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In Reply to: I threw mine away in frustration -- true story posted by Brixton77 on September 10, 2006 at 16:45:18:
The Rega 2 isn't the epitome of vinyl replay by any means but mine certainly sounded good enough for the price, at least as good as many other competing decks, and had no problems of any kind with any of the cartridges I used (which included Denons, Ortofons and Regas).If the RB250 had dodgy or damaged bearings that would certainly account for the bad sound and tracking.
Kind Regards,
Follow Ups:
> If the RB250 had dodgy or damaged bearings that would certainly > account for the bad sound and tracking.I'm willing to consider that's the problem! So.... any idea how to check for this (platter/arm)?
Hi Sylvian,Well, in your case, if you have no real problems with actual tracking ability, wow & flutter or motor noise I suspect the reason you don't like the Rega is because you just don't like the type of sound it makes. It is a lean sounding turntable which majors on detail (taking the low price into account) at the expense of some depth and tonal colour. Some people like this but I found it became a bit fatiguing after a while, kind of like CD. Thorens decks are softer, warmer and more natural and laid back.
In any case, checking the bearings is easy. To check the turntable bearing take off the glass platter, remove the belt, replace the platter and give it a spin. Listen closely to the bearing for any nasty grinding noises (the Rega bearings are usually very quiet). Quickly coming to a halt is also a sign of a worn or damaged bearing.
To check for play remove the glass platter and gently push down on one side of the subplatter. Any excess play will be evident as you will feel the subplatter move from side to side within the bearing housing. NB, this doesn't apply to all decks as some, such as the early Systemdek IIx's have low tolerance bearings by design. The Regas, by comparison, should exhibit no excess play at all.
With arm bearings simply balance the arm so it 'floats' and position it as far over the disc as it will go. Set antiskate to 0. Then release it and watch it float back to the armrest. Any sticktion or jerking is a sign of damaged horizontal bearings. To test the vertical bearings keep the arm balanced and softly blow down on the headshell. The arm should move gently downwards, then return to where it was.
Rega arms have very little bearing play. To check for this simply grasp the headshell & twist VERY VERY GENTLY! Any clicks or obvious movement in the bearing assembly means the arm is either broken or out of adjustment.
Hope this helps! Personally I think the RB250 on the Rega turntable was maybe a bit too much of a good thing and the old RB200 actually worked better being less incisive but also less sterile, warmer and softer.
Kind Regards,
Matt
MattC:Well, I've been told here by others that the Rega arm is musical, and that the problem is with my set up. While you tell me you suspect its the sound of the Rega table/arm, and I simply don't like the sound it makes. What you said about the sound of the Rega makes a lot more sense to me, since it perfectly describes what my impressions were of what I was hearing. Thanks for providing a description of the basic sound of the P2, that's exactly what I was trying to get, and thanks a mil for teaching me how to check the spindle and arm bearings! I couldn't find info on that either. I will use your valuable instructions to finally determine for myself whether there's a bearing problem or I simply don't like the sound the P2/rb250 makes! I've never heard any one say the older rb200 might be preferable over the famous rb250, but by the sound of it, you're probably right about that too! Thanks again. - Syvlian
MattC wrote:**Well, in your case, if you have no real problems with actual tracking ability, wow & flutter or motor noise I suspect the reason you don't like the Rega is because you just don't like the type of sound it makes. It is a lean sounding turntable which majors on detail (taking the low price into account) at the expense of some depth and tonal colour. Some people like this but I found it became a bit fatiguing after a while, kind of like CD. Thorens decks are softer, warmer and more natural and laid back.
In any case, checking the bearings is easy. To check the turntable bearing take off the glass platter, remove the belt, replace the platter and give it a spin. Listen closely to the bearing for any nasty grinding noises (the Rega bearings are usually very quiet). Quickly coming to a halt is also a sign of a worn or damaged bearing.
To check for play remove the glass platter and gently push down on one side of the subplatter. Any excess play will be evident as you will feel the subplatter move from side to side within the bearing housing. NB, this doesn't apply to all decks as some, such as the early Systemdek IIx's have low tolerance bearings by design. The Regas, by comparison, should exhibit no excess play at all.
With arm bearings simply balance the arm so it 'floats' and position it as far over the disc as it will go. Set antiskate to 0. Then release it and watch it float back to the armrest. Any sticktion or jerking is a sign of damaged horizontal bearings. To test the vertical bearings keep the arm balanced and softly blow down on the headshell. The arm should move gently downwards, then return to where it was.
Rega arms have very little bearing play. To check for this simply grasp the headshell & twist VERY VERY GENTLY! Any clicks or obvious movement in the bearing assembly means the arm is either broken or out of adjustment.
Hope this helps! Personally I think the RB250 on the Rega turntable was maybe a bit too much of a good thing and the old RB200 actually worked better being less incisive but also less sterile, warmer and softer.
Kind Regards,
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