Phono upgrade

[aragorn723]

We have been out of our house for 3 months due to on-going construction as a result of mold.  Next week, we are moving back in.  This got me thinking, maybe it's time to do a upgrade to my phono system.  This is the system currently:
1)  Uturn Audio Orbit
2)  Grado Black cartridge
3) Rega Fono mini phono preamp

I feel like the highs aren't very detailed, but have a London Maroon cartridge which I can't get to work with the Uturn.  Need some opinions on what to do next.  Here's a couple ideas:
1). Buy a better turntable and use the London cart
2). Keep the Uturn and upgrade to another cart (after selling the London)
3.). Sell the London and get lots of records

Dave

 

[Jameson]

What’s your budget? That’ll probably dictate what your options are.

 

[Jameson]

Also, sorry about the house. That sounds terrible!

 

[aragorn723]

It's been a long road, roof leaked in August, fought the insurance company 5 months.  Contractor is done next week at least  8).

If I sell the London, maybe it would go for $900.  That should be a decent budget.

Dave

 

[Jameson]

We’re fighting insurance to get our clay tile roof replaced. Lemme tell you: never get a clay tile roof.

For $900 I’d say keep the cart and upgrade the table. I liked my U-Turn but do get better performance out of the Rega I bought later.

 

[aragorn723]

Yeah, I'm leaning in the direction.  My Dad has an older Rega (similar to the P1) and it sounds pretty nice.  I don't know a lot about Regas or what exactly to look for.  One thing I've heard about the London is that it likes a higher mass tonearm.  Do the Regas have an adjustment for leveling the tonearm?  Wondering if their tonearms are grounded too, with the London on the Uturn, there was a level of hum I couldn't get rid of without touching the tonearm.  Would I need to get a P3, or could I get away with a P2 or PL1?

Dave

 

[Jameson]

Paul Birkeland had seen some issues with Regas and grounding but I can’t recall what they were.

 

[Paul Birkeland]

The Rega tonearm wires are unshielded and the arm tube shield wires is bonded to signal - on one of the channels.  This precludes the use of a moving coil cartridge and a step-up transformer with a floating primary.  It also mixes whatever noise the arm tube shield picks up into the signal coming off the cart, which I think is a bit careless on the part of Rega. 

If you're using a moving magnet cartridge, none of this is much of an issue.

 

[aragorn723]

We’re fighting insurance to get our clay tile roof replaced. Lemme tell you: never get a clay tile roof.

For $900 I’d say keep the cart and upgrade the table. I liked my U-Turn but do get better performance out of the Rega I bought later.

Sorry you're having roof issues too, are there issues unique to tile roofs?

Dave

 

[aragorn723]

The Rega tonearm wires are unshielded and the arm tube shield wires is bonded to signal - on one of the channels.  This precludes the use of a moving coil cartridge and a step-up transformer with a floating primary.  It also mixes whatever noise the arm tube shield picks up into the signal coming off the cart, which I think is a bit careless on the part of Rega. 

If you're using a moving magnet cartridge, none of this is much of an issue.

Thanks for the feedback Paul.  The London is moving magnet, but very sensitive to grounding issues from what I've seen so far.  Do you know of any turntables with good grounding schemes?  I read about someone getting a London to work with a Technics SL-1200 GR.  That's a bit pricy at $1700, hoping to do better than that.

Dave

 

[aragorn723]

https://www.psaudio.com/copper/article/london-decca-cartridges-unique-design-timeless-quality/

Dave

 

[Jameson]

Sorry you're having roof issues too, are there issues unique to tile roofs?

Dave

Just ungodly expensive materials. Our tile is ~$30 per so a full roof replacement is a lot.

 

[aragorn723]

I hear ya, don't they last a long time too?

 

[Jameson]

Yeah, the roof we’re trying to replace is most likely original to the house (1910)

 

[Herbertk]

The Rega tonearm wires are unshielded and the arm tube shield wires is bonded to signal - on one of the channels.  This precludes the use of a moving coil cartridge and a step-up transformer with a floating primary.  It also mixes whatever noise the arm tube shield picks up into the signal coming off the cart, which I think is a bit careless on the part of Rega. 

If you're using a moving magnet cartridge, none of this is much of an issue.

Very interesting so that is how Rega deals with grounding if you use their phono pre amps. Agreed not the best approach

I have a Planar 8 / Apheta 3 cartridge currently using the Aria Mk3 phono preamp. I like th combination has nice detail but was toying with the idea of a different phono pre amp or making one but now seems I should revisit that idea

 

[Paul Birkeland]

If you pop the rubber plug (carefully) off the bottom of the arm, you can see the black earthing wire going to a solder pad with (I think) the blue wire.  It's possible to separate those two and separate the solder pad they go do in order to float the shield with respect to the tonearm.  Having done that, you can add a braided shield to the interconnects and bond it to one of the tonearm mounting screws on the TT end and the ground post on the pre at the other.

 

[Herbertk]

Do you think this is Rega just being lazy or wanting to sell more of their own pre-amps I till love my TT but seems an odd choice to not just stick with the industry norm.

 

[Paul Birkeland]

It may be not wanting to deal with tech support on the earthing wire.  The lack of shielding on the interconnects seems like an odd choice though. 

 

[aragorn723]

Would the Rega Planar 2 be a major upgrade from the Uturn?  Still toying with the idea of selling the Uturn and London cart.  There is a shop about an hour away that sells Rega, NAD, Pro-ject, and Mofi.  Maybe it's time to pay them a visit.

Dave