General question for the forum regards tinkering about with my soon to be revived Rega RP3 24.
I’ve been doing some minor changes to it and so far have changed the drive belt to a Edwards Audio Little Belter partly as the original one was still in place and getting a little stretchy and the fact you can’t find the white Rega ones anywhere as they seem to be in the process of transitioning to a new “premium” belt.
I’ve also swapped out the original Rega felt melt as it was a static magnet and I felt was deadening the sound a little so I replaced it with a Funk Firm Achromat 3mm which has lifted the sound and opened things up nicely.
So a few points here as I pause for thought, one being adding in a spacer on the tonearm and putting in a 5mm Achromat, has anyone done this?
The other thing I’m thinking of getting in to experiment with is the Funk Firm Boing feet which replace the original Rega ones with spring mounted and wider feet.
I did have a brief listen to one on (I think) an RP1 at the Bristol show earlier this year vs a stock RP8, but not really a conclusive listen and enough to make me think it’s a must have.
Beyond that it gets a bit more involved like swapping out the tonearm or replacing the sub platter, which brings it close to just making it more viable to get a better Rega.
I also have a more recent RP6 in another system which I’m happy with and have no desire to fiddle about with at this stage.
So the question here really relates to if others with Rega decks have had any experience with the Boing feet replacing the Rega stock feet and if anyone had added a VTA spacer and used a 5mm Achromat.
Any insight, as always, greatly appreciated.
Hi @Christopher_M, I already have a Rega TT PSU, which I think is the original one they did. I’ve had that on the P3 24 a while and it’s a beneficial addition. I did consider the newer PSU, that has speed control which mine doesn’t so that might be worth a revisit.
Heres a picture from the Web which is very similar to the one I already have.
Hi, I was very recently thinking of adding the funk firm acromat like you, but in 3mn.
I have already an acoustic revive spacer on my Rega Rp10 arm, using a Lyra Delos cart.
Some say that Rega arms sound better without spacers, and most users here use Rega carts.
So can’t say if a 5mn mat and spacer will uplift or not.
I tried the rega rigid feet, but didn’t really heard an improvement on my granite slab.
Personally, in your case, I would take a second hand Rega Rp8, because for 1k it’s the best bargain available. The difference vs a P3 is very huge.
But it’s me…
A better Rega is certainly an option and one I’ve not completely dismissed. My logic here is I had this one spare (already have a RP6 in parallel) and it gave me a turntable in a second room without it becoming a spiralling upgrade exercise!
I have the 3mm Achromat in place and I’ve been happy with it so far, certainly an improvement over the Rega felt mats.
Partly sales driven but when I spoke to Funk Firm directly on the mat question their view was to replace the tonearm with one of theirs and solve all the limitations in one move. That may well give a better deck overall but it gets expensive and as you say would possibly be better addressed with a move to a better deck in the first place.
I may consider letting the P3 go to a new home and make the RP6 the second deck, appreciate your thoughts as always.
The real benefit of having a Rega turntable is to have a non tweakable turntable, the contrary of Linn approach.
I have owned quite all the range of Regas, from P3, to P25, P9, Rp8, and Rp10.
I had recently the Rp8, which can be found for 1k, ex demo one. It’s 90% of Rp10 performance.
A good stand also is perhaps the only tweak to do , my opinion of course.
I value your opinion on this subject given you’ve actually owned a number of Rega turntables. My use of the word tweaks is a bit open to interpretation and whilst not anywhere near the level of options open to you with a Linn turntable you can replace most parts of a Rega turntable at modest cost and in principle with measurable improvements. I’ve only made some minor changes to my P3.
It doesn’t seem like there’s much experience here with the Boing feet at least.
You’ve got me thinking on a RP8 now!
You can sit them between the decks feet and stand, but it looks silly and they work better sitting on the deck rather than feet.
The standard feet just have a screw holding them on and these feet fit perfectly inside the rega cup mounted on the rega p10
Not sure they’d work in my case, my P3 just has hardish rubber stock Rega feet on which once removed leave no cups behind.
Similar principle to the Boing feet I guess!
I would have thought so, as dont they have feet that just screw on, as can’t you get soild ones?
The only problem you might run into is the bearing case and its height, on mine and these feet it leaves about 2mm gap
The Neo is a game changer for any 24V Rega deck. I compared the two at the Rega factory - holding the motor in my hand for each power supply, once tuned in, the difference the Neo makes in reducing motor vibration is quite remarkable. Considering how little it costs (and bear in mind you can sell one the TT-PSU), it would be my first upgrade on a P3-24, no question.
Good to know @Richard.Dane. I had given it a look but wasn’t entirely clear how it compared to the TT PSU I already have.
I’ll add it back in to my list of options.
If you are thinking of a Neo, funny feet and fancy mats, why not just ditch the 3-24 and get a P6/Ania? I’ve recently got one and it’s wonderful. By all accounts it’s hugely better than the RP6. Stick it on Rega’s £125 wall shelf and you are off.
I’ve got the RP6 and that’s pretty decent. I guess the logic was to do some minor and relatively cheap changes to the P3-24 or, as seems to be the concensus, let it go for a fair price and replace it with a 6 or 8 and make the current RP6 the second system deck which I’d be happy to leave as is and not fiddle with.
I’m not expecting any transformational changes to the P3 with the changes I considered bit was curious to see if anyone had tried those things, mainly interested of any experiences with the Boing feet.
