones if you like, which I always think you need for rock, on electronic you get great pace and impact. The bass has a sound and a feel to it I didn’t get with any other cartridge.

Funnily enough I also like my current spare, the Denon 103R, different to the Hana but there’s something about the Denon 103r, probably suits the high mass arm with its low compliance. I keep one as my backup in case anything happens to the Hana, but I haven’t looked at anything else since buying the Hana so something must the right.

Would I buy another when this one dies? Yes, I’m sure I will.I

Edit: forgot to say you’ll notice Lurch and I have own the same phono stage and I’m all valve too with Herron Audio VTSP2a pre into Primaluna Dialogue Premium HP Power amp [emoji6]

Thank you, this really is helpful!

[Lurch]

@graemevw you have PM.

Sent from my I3312 using Tapatalk

[hifi_dave]

The thing is I didn't find the apheta lean in my system. Fast yes, dynamic yes, but not lean.
If I replace it with something alot of folks call 'rich' or 'warm', I don't think I'll get on with it.

I may be wrong though, I'd like to hear one and see what I think.
I liked the aphetas speed and punch. I liked the fact it did t gloss over anything that sounded hard.
Even though my speakers have 2" metal dome tweeters, my system is all valve, and I use SUTs, so warmth etc that will help with SS or bright systems may start sounding a bit thick in mine.


The Rega MCs are not 'lean'. Clean, yes, fast and dynamic yes.

I would recommend you have your Apheta rebuilt by Rega at £520 or go for the Apheta-3, which is even better.

Other than a good Decca, I've not heard anything which is as dynamic and punchy.

[Graemevw]

The Rega MCs are not 'lean'. Clean, yes, fast and dynamic yes.

I would recommend you have your Apheta rebuilt by Rega at £520 or go for the Apheta-3, which is even better.

Other than a good Decca, I've not heard anything which is as dynamic and punchy.

The apheta was kept by the insurance company after they had paid out, which is a shame as a rebuild would cost me alot less than £520.

Clean fast and dynamic is exactly what I loved about it and I really don't want to loose that character.
Maybe an apheta 3 is my best choice.

[hifi_dave]

The apheta was kept by the insurance company after they had paid out, which is a shame as a rebuild would cost me alot less than £520.

Clean fast and dynamic is exactly what I loved about it and I really don't want to loose that character.
Maybe an apheta 3 is my best choice.
Go for it.

Insurance company reminds me of a claim one of my customers made, many years ago. He had a Koetsu and had bent the cantilever. He got me to write an estimate for repair but there was none, so it was a replacement.

A few days later, a chap in a suit came in and introduced himself as the Loss Adjuster and queried the cost of this "needle". I explained what it was all about and he didn't get it. Eventually he pulled from his jacket pocket a handkerchief with the Koetsu wrapped inside. I took one look and could see the cantilever was broken off and was in the handkerchief. No stylus guard fitted of course. He went bright red and said the money would be in the post..:lol:

[Graemevw]

Go for it.

Insurance company reminds me of a claim one of my customers made, many years ago. He had a Koetsu and had bent the cantilever. He got me to write an estimate for repair but there was none, so it was a replacement.

A few days later, a chap in a suit came in and introduced himself as the Loss Adjuster and queried the cost of this "needle". I explained what it was all about and he didn't get it. Eventually he pulled from his jacket pocket a handkerchief with the Koetsu wrapped inside. I took one look and could see the cantilever was broken off and was in the handkerchief. No stylus guard fitted of course. He went bright red and said the money would be in the post..:lol:

��

I had great fun with my insurance company. Cantilever was attached, but bent 90 degrees.
They collected it and then sent it for assessment. It took them a month to come back with 'it's not broken'.
I queried that!

It also took me a while to convince them the cartridge had nothing to do with the turntable and there was no way they were taking it all away together!

Can't blame them I guess, not everyone understands, and they came good in the end.

[hifi_dave]

��

I had great fun with my insurance company. Cantilever was attached, but bent 90 degrees.
They collected it and then sent it for assessment. It took them a month to come back with 'it's not broken'.
I queried that!

It also took me a while to convince them the cartridge had nothing to do with the turntable and there was no way they were taking it all away together!

Can't blame them I guess, not everyone understands, and they came good in the end.
Wonder what they have done with a broken cartridge ?

[Graemevw]

Wonder what they have done with a broken cartridge ?

I imagine it will be binned, which is a shame. I did ask if I could have it back, but was told no, which I expected. It's theirs now.