Cart upgrade recommendations please?

[oldson]

interested in a cart upgrade for my fairly modest system.
deck is a Rega RP3 (rb303 arm) into Mofi studiophono stage.
at the moment i have a Rega Exact cart which i would like to see if i can improve on.

the "natural" step would be , i suppose, a Rega Ania but i believe the stylus is a step backward from the Exact.
This would mean the better option would be the Ania Pro which has a better stylus.
these of course are more expensive and are at the top of my budget (£800 ish).

i dont mind sticking with MM and one that has caught my attention so far is the Sumiko Amethyst, which falls well within my budget.
i do like a "natural to warm" sound and listen mostly to rock/pop, nothing too heavy on the rock front though.
i would like a tad more high end detail than what i am hearing from the setup i have and maybe a lower noise floor, which i understand the amethyst may have.
having said this , it is possible my feeling that i am lacking high end detail is down to my 58 year old ears!

anyway, looking forward to any suggestions for me to research further.

[CageyH]

Nagaoka MP300 may fit the bill.

[oldson]

Nagaoka MP300 may fit the bill.

will look into that , thanks Kevin

[CageyH]

Another interesting choice is the Nagaoka JT-80 BK. Have a look at the reviews.
I am not sure it will add more detail than you have now.

[Macca]

Nagaoka are like the Alpha Romeo of cartridges. Everyone should have one at some point in their lives.

[diviy]

I have just fitted a RigB VM540ML on my SL1210 with a Jelco 750D it is out of this world.

[losepete]

Hi Simon

You mentioned that your hearing may be "lacking high end detail" due to age.
I have to admit that happened to me so I went along to my local Audiology Clinic and had some hearing tests done.
The result showed that I was definitely not hearing higher frequencies as well as I should and I ended up with a pair of hearing aids that were "tuned" for my hearing. It has certainly increased my music enjoyment.

Please don't be offended but can I suggest that it may be worth starting with a hearing test *before* parting with cash for a new cartridge.

[walpurgis]

Nagaoka are like the Alpha Romeo of cartridges. Everyone should have one at some point in their lives.

I've had a couple of each. Unlikely to be repeated, but they were OK.

[oldson]

Hi Simon

You mentioned that your hearing may be "lacking high end detail" due to age.
I have to admit that happened to me so I went along to my local Audiology Clinic and had some hearing tests done.
The result showed that I was definitely not hearing higher frequencies as well as I should and I ended up with a pair of hearing aids that were "tuned" for my hearing. It has certainly increased my music enjoyment.

Please don't be offended but can I suggest that it may be worth starting with a hearing test *before* parting with cash for a new cartridge.

thats not a bad shout, Pete.
i also listen to headphones on a regular basis, are your aids ok with them too

[losepete]

Hi Simon

Never really been a headphone user myself...
As my hearing aids perch behind the top of my ears and are connected to the ear inserts by little tubes I would not recommend headphones with this type of hearing aid. I suggest asking an Audiologist if they are aware of hearing aids that could be used with headphones, I suspect there are some but have no experience of them myself.

I guess an alternative would be to feed stereo through a graphic equaliser, set up to compensate for any hearing loss, then to headphones.

[oldson]

been a mad week or 2. things failing and costing me money .
i can no longer justify my original budget of £800 ish.
instead i am now looking around£4-500 ish.
because of this i am going to stick with MM for the time being.
one of the items that recently went belly up on me was my exact cart, so i am now keen to get something sooner.
for now i am back on the elyss and i am not sure that it has much life left in it.

very keen on the AT options that have been suggested. 540/740ml, though i havebeen warned they can sound bright with the wrong gear.

also reading good things about goldring 1042, but would like to find out more about the gyger S diamond cut and where it sits with ML and shibata.

[oldson]

I have just fitted a RigB VM540ML on my SL1210 with a Jelco 750D it is out of this world.

been searching but failed to find these modded carts.
i am assuming they are considerably more expensive than the stock version, so not sure they would fit my revised budget

[CageyH]

Contact for the RigB here - simon@theaudiofiles.co.uk

Facebook group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/1010908649680494

[oldson]

Contact for the RigB here - simon@theaudiofiles.co.uk

Facebook group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/1010908649680494

thanks Kevin, i dont do facebook but i will ping him an email.
cheers

[CageyH]

Of course, you could get a standard 540ML now, and fit a RigB later if you so wished.

[oldson]

took the easy option in the end and bought a new exact

[oldson]

took the easy option in the end and bought a new exact

the Exact is now in safe storage as i have now upgraded to P8/Ania-pro :)

[hifi_dave]

Good choice.

Just put a white P8/Ania Pro on demo.

[archiesdad]

Did you go to the audiology clinic, my hearing aids greatly help my listening and I use phones with large cups that allow me to use my hearing aids with them.