Rega older RP8 or latest P6?

[Gazjam]

.

Certainly makes the P10 sound great into a £6.5K preamp, I'll give it that.

[oldson]

i am kicking myself really, as i missed out on a Aria 2 over on PFM, went for under 500 quid.

as an alternative have been thinking a Trichord.
the Diablo has plenty of adjustment and can be upgraded with matching psu at some point.
i do believe the company are about to release a new stage, Neo i think its called, but know little of what its like.

[Gazjam]

Simon,
Do you have a spare £350?

(See my Previous Post)

[oldson]

Simon,
Do you have a spare £350?

(See my Previous Post)

hi, yeah i did see your post ref the Pro-ject unit.
the Mofi unit i have now retails at the same price and i wanted to try something at the level of the Aria.
so , for me, as far as Pro-ject goes i would aim at their DS or RS range.

having read Rega's recommended cart loading settings of 100 ohms and 1000pf, i would really like a unit that offers these settings.
the Aria does (obviously) as does the Trichord Dino MK3.
i understand the capacitance setting is a personal taste thing and has less effect than the impedence (Rega said this when asked) but i would like to try for myself.

i am guessing from the cost of your pre that your system is leagues ahead of mine and i imagine the Pro-ject unit is most likely the weekest link?
i appreciate the suggestion though, dont get me wrong.

on a side note, a Pro-ject DS unit would match nicely with my DS2 digital unit ( which incidentally also has a MM/MC stage, but lacks any adjustment)

[Macca]

I wouldn't automatically take price as an equation to sound quality. As with any type of component there's a lot of expensive rubbish out there.

[struth]

my ds2 was the usb version, but it was bought to do a job; ie to record my vinyl as well as being a good stage. money is not always proof of good sounding... and ease of use was another reason i got it.

[Gazjam]

Just mentioned that as an indication that the Project was doing a good job.

It is kinda out of place with the rest of the kit I guess, and will be upgrading it in the future.
Not in a rush though.
Happy to run mine for a while, I'm enjoying playing records through it.

Grant's right,
Can't always use cost as a guide to sound quality, I think the Project phonostages bears that out.

[oldson]

absolutely agree about the price : performance thing.
found this out a long time ago with headphone amps.
i have a Project Ember MK1 made and designed by a couple of members on diyah forum.
its an awesome bit of kit for the money.
also using it as a pre into my Marantz pm7003, bypassing the Marantz built in pre. to my ears it sounds better.

have been offered a home trial of the Aria by the dealer from which i bought my P8, so i would be daft not to try it first.
they are aware i wont be buying a new unit as my Neo psu is the older style case, being ex-demo unit ,and i would want to match the Aria should i get one.
the biggest problem i can see with the Aria is its size! i knew it was big from just looking at pics but its 325mm deep, which will not look good on my desk.

[oldson]

now listening to my system with the loan Aria.
sounds amazing...... BUT its not massively better than my £350 Mofi studiophono, which has surprised me a bit.
luckily if i go for the Aria it wont be a new one, as i could not justify the price.
hoping to keep the Aria for about a week.
the dealer is also trying to get hold of a Dynavector P75 mk4 for me to try after. this unit seems to get plenty of good reviews and is much cheaper than the Aria.
they also are able to get a Chord unit and Tom Evans for me to try.
i have a distinct feeling there will be little to chose between all and, who knows, i may stick with the Mofi.

[Gazjam]

Just goes to show You...