Rega Exact Cartridge on Technics SL1200
Rega turntables and arms have developed quite a good reputation. But they make some nice carts too, most of the time, matched with their turntables.
I recently got a Rega Exact, the model that sits atop Rega's MM offerings, and mounted it on a Technics SL1200.
The first word -- Dynamic.
The gain from this cart is higher than many MM carts, and it matches well with old solid state or tube pre-amps and amps.
Old records come to life. Herb Alpert's Whipped Cream and Other Delights sounded like it was just recorded yesterday.
The music almost jumps out of the vinyl like the girl on the cover. I won't be surprised if you'd feel like dancing to it.
It is not an analytical sound, nor would I call it neutral. Rather what it does is let the music through. So the second word -- Musical. You listen to the music and not to your system.
Listening to Charlie Byrd's Byrdland, the warmth of the recording is there from the first note.
The Rega Exact is warm, but not in a euphonic, artificial kind of way. Its warm character is natural, like the sound of vinyl is naturally warm.
Therefore the third word -- Analog.
The Rega Exact defies typical audiophile cliches. And it's not just for Rega tables.
System:
Technics SL1200
NAD 304 used as pre-amp with built-in phono stage
Conrad Johnson MV55
Dynaudio Contour 1.3 mkII
MIT interconnect and Van den Hul speaker cables
I recently got a Rega Exact, the model that sits atop Rega's MM offerings, and mounted it on a Technics SL1200.
The first word -- Dynamic.
The gain from this cart is higher than many MM carts, and it matches well with old solid state or tube pre-amps and amps.
Old records come to life. Herb Alpert's Whipped Cream and Other Delights sounded like it was just recorded yesterday.
The music almost jumps out of the vinyl like the girl on the cover. I won't be surprised if you'd feel like dancing to it.
It is not an analytical sound, nor would I call it neutral. Rather what it does is let the music through. So the second word -- Musical. You listen to the music and not to your system.
Listening to Charlie Byrd's Byrdland, the warmth of the recording is there from the first note.
The Rega Exact is warm, but not in a euphonic, artificial kind of way. Its warm character is natural, like the sound of vinyl is naturally warm.
Therefore the third word -- Analog.
The Rega Exact defies typical audiophile cliches. And it's not just for Rega tables.
System:
Technics SL1200
NAD 304 used as pre-amp with built-in phono stage
Conrad Johnson MV55
Dynaudio Contour 1.3 mkII
MIT interconnect and Van den Hul speaker cables
Comments
and Thank You for Your post!
I have to ask You how did You fit the Rega Exact to the Technics shell, because the Exact is 14mm height, and the average standard height of a Cartridge is about 17mm.
I ask that because I always used a Rega P6 Turntable with a Exact Cart, but I recently changed the Turntable to a SL-1210G because I needed something different from the Rega.
I discovered that the Rega Carts have lower height than the average height of a cart, so I can not fix the Vertical Tracking Angle because the arm does not go "that" (at least 3mm) low to fill the gap, because it goes from 17 to 23mm in height.
I have read the manual of the SL-1500C to have a confront/perspective, and I found that "given the factory supplied headshell" the 1500C goes from 14 to 20 mm to set the VTA.
So I thought that the 1500c shell could be different than the 1200's or the 1500c arm is factory set lower on the 1500 chassis...
Anyway, how did You fit the Rega Exact on the shell and how did you set the VTA?
thank You so much for Your kindness anticipately!
I’m using the SL1200 mk2, which has an arm setting of 0 (zero) for a 15mm cartridge height, so it’s not that much of a “tail up” for the Rega Exact which is 14mm.
Besides, if I recall correctly, I was using a 2mm extra mat under the 6mm rubber mat of the SL1200.
I have since mounted the Exact cart in my Rega RP3 table where it sings happily.