Rega Brio-R phone stage, bypass with external - recommended?

[chelsea]

ADHD is something some kids suffer from - basically they're more "hyper" than usual - hence my description of the LOW OUTPUT MC Apheta design (capitals for the thickie twonks elsewhere who take everything literally (Aspergers) and deliberately don't read into the meaning behind the discussion at hand.

The Exact isn't strictly my cuppa either, but they DO vary and a good one is quite enchanting in its own way. I personally prefer something that can grab Richard Dunn and his two yes-men by the balls and swing him round at 33.3rpm Maybe an SPU could do it, but it'd be a big waste of its talents

The 10XV is certainly a safe option though, but I'd like to compare one with a Benz to see what the differences are.

Shouldn't they all sound the same?

[Colin]

Sorry, but till you reach the apheta, rega carts really do sound that bad, at least to my ears. Maccy d sell thousand of burgers every day, would not want eat one myself either. As to the ios ref, some people must have deep pockets, the ios was worth the money, as much as anything in this game is anyway, and was ignored, out it in a pretty box and treble the price and it sells. Says more about the customers than rega though.

If the aria isbased on the ios, then does it have the inbuilt suts,or is it a high gain mc stage .

[wiicrackpot]

Sorry, but till you reach the apheta, rega carts really do sound that bad

Glad to know i'm not an 'army of one'.

[Beobloke]

The Goldring 10** series isn't that good now IMO UNLESS they're going in a Rega deck and arm (P3 series mainly). The unrefined and slightly scratchy quality is tamed by the Rega deck and the deck sonics are livened u accordingly. I tried the 1042 in a variety of other turntable combinations and it's not really good enough and, IMO, easily bettered.

With all due respect, Dave, where did you get that daft idea?!

The 1000 series work nicely in a huge variety of arms as well as Regas and I've had great results from them in the likes of Jelcos, Alphasons, SMEs, the Technics SL-1200's original arm and many others. Heck the 1012GX even works quite nicely in an SME 3009!

Also, what's this about an "unrefined and slightly scratchy" sound? Have you actually heard a 1042? Its treble is a joyous, sweet and lovely sound to behold. Are you sure you had it set up properly?!

[Audioman]

With all due respect, Dave, where did you get that daft idea?!
Also, what's this about an "unrefined and slightly scratchy" sound? Have you actually heard a 1042? Its treble is a joyous, sweet and lovely sound to behold. Are you sure you had it set up properly?!

+1. Had a 1042 on a Linn Axis which transformed the sound over an ATF3. Excellent cartridges although now getting a bit pricey. Far superior to any Rega cartridge I have heard.

[DSJR]

With all due respect, Dave, where did you get that daft idea?!

The 1000 series work nicely in a huge variety of arms as well as Regas and I've had great results from them in the likes of Jelcos, Alphasons, SMEs, the Technics SL-1200's original arm and many others. Heck the 1012GX even works quite nicely in an SME 3009!

Also, what's this about an "unrefined and slightly scratchy" sound? Have you actually heard a 1042? Its treble is a joyous, sweet and lovely sound to behold. Are you sure you had it set up properly?!

My ears trying them in different decks???!!!

The 10** series works, definitely, but would I want to listen to one long term outside of a Rega deck? I'm going to respectfully beg to differ on that one.

I have sold, fitted and listened to a good many 1042's. In a Rega 3, it works well, but my personal exoeriences were that outside of this comfort-zone, it sounds one-note in the treble - sweet? Not to my ears as all cymbals seemed to sound the same to me, one note in the bass and almost one-note in the midrange too. I have tinkered about with arm height, geometry and playing weight and honestly found it out-dated and not particularly pleasant. In a P3, it doesn't seem to sound this way for some reason.

Just my experiences like, and at the price now asked, I'd urge people to save a bit more for summat like a benz perhaps, or the safe 10XV

[Beobloke]

My ears trying them in different decks???!!!

Woah, that's a bit of a revolutionary methodology. I suppose it might catch on...

Alright then we'll agree to differ on this one. I suppose we can at least agree on the merits of the Garrard AT6!

[hifi_dave]

Alright then we'll agree to differ on this one. I suppose we can at least agree on the merits of the Garrard AT6!

A lovely turntable - my first step up from the old record player. I bought one when it was first developed and plumped for that because I couldn't afford an SP25..

[DSJR]

Woah, that's a bit of a revolutionary methodology. I suppose it might catch on...

Alright then we'll agree to differ on this one. I suppose we can at least agree on the merits of the Garrard AT6!

You know, I tried to think of a good universal alternative to the 10** series and had some difficulty apart from two high output mc types (Blue Point and DL110) and maybe the Ortofon Vivo Blue, which needs a step-up I think.. I've had a couple of reports from pals who've tried the 2M Blue and both found it over-critical of setup etc, so maybe not worth the bother?

Anyway, since the 10** series is fairly widely available on the used market and new styli can be bought without difficulty, then maybe that's all there is?

[DSJR]

A lovely turntable - my first step up from the old record player. I bought one when it was first developed and plumped for that because I couldn't afford an SP25..

I have a need to play some singles again and have a choice of four players to play a stack of 'em on - lucky me The lab 80mk2 is too good, but the AT6 looks the part and the 60mk2 is better and quieter I'll leave the Balfour Princess in the HMV record player out of it this time - The Zero 100 needs an adaptor to play a stack of singles IIRC.