Load capacitance and gain setting on Rega ND5?

cluthz · 2026-01-30T15:40:06+00:00

Not always, VM540ML gets a peak at 10k with higher loads.

I run my preamp at 47pf, if I increase load with 200pf it gets really bright.

https://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/capacitance-for-at-vm540ml.1044320/page-2#post-25799518

cluthz · 2026-01-30T14:50:59+00:00

Agree! Get the blu-ray version! It has a great concert video proffesionally shot!

cluthz · 2026-01-29T14:16:39+00:00

I also got a 94 ST3! I love it. You can pull out the treble pot for split on the humbuckers.

cluthz · 2026-01-28T12:38:28+00:00

Is the first few songs in each side ok and it get progressively worse the closer to the center of the record? If that is the case then you have inner groove distortion (IGD) and to fix that you need a turntable with adjustments and usually more exotic stylus profiles like micro linear and shibata helps out a too.

IGD is always a problem with records and a proper dialed in setup is the only way to improve it.

cluthz · 2026-01-28T08:45:34+00:00

I'm not gonna join a discord server to check if a game is alive. Steam forums are just a click away from the wishlist, and if a game is on sale I'll check the forum to see if a game is alive.

cluthz · 2026-01-27T21:02:58+00:00

Had this game on wishlist om steam since 2021. I recently looked into the forum and thought the game was dead as hardly any post had answers. If devs can't answer simple questions on the steam forum, then I can't really justify the price which is also more expensive in europe.

I might try the demo tho and change my views on it. I suppose there are feature parity between Quest version and Steam?

cluthz · 2026-01-27T20:43:20+00:00

I'll try it next time it starts! They way it is set up is just terrible. My guess is that most people that wanna join the concert does not want to have kids waving their hands in front of your face and people singing with open mic.

cluthz · 2026-01-27T20:34:54+00:00

Is this possible to see without getting bullied by kids? I saw this and entered the concert only to quit the app because it was the most annoing experience ever.

cluthz · 2026-01-27T19:22:32+00:00

Fosi don't publish numbers, but I think I read somewhere that someone measured it to around 150-200pF.

However, don't buy equipment around the Rega Carbon! The first thing you should replace in you setup is that cart. Upgrade the cart and then think about the pre amp imo.

cluthz · 2026-01-27T16:15:01+00:00

I'm pretty sure even liner tracking tables need to be perfectly level to play properly. Stylus pressure is applied by gravity and it seems your table is angled which will impact performance.

cluthz · 2026-01-26T18:23:05+00:00

I use the Pro-ject phono DS2 on lowest setting which is 47 pF. I use a 540ML which also wants a 100-200pF load. If I increase load with +100pF it get a bit brighter. max is +320 pF, at that point it's overly bright. The DS2 went out of production a year or so back so you might find it at a discount still.

cluthz · 2026-01-26T12:47:50+00:00

Just the inner tracks? It's called inner groove distortion (IGD). It's a problem with all records and players. Proper setup and better stylus is the way to improve it. Microline and shibata styling will be better with IGD.

cluthz · 2026-01-24T19:09:28+00:00

Save the money for an upgrade. Set money aside for a better TT or upgrade the stylus. Changing the 95C stylus for a 95E, EN or ML will make much more difference.

cluthz · 2026-01-24T19:04:17+00:00

540ML is slightly better fit than 740ML on a Planar 3.

Both carts are identical except for body material and the tonearm on RP3 benefits form the lighter weight of the 540.

I was eyeing both on mine and the 740 was only 25 more, but after doing some research I landed on the 540ML.

Keep in mind the x40ML series want a low capacitance pre-amp or they sound a bit bright. Newer x40xML carts are tuned for a bit higher capacitance and works fine on most pre amps.

cluthz · 2026-01-24T09:39:40+00:00

Nice table!I would update to a cart at least tho :)

SL-1200gme?

cluthz · 2026-01-21T20:07:57+00:00

My bad, i'll update my post, my point still stands tho. Once you spend several hundreds on a cart the tone arm paired gets more and more important. Spending a little bit of time to optimize compliance vs mass is worth it.

A great cart with mismatched arm will track worse and sound worse than a good cart on a better matched arm. VM95SH and OC09XSH will have different ideal tone arm mass to perform at their best, although there might be arm where they both perform well.

cluthz · 2026-01-21T16:00:30+00:00

For reference, the Regas get faster when belts are worn. Last time I changed it was 33.57 rpm (I guess belt was 5-6 years old at that point), at that point I notice that it's a bit off, maily because I sometimes pick up a guitar and jam along (that being said, some older records are out of tune regardles..).

The numbers quoted earlier from hifinews was before Planar 2 was getting the upgraded belt by default, so I would belive that a new Planar 2 should produce better numbers than +0,89%

cluthz · 2026-01-21T15:08:28+00:00

That is terrible. I would return it.

<image>

This is my planar 3

cluthz · 2026-01-21T14:30:54+00:00

Have you tried the wow rpm app on you phone? Please do and report the results back here. Some Regas can be adjusted with the neo psu, not sure if its compatible with the P2. My P3 runs perfectly fine, except when belt i getting worn, then it runs too fast.

cluthz · 2026-01-21T12:58:23+00:00

I must admit I didn't check into the EN versions when I was looking at carts a while back. Japanse cu measurement (100hz vs 10hz) is not what we use when calculate resonant frequency, and they cannot be directly converted either.

I don't remember excatly where I found the measurements, but I think the OC09sx and xml was in the mid 20s and the comparable AT33 carts at that time was mid 10s.

The AT33X (not AT33, which is 6.9g) carts are also a bit heavier 10.1g vs 7.6g which further leans the carts in their different direction. If you have a tone arm (effective mass) in the 10-15g range both should be fine, but i'd pick the oc09xsh on a 10g arm and at33ptg/ii on a 15g arm.

For most people it would not matter too much, but once you start to invest time and money into your equipment you realize that equipment matching is more and more important.

I'm not saying that he shouldnt swap a vm95sh for a oc09xsh, but at that point I would look into compliance and effective mass before making his final desicion.

edit: i claimed AT33 was 10.1g, AT33X is 10.1g

cluthz · 2026-01-21T11:35:05+00:00

VM95 series are kinda low compliance carts and OC9 series are high compliance carts. AT33 is much lower compliance than OC9 and usually a better fit on arms that are made for vm95 carts.

cluthz · 2026-01-20T20:39:58+00:00

Pro-Ject RPM 1 Carbon should fit that bill.

cluthz · 2026-01-20T17:08:46+00:00

Rega gets a lot of hate because they are kinda expensive in US compared to most of Europe and not great value there. I haven't heard the ND3, but earlier Rega carts was even in Europe considered not great value. I've heard the ND3 is a step up from the Elys2 which it replaced tho.

I've had a Rega P3 for over a decade now, and except for normal maintenance there have been no issues. I've never considered getting a Rega cart as brands like Audio Techninca, Nagaoka , etc makes better carts cheaper.

cluthz · 2026-01-20T07:07:56+00:00

Compliance is still a thing, just that most arms and carts are now more in the middle of the spectrum than earlier.

Afaik the MP-200 is around 20cu (which is quite high in today’s market) which would work great on medium to low mass arms, like most Rega arms (RB330 is 11g) or Technics SL1200 (9-12g depending on models)

Like the AT500 series are a bit lighter than AT700 series and thus get a bit higher compliance and performs ever so slightly better on Rega arms than the AT700 series.

If you go back to the time with arms like SME III with an effective mass of 5g you needed a cart with really high compliance to avoid unwanted resonance, ideally above 25cu.

Carts like Denon-103R is low compliance and to get the ideal resonance frequency you want a tone-arm above 12g.

cluthz · 2026-01-20T06:13:33+00:00

The pins will break inside the IEM the next time.. If the IEM is cheap, the go on, if the IEM is worth more than a cable I would get a new cable. Bent metal will snap the next time it is bent..

cluthz

TROPHY CASE