Which stageline?

Posted by: Naimark on 29 October 2018

Hello everyone, 

I'm considering to improve my naim gear to exploit the vinyl records. I have currently a stageline N with goldring 1022gx (mm) and Rega Planar 3 turntable.

I would like to change the cartridge with AudioTechnica AT33 EV or Benz Micro Glider or...others mc 

Second step will be to change the Stageline N to...S or E..or K??

Any advice for which Stageline should be better with the above combos?

The rest of gear is: CDS3/252/300/focal diablo utopia III (cables hiline/nac A5)

Thanks in advance for your usual support.

 

Posted on: 29 October 2018 by Christopher_M

I have experience of a Dynavector 10x5 into a Stageline N, which I liked. It wasn't on a Planar 3 though, it was on a Linn.

Sorry, no experience of the other cartridges you mention.

What vintage is your Planar 3?

Posted on: 29 October 2018 by Richard Dane

In your position I would be looking at spending the money on the deck first. Putting such a cartridge on an old Planar 3 is a waste of money compared to the alternatives. 

In fact, when you total up the cost of just putting an MC like an AT 33EV or Benz Micro Glider on the Planar 3, changing the phono stage etc... it could well make more sense to look at going for a new Planar 6 or even a s/h or ex demo RP8. The Planar 6 appears to offer phenomenal value, and will be far more at home in a system such as yours.

Another alternative might be to trade the Planar 3 against a basic but well fettled s/h LP12 from one of the Sondek specialist dealers.  There are loads of options here so best have a chat with one of them if this approach appeals.

Posted on: 29 October 2018 by SB

I use a Stageline N with Goldring 1042 on a Michel Orbe SE with an Audiomods arm. It does the business for me.
What are you looking for by moving to MC? Not that I question you need to invest further in your system.
it is often said that higher end MM carts outperform some MC at the same price point. I will caveat that with the fact that I have no experience with MC at all.
If you are set on moving to MC, the basic differences in the variants of the Stageline MC variants are the input loading, which should match up the your choice of cartridge. Many MC phono stages allow you to configure the loading  vai switch settings, but with Stageline it is fixed at manufacture. This does limit your cartidge choice flexibility.
I would recommend an audition at your dealer and they will be able to recommend the best combinations.

Plus I agree with what Richard said about the cartridge outclassing the turntable

 

 

Posted on: 29 October 2018 by Naimark

I'm not satisfied about my current setup, I believe that a better cartridge could improve the sound.

As far as I know, AT 33EV could represent a valid alternative, far away to my Goldring

Posted on: 29 October 2018 by SB

Given that the AT 33EV has a nominal output voltage of  300 uV, then you would be looking at the E model stageline (400uV sensitivity)  The cartridge output would be too high for the K &S models at 100uV sensitively.
As previously mentioned by Richard, I think that this is "too much" cartridge for your current setup and you amy not realise the benefit that you are expecting given the investment needed to move to MC combined with the cartridge price.  So audition before you buy.

Posted on: 29 October 2018 by Richard Dane

At 0.3mV the AT33EV ideally needs more gain than the Stageline E.  An S or K Stageline would suit better here.

But it's a moot point anyway as the better way to spend the money here is on a more capable deck.

Posted on: 29 October 2018 by Jonners
Richard Dane posted:

At 0.3mV the AT33EV ideally needs more gain than the Stageline E.  An S or K Stageline would suit better here.

But it's a moot point anyway as the better way to spend the money here is on a more capable deck.

Richard's right - the Rega itself is really the weak link in your otherwise sublime system. However, I am only guessing here but you'd like to perform a tweak without spending big money as vinyl isn't a mainstay for you? That AT cart is about £400 and an MC Stageline can be had on eBay for around £200 if you're lucky. £600 ought to get you into an ex-demo or S/H RP6. OK, you'd still be £200 down as you'd use the existing Stageline but that's a quick n' easy upgrade right there. 

Moving Magnet cartridges ain't all that bad - I have an LP12 Cirkus/Trampolin with Roksan Nima arm. It's fitted with a £100 VNM20EB AT cart on the recommendation of my dealer. It's playing out of its skin and it sounds great.

Posted on: 29 October 2018 by iliria
Richard Dane posted:

 on an old Planar 3.

I thought the Planar3 is the new version and only a couple of years old??

Posted on: 29 October 2018 by Richard Dane

If a Planar 3 is sporting an RB300 then it's most likely not the current Planar 3 but one from the '80s -'90s.  An excellent deck for sure of its time and at its very affordable price, but Rega haven't been sitting on their hands since then...

Posted on: 29 October 2018 by ricsimas
iliria posted:
Richard Dane posted:

 on an old Planar 3.

I thought the Planar3 is the new version and only a couple of years old??

That's when they went back to calling them Planars, after just using the RP moniker.

The original Rega decks were called Planars - 2 and 3, to be more specific, going back decades.

Posted on: 29 October 2018 by Fueller

I used an AT33 ev for a while with a stageline S - which was a great combination, however that with an upgraded clearaudio emotion deck. 

Posted on: 29 October 2018 by Bob the Builder

My advice is also that a deck upgrade is the better option putting a Benz Micro Glider on your deck as lovely as it is would be like putting a sports car engine into a transit van. If you are happy to keep your deck then perhaps try something like a Denon DL110 high output moving coil which would allow you to keep your current stage.

Posted on: 30 October 2018 by Naimark

Rega P6 could be an effective upgrade vs my current Planar 3?

thanks in advance

Posted on: 30 October 2018 by Christopher_M

Now you're talking. Current Rega Planar 6 is available with or without a cartridge. An option is to have the Rega Ania MC cartridge factory fitted, in which case the cartridge has a decent discount. Job done.

Posted on: 30 October 2018 by kevin J Carden

In my recent hunt for a new record player I was MASSIVELY impressed by the P6 Neo. It’s a country mile ahead of P3, a brilliantly pitched offering and untouchable at the price. I ended up with an LP12 build at 5x the price, but I’m still amazed at what P6/Ania was capable of. Lovely record player. 

Posted on: 30 October 2018 by Tony2011

Here is my twopence: RP3-24(RB301 arm) / Stageline S / Denon DL103.