stageline + regaP2 = ****??

Posted by: colinjay on 28 April 2003

okay, i know the p2 is a budget deck and i did buy this gear second hand, AND im not exactly an analogue expert...

So really i shouldnt be surprised that it sounds like crap!!!

the treble distorts and sounds compressed at peaks in the music, and hints on what might be causing this??

the setup is as follows:
p2 with bias cart
stageline running into nait5
playing out of epos m12's
which i dont really love to begin with but its what i got for now...

should i be looking at the setup of the rega deck that may be causing this? the instructions and lack of good controls on the rega leave a lot of the setup tp guesswork...

could it be the stylus force? ive adjusted it about .5g either way in about .25g increments with it sounding the same... ive adjusted the tracking force all the way up and down as well...
the stylus appears to be clean, as well as the records, but it is consistent from record to record from what i ca tell...

any and all suggestions welcome
(including tossing the deck and swapping for an LP12, as long as the donation of cash is involved!)

hopefully the stageline is not the culprit, although it is the K type so all should be good there right? does it need more break in??

thanks in advance,
colin

...94.5% of statistics are made up...

Posted on: 28 April 2003 by colinjay

sorry about the mixup... just looked to be sure and my stageline is indeed an N, not a K as i stated erroneously in my first post...

spot on though!

now that i have that cleared up (silly me!)

...94.5% of statistics are made up...

Posted on: 29 April 2003 by colinjay

i was told by the seller (whom i trust) that it has only been lightly used (it certianly looks new)...

does the stylus perhaps need cleaning?

maybe i should take it into the local dealer who carries linn/rega and see if they can diagnose the problem?

...94.5% of statistics are made up...

Posted on: 29 April 2003 by Greg Beatty

Make sure the turntable is level and try varying the anti-skating.

Also be sure you set the tracking weight correctly using the appropriate method for your tonearm.

- GregB

Insert Witty Signature Line Here

Posted on: 29 April 2003 by colinjay

i will try levelling it, as i need to do this to my speakers as well...

as to setting the tracking weight, i have turned the counterweight 3/4 of a turn from dead balance, AFAIK this si correct for the rega cart (1/2 turn per g. and the bias needs 1.75g)

the anti-skate is at 1.75 although it is hard to tell exactly where it is lined up.

thanks for the advice so far, i hope that this will help...

could the stageline need breaking in?

...94.5% of statistics are made up...

Posted on: 29 April 2003 by Greg Beatty

The RB250 uses only the counterweight to set tracking force, the RB300 uses a spring arrangement with the counterweight being used only to zero the arm.

If there are no markings on the counterweight and if you are not using a gauge, it is possible you are setting the tracking weight too light.

And there is this from Rob Doorack on setting the anti-skating:

"Anti - skating on Rega arms is set with a small sliding button. It's on the horizontal beam that holds the arm rest. As I recall there are "1", "2", and "3" markings next to the button's track. The easiest way to set AS is by ear with the anti - skating test tracks on the Hi Fi News test record. If you don't have a copy, set the button to a number that corresponds to your tracking force (i.e., if tracking force = 2 grams, set the sliding button to 2). It should be noted that Rega arms apply anti - skating compensation magneticly, and at the zero anti-skating setting it's not totally disabled."

Getting the table level and the tracking force and anti-skating set correctly may solve the problem.

- GregB

Insert Witty Signature Line Here

Posted on: 29 April 2003 by Justin

I'm not saying that this is your problem (my actual guess is that your Bias is in need of replacement--just buy another used one and see what develops), but when i owned a stageline (a "k"), I thought it was really bright in my system, birghter, that is, than the k cards in my 102 at the time. I'm not sure why this should have been. But, i sold it off thereafter and have been happy.

There's no reason why the P2/bias combination (if everything is working properly) shouldn't deliver at least satisfying performance. I started in Vinyl with the the P2/Bias and was fairly happy with it (so happy, in fact, that it prompted me to spend a ton more on record playback only to be HUGELY dissapointed in a VPI rig at the time--then came my Lp12 and all was good). still, the P2/bias is a nice combination that should not offend, and generally gets on with this as well as can be expexted.

Judd

Posted on: 29 April 2003 by sonofcolin

I have a P9 with RB900. I have played with a p2 and RB250, so I will try and help you from memory.

Set everything to 'zero' (anti skate and tracking force wheel. Turn the deck off and place the stylus on the record (make sure the lever is down!). If it sits, then you need to lift it up the arm and adjust the counterweight until the stylus no longer touches the record and just floats above it. This isn't easy as the arm will swing back out, so it is an appoximation. Take care with the stylus!!

when the tracking force has been set, adjust the turn wheel to 1.75g and set the anti skate to 1.5. You can adjust this later.

This should be set up now. If it still sounds crap, I would try and change the cartridge. Is the cartridge aligned correctly?? With rega arms and cartrdges, this is easy to spot.

Hope this helps.

Colin.

Posted on: 29 April 2003 by colinjay

well colin

its good to see another colin in a world of collins... one "l" is enough for me!!!

anyway, can you please advise me on how to determine proper cartridge alignment. if it is easy to spot ill give it a go...

thanks again,
colin

...94.5% of statistics are made up...

Posted on: 29 April 2003 by Greg Beatty

Hey Colin -

The setup procedure may depend on which arm he has. The RB250, I believe, does not use a spring to set tracking force.

- GregB

Insert Witty Signature Line Here

Posted on: 29 April 2003 by sonofcolin

Colin (of the one 'L' clan),

There is a notch on the front of the Bias. It should be pointing straight ahead and be in the middle of the RB250 headshell (if you catch my drift?!) The notch should be exactly 90 degrees to horizontal line of the headshell. Keep the letter 'T' in your head as a guide.

What about the connections? It should be as you look at the back from top left to right: Red, White. Bottom: Green blue.

Colin.

Posted on: 29 April 2003 by sonofcolin

Rega

p2 setup pdf is available here.

Colin