Cart burn in question

I assume everything is well set up and aligned properly. After 20 hours of use i expect the Exact to be well settled in. Between a brand new and a used one SQ is not night and day, but subtle. Especially a more open up soundstage and treble. But dn't forget the Exact is not a cart with pin point bass accuracy/tightness so it always will sound a bit on the full side.

Clive,

i wouldn't have thought so my experience has normally been the opposite - a little bright and harsh as a cartridge wears in after a re-tip.  I

Is this the first Exact you have owned.   If not I wonder if it's a loading issue.  Does it match your phono-stage?

Regards,

Lindsay 

Assuming it's on a Rega deck it's playing on home ground so should be about right, which is just as well as there's not much adjustment you can make beyond tracking force. I'd give it 50 hours before fiddling with it but if you can't resist try 0.05g either way and have a listen to the result.  Did you install it, a dealer or was it part of a package? 

Yep...has the right phono cards in (Nait 3). Was set up in the shop at 1.75g if I remember correctly. 

Clive 

I wouldn't call the bass response from an Exact overbearing; rather tending to the warm and rich side without a great degree of dynamic punch or speed. The Exact is kind of cuddly, tends to be forgiving of vinyl quality, and not terribly revealing.

None of the Rega cartridges that I have owned could be accused of beaing bass heavy. 1.75 g is on a lighter scale of the tracking forece too.

What are you comparing your new cartrige to, for it to sound so 'heavy'?

Compared to the cd player where the same recording has more bass control and focus.

Clive 

Due to the mechanical limits imposed by the vinyl replay system, CD always has the potential for more bass control and focus (but this is also strongly influenced by the recording and mastering of the material being played).

Huge makes an interesting observation.
Since we are talking about Rega Exact cartridge, I presume it's mounted on Rega's RP6 turntable. It's a very good deck - when setup properly it has a potential to extract much more information than a comparable CD player.

To answer OP's question re: cartridge burn-in time: it may take up to 100 hours for a Rega catridge to settle down nicely.

Wow...100 hours! Intersting! 

Its actually in the new Planar 6.  Could go down the MC cart route because of the limitations of the Nait 3 board options.

Clive 

Clive - I've been through 3 Rega cartridges: Exact II (mounted on RP6), Apheta II (on RP10) and currently using Aphelion (also with RP10). They all took a while to settle down and followed a similar burn-in pattern (mechanical > heavy > sublime).

If you are thinking about an MC cartridge at some stage, I'd recommend looking at an external phono-stage. Rega Aria is a perfect choice here - it can handle both MM and MC cartridges. 
It has seen me progress from RP6 / Exact II to RP10 / Aphelion and still copes admirably.

Adam

Thanks Adam

How long did your Exact take to get to sublime? Mine is in the latter stages of heavy but its still mesmerising with the right disc!

I will probably upgrade the amps before getting a external phono stage but may check it out...

Many thanks

Clive 

It took a while.... I can't remember how may days it took. Just one day I realised that it really sounded good. 

Let's put it this whay - when I changed to RP10 /Apheta, the new deck sounded very stiff and artifical, when compared to a run-in RP6 / Exact II.

A good phono-stage is vital in my opinion. Rega's Aria seems to be an amazing combination of quality and value for money. 
There are of course other manufacturers too.

Smithfire posted:

I will probably upgrade the amps before getting a external phono stage but may check it out...

Don't throw money at the rest of your system until you can find out why the new cartridge is causing an overblown bass.  

What turntable and arm are you using?

Im using the new Rega Planar 6, the arm is an RB 330 I think. As supplied with that TT anyway.

Clive 

Clive - another tip / trick: try plugging in the little power supply thingy that came with the Planar6 into a different circuit than your NAIM (if at all possible of course).
Question: has the anti-skating been set up correctly?

Once your deck settles down see if you can borrow and test a decent RCA > DIN interconnect to go from your phono-stage to the amp.

Clive, your issue is troubling me. IMO the new record player should be damn good from the off. What is it sitting on?

C.

Did the dealer set the bias as well as the position of counterweight and the tracking force?

Yes set from new in the shop Christopher. Its sitting on a homemade stand. Not the brst I know but pretty rigid.

Clive 

I'm also puzzled by this case Clive. 
So far we know that you have a Rega Planar 6, with a Rega cartridge. It's been set up by a delaer. And it's sitting on a home-made stand.
We don't know anything else beyond that.

It's good practice to put system deltails in one's profile, so that assistance can be given faster.

Could you please share some more information:

• Your system? What NAIM amp? Speakers? Other sources?
• Interconnects? (type and make) What speaker cables?
• Dedicated mains / Power supply cables used? Conditioners? Distribution blocks?
• What stand are the components sitting on?
• Other?

Ill get on that when I have a minute...many apologies Adam

Clive 

Using my remarkable powers, I'd say the amplifier is a Nait 3 with N boards. 

Hungryhalibut posted:

Using my remarkable powers, I'd say the amplifier is a Nait 3 with N boards. 

Indeed - Clive did write that already....

Hungryhalibut posted:

Using my remarkable powers, I'd say the amplifier is a Nait 3 with N boards. 

Remarkable, but probably right.

To the OP: Have you used the NAIT 3 with the phono boards previously with another cartridge?  And all was OK?

Or have you just fitted the boards?  In which case, how old are they? And have the links on the main board been cut?

I actually used to run an LP12 Ekos Troika through the Nait (long and sad story)....but had the K boards for that. Sounded pretty good, not as good as the system set up I have now.

The boards were purchased on the bay second hand....obviously not the newest and it has crossed my mind that maybe I should have bought newer?....

Clive