Dearest Friends,
Remember the Rega P1 vs Sony PS-HX500 vs Pro-Ject Debut Carbon DC $450, 3-pronged turntable fight out two years ago :-D?
Well the winner by a huge margin, the P1, has since been bought and adopted by many friends here, and they HAVE successfully "retro"fitted the crazy excellent Nagaoka MP-110 on their P1s, and forwarded me private photos taken of their set-ups, and how they have been able to achieve that - ADJUSTING the seemingly unadjustable Anti-Skating Force to cater to the lower body weight and tracking force of the MP-110 (lower than the factory settings for the stock Rega Carbon cartridge), AND, - NOT worrying about the VTA/Stylus Rake Angle despite not adding any tonearm height spacer.
The stock P1 is an excellent foundation and most recommended from me, to start one's vinyl journey. Despite it sporting a cheaper AT-3600L in its "Carbon" guise, the stock P1 crazily beats the Pro-Ject Debut Carbon DC with a US$100 Ortofon 2M Red. Much then have to be attributed, rightly so, to:
1. Rega's very smooth and yet low freeplay tonearm movement,
2. its quiet 24V motor compared to its rivals,
3. its supremely tight central spindle versus hub housing structure (try lifting off the spindle-platter away from the plinth-housing, and then, try to put back the spindle-platter into the plinth-housing again. You will know what I mean).
The P1 is a great and affordable start to a person's vinyl journey, and one great and fun turntable to stay with, and with lots of upgrade (read: FUN) options along the way :-D !!!
Today’s instalment is done for the many friends here emailing me for information which other P1 users and friends have gathered in their ownership. These very kind friends have emailed me private photos of how they have installed the excellent MP-110 onto their P1 and thus for a total cost of $580, achieved a colossal degree of analogue music standards. Add the Schiit Mani, at $130, and,
- as many emailed me to say: “the holy trio of budget phono gear!”
The two key matters of contention, are 1)how to adjust down the (seemingly fixed by Rega) anti-skating force, and 2) would the Stylus Rake Angle still be okay without putting in any tonearm height spacer. I have thus decided to make a full illustrated tutorial on how a successful MP-110 installation go about.
Part One: illustrated tutorial
A: Adjusting the Anti-Skating Force to suit the Nagaoka MP-110,
B: Stylus Rake Angle - good enough without any tonearm height spacer added?
Part Two:Sound Quality increment from the stock Rega Carbon cartridge to the Nagaoka MP-110.
Thank you friends for your time and kindness given to me all these past four years.
I am enjoying the friendship, warmth and energy. Thank you so much!……
Best Regards,
~ ian