Rega turntable tweaks

Which feet precisely, @Dunc? Are they screw-in replacements?

Isoacoustics Orea Series, these are the Graphite ones.
They dont screw on, they must sit there, but they do act like a sucker and when i move the P10 they are still attached to it

The (obvious to many) high sound quality and musicality of Rega TTs is based on simple rather than highly complex engineering principles and the components making up the deck working together as an overall unit. To disturb this balance might well result in changes to the sound…but will the sound actually be better, or just different? A simple solution would be: let Rega do the research, spend money on upgrading through the range of TTs rather than the alternatives.

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Is that based on you having tried these things out in the past?
Even Rega sell upgrade kits and certainly from what I’ve found with changing the mat that can and does make a difference and in the case of the Achromat a broadly positive one.
I can certainly see the logic and the engineering principles behind things like Boing or Isonoe feet which provide decoupling and environment control.
I’ve only briefly heard them on a Rega and their tonearms but they do appear to be well regarded and sounded good to me.
I do also agree that improvements which are well defined are found moving up the Rega range, I also own an RP6 and it is a deck I’ve enjoyed owning, perhaps the 8 is a good target overall.
I’f not complete dismiss making some minor changes to something at reasonable cost to determine if they provide benefits overall, the things I’m evaluating are certainly cheaper than replacing the P3 24 anyway if you consider this from a financial perspective.
Be keen to hear what if any comparisons you’ve made and what you felt the improvements were.

I have a Herbie’s Mat which I tried on my RP10. Initially I thought I quite liked the extra bass power that it brought. However, it also pulled the music apart - hard to explain, but it was like everything was there in detail, all separated but in an artificial way, so the music made less sense, and any rhythm to it was particularly lessened. Going back to the felt mat restored what I loved about the RP10.

I have a white acrylic mat that I might try, but my Herbie’s mat experience was a salutary reminder that I should perhaps place more trust that the felt mat is no afterthought, and is likely chosen by the Rega bods for very good reason.

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I used the one that was supplied with the deck for some time but it would quite often be stuck to the vinyl when you took it off and became bothersome.
I’ve had the Achromat on for a while now and had no concerns with leaving it in place.
Admittedly I’m listening to vinyl sporadically and my setup is perhaps not the last word in refinement but it suits my purposes.
This discussion has got me thinking about maybe focusing on one more refined setup rather than two ok ones.

If you clean the vinyl on an RCM then you remove the static and you won’t get the LP sticking to the mat.

It’s my birthday soon, I did follow the recent RCM thread and seems the Pro-Ject machine is a potential candidate. I only have basic cleaning options today. Well reminded!

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This has been my approach too. I trust their engineering prowess, and the choices they make. I read and learn. . .

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This. My felt-mat-sticks-to-the-lp totally stopped once I started using a wet record cleaning machine.

Id be interested in hearing you review the Stein Music mat that Fremer seems to like. He refers to the oem felt mat as “dust catching.” (So pick it up and shake it out once in a while?)

The Naiad owner I know reports preferring the Stein mat on it, but not on other tt’s.

As for feet, Fremer wrote, "Like the P8, the P10 sits on three semisoft footers developed for the Planar 6. These incorporate an elastomer called Santoprene, which is said to be sufficiently soft to provide a “sensible” degree of isolation but not so soft that it would damp the turntable; the latter, Freeman told me, would be “really quite bad.”

Bart, I’ve not heard the Stein mat. It doesn’t seem very easy to get hold of here. But curious, certainly.

In the book, ‘A Vibration Measuring Machine’, Rega make a strong argument in favour of their choice of felt mat. I guess I trust that they made the right call. Certainly it all sounds great to me.

I have previously tried ‘things’ (mat and feet) on my now moved on P9…I did notice changes in the sound…but always have returned to the Rega made version.There is still some ‘fiddle room’ though…although, now that I have found that my Apheta 3 sounds best at 1.9g tracking force, that’s where it is staying.
Enjoy the music, J

I have since 1 year the leather mat from Analogue Seduction.
No static effect on lps. The sound is a bit fuller and absolutely no negative points on musicality.
I will certainly try the Acromat from Funk Firm, because it’s the only mat that is acclaimed on all forums for Rega tt.
And yellow color is cool looking for me. The Rp10 will look more attractive for me.

I’ve got on well with it, it’s not expensive either so worse case you can pull it off and put it down to experience!
I do need a half decent record cleaning machine which is good advice from Richard, I’m sure that will help as well.
Looping back to reviewing my options for an RP8 now, might be a good choice in the longer term than the various tinkering I had in mind.
Appreciate everyones inputs and views on the topic as always.

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Alternatively spend somewhat less on a roll of double sided sticky tape :slight_smile:

I got put off boing-ing the feet. I just put a new belt on the P3 and got an Onzow stylus cleaner which works nicely.
I’m thinking to get the Neo PSU and maybe a half decent RCM as my birthday isn’t far off!
Beyond that I’m leaning towards @frenchrooster idea of a seeking out a P8 and nudging the RP6 in to the second system and letting this (modestly) modded P3 24 go to a new home!
Is the concensus that Rega carts are as good a start as any?
I’ve got a Goldring 2500 on the P3 which is a nice MM cart which I could/may keep or let it stay on the deck?
Thoughts on that welcomed as always…

There’s a new version of the project cleaner you should take a look at, I think it’s a fairly recent “v3” revision.
I use a pair of disco antistats, so I can clean in number 1 and rinse straightaway in number 2, but you might prefer something a little less manual!

Got one of those, they do give the record a wash but it can all get a bit messy and is probably not the last word in refinement!
I’ll take a look at the Pro-Ject one for sure, I’m not in the market to go spending £4k on some fancy lab grade ultrasonic machine but something a bit more capable and easy to use with good feedback is probably worth a look.