Now that I have a 332/333/NC250/NVCTT systemm, I am thinking of turning attention to my TT.
Because of disability, I don’t use my P9 as often as I would like. I can easily use the TT, that is not what prevents me from using it more. It is getting the records in and out if the packaging. I could ask my husband to assist.
I have several options:
Keep the P9 and just get an Alpheta 3 to replace my MM Exact.
Switch to a P8 With an Alpheta 3
Upgrade to a P10 with an Alpheta 3
keep my P9 and get a better cartridge than the Alpheta 3.
Given my eye-hand coordination, cartridges that are easy to damage would not be suitable.
The Exact on the P9 was OK but boy, it can sound a lot better. I’ve not been one to invest heavily in carts, the best I’ve had is the Lyra Delos (MC) and that sounded fantastic.
Recently bought a Rega ND7 (MM) to put on my office P3 (replacing an Exact) but I tried it on the P9 and it’s very nice. Trading a bit of emotion and refinement perhaps from the incumbent but it’s punchy and sounds great.
I could happily live with one on the P9 and not feel I’m putting the months groceries at risk everytime I put a record on.
@jay Thanks. I am wanting a MC. That is one of the reasons I purchased the Naim NVCTT phono stage. I am also looking to possibly change TT, although less sure of that. Budget is about 6K max or less. Even that is flexible.s bit.
I would start with the cartridge change and then see if you are satisfied with that. Apheta 3 is good option with Rega tonearm but I would ask the dealer what other options they could suggest. Example, I liked Benz Glider SL more than Apheta 2 and those are on the same price range.
I had a P10 with an Exact for a while. I then upgraded to the Apheta 3 (note it’s Apheta rather than Alpheta) and the improvement was absolutely huge, making it very obvious how much the Exact is holding the deck back. Many years ago I tried a P9 and was distinctly unimpressed. By contrast, the P10 is really superb.
Being skeletal decks, the P8 and P10 make the stylus very vulnerable. There is a stylus guard but it’s quite fiddly to fit. Given your disabilities you may well have people to help around the house, and if you do it’s something to be aware of.
My final thought on this is that you’ve repeatedly said that you use the TT rarely. As an alternative to spending more on something you rarely use, why not put the LPs in boxes and sell the P9. Life would be simpler, you wouldn’t need to ask your husband for help every time you want to play a record, and the temptation to spend even more money on your vinyl source would evaporate. You could return the NVC TT and free up a shelf, opening the way to a pair of 350s, giving a full 300 system. You know it makes sense!!
For me, the jury is still out on the Apheta 3. Yes, it does improve on the Apheta 2 in a number of hifi related areas, especially on inner grooves, but on the other hand I don’t find it quite as fast or rhythmically compelling. The balance of trade-offs has shifted a bit away from the speed-demon that had become almost addictive with the 2. It may just need more run-in, but these aspects of the Apheta 2 were fully evident from very early on, so I’m not so sure.
By the way, at some point I had a hand/wrist injury and I found the skeleton decks P8/P10 a lot easier to operate than “normal” decks as there is more room. Normal as in P9 or LP12. Will be the same thing with a Michell turntable, so exposed is not always negative. The P10 is a great turntable by the way, miles ahead of the P9 in my opinion.
ps: during that same time I found that putting a high table or shelf next to the TT made it easier to slide out the records (when packed in a new anti-static sleeve), perhaps something similar regarding ergonomics could help in your case. Good luck!
As using the TT is not your main source I would keep the P9 and go for a better cartridge, how about a Hana SH (or MH) which is a high output MC cartridge and can run quite happily into existing MM phono stage.
I would go with the Hana but avoid the high output version. It needs more than the standard mm phono stage to get the best from it. The ‘normal’ low output is so much better.
Having lived with a P9 and upgraded to P10 I would agree that the step up in SQ is huge. I also feel that the P10/Apheta 3 is a great match for the NVCTT (although I have it with the NPXTT) and have not tried the P9 with NVCTT, so for me it would be option 3.
If you want a new cartridge then I recommend the Hana range as an alternative to another Rega one.
If you want to stay with the high output of an MM cart then a Hana EH or SH mk2 will be good choices.
All cartridges are vulnerable but it is important for those of use with unsteady hands is that the TT arm has a good damped lifting/lowering mechanism. The Rega arms are usually good in this respect.
Can I also make a suggestion about getting records out of sleeves and your difficulties doing so. I do not exactly know of course what you are having difficulty with or how severe it is but one potential method without comprimising the storage of the record is to consider doing the following.
Use a plastic outer sleeve.
Put everything bar the actual record including original inner sleeve into the original record outer sleeve
Put this in the plastic outer sleeve
Use an antistatic premium inner sleeve (the type that uses a plastic film and a rice paper inner for stiffness. Big Fudge or MoFi sell them, see on Amazon)
Put the record in this antistatic inner sleeve.
Put the sleeve and record into the outer plastic sleeve.
The reason for using the type of inner sleeve I specify is that I find them to be quite robust but an alternative if it is better for you is paper inner sleeves with an antistatic liner. organising your records this way may make it easier for you to get the record in and out of storage.
According to their profile the OP has a NCVTT which I thought would be more than good enough for a Hana SH or MH, I run my MH through my 222 and it sounds brilliant, I assume that the NCVTT is a step up from my 222?
I can’t comment on either of those.
I ran the SH through my 42/62/82 with N cards and it needed E to work well. I now run both my SH (LP12) and SL (RP10) on GoldNote PH10 phono boxes and adjust accordingly. I find the simpler At VM95 shibata on an RP3 and that is excellent as a mm cartridge.
@HungryHalibut Is there a hinged dust cover? I just want to br able to open the dust cover without taking the whole cover off. That is important for me.
