Hi fellas :)! I've got a nice P9 in my system with Ios and AT33PTG at the moment but I think I'm not getting the best out of my deck and system with this combination. Not sure what exactly is the problem but the bass is not so fast and tight as I would like it to be and the sound is quite bright overall. Has anyone tried Ios with any other cart with good results other than Apheta?

I think my options are new cart to go with Ios, Apheta or some other? I can also get rid of the Ios and get some cart/phono combo that is known for working well together expecially in P9. Rest of my kit is Exposure 23/28 amps and quite soon Harbeth 7ES-3 speakers which will replace Linn Katans. I want a bit faster and tighter bass from my vinyl setup and a sound suitable especially for rock/metal/prog music. Any suggestions are welcome :).

Well the P9 is very fast and tight anyway so you might want to consider something to tone it down. BUT the 33PTG is well loved on here and I believe 'Robert' uses that combo. Might be worth sending him a PM for his opinion.

I use an LP12 so my opinion has no value.............

Funny, I have had two P9/900 during last 5 years, one delivered beautifull w/17DII/P75, the other obviously had faulthy bearing or other issues, never came on with that one.
I would guess rock/metal/prog music and faster bas would not be Harbeths greatest strenghts..
Why not try an Exact/Fono and take the issue from there ?

I've never noticed the 33ptg to have a slow bass or to be particularly bright (based on the needledrops here)

Have a listen to Roberts sound files on Panda's needledrop thread P9 33ptg + his own preamp

Perhaps its the phono setting that needs a tweak

In any case I'd wait for new speakers to arrive & run in before swapping anything else in the set up

edit- its always worth going back to basics & checking the alignment vta vtf, overall level of deck, etc

Well, I think it might be cart/phono mismatch or then my tt settings are not correct at the moment or then I should really get a Rega wall shelf, my P9 sits now on Quadraspire.

Per, I demoed those Harbeths in my setup and the bass was really fast, tuneful and tight then, much better than with Katans right now so that's not going to be a problem. They surely rock in right setup.

I would guess rock/metal/prog music and faster bas would not be Harbeths greatest strenghts..

A bit off-topic here. The Harbeths do not excel in metal but performed admirably in rock with suitable amps. I had tried many amps on my Harbeth SHL5 and the speakers are now rocking like they never did before with the Naim amps. Incredible speed and dynamics. Dzeikei is using Exposure amps and they should be quite good as well. And he got it right that in the right setup the Harbeths can really rock.

By the way, I also own a Rega but the lower model P5. I have a AT33PTG sitting in the box and not installed onto the tonearm yet as I still need to sort out the phonostage. Any recommendations for a matching phonostage to my Rega P5 with AT33PTG cart? I currently have a Denon DL103 on the P5 but will swap the cart out to the AT33PTG when I get the phonostage in.

Sorry to hijack this thread.

Hi,

Have you tried different load settings on the Ios? AT recommend a pretty los setting (20 ohms IIRC).

As HaveFun suggested I'd also double check alignment, VTA and VTF.

Regards,

Stuart.

My 33PTG sounds wonderful at 220 ohms on my setup.

A bit off-topic here. The Harbeths do not excel in metal but performed admirably in rock with suitable amps. I had tried many amps on my Harbeth SHL5 and the speakers are now rocking like they never did before with the Naim amps. Incredible speed and dynamics. Dzeikei is using Exposure amps and they should be quite good as well. And he got it right that in the right setup the Harbeths can really rock.

Exactly. With Naim or Exposure amps Harbeths do rock.

The Harbeths do not excel in metal but performed admirably in rock with suitable amps.

Interesting how the Harbeths are better than me at telling the difference between Metal and Rock.

Andrew

I would expect the Alpheta to be a perfect match for a P9 - you could try one of those.

I wouldn't necessarily worry about a P9 on quadraspire (although I imagine a shelf is better), that's what I use and with naim pre/power and exact/dv p75 it sounds pretty darn good.

Jay

By the way, I also own a Rega but the lower model P5. I have a AT33PTG sitting in the box and not installed onto the tonearm yet as I still need to sort out the phonostage. Any recommendations for a matching phonostage to my Rega P5 with AT33PTG cart? I currently have a Denon DL103 on the P5 but will swap the cart out to the AT33PTG when I get the phonostage in.


Not sure why you don't have the AT33 mounted? You obviously already have a phono/step-up for the 103? It should work with the AT33, just may not be optimal.

Jeff

Not sure why you don't have the AT33 mounted? You obviously already have a phono/step-up for the 103? It should work with the AT33, just may not be optimal.

Jeff
Thanks for chiming in. Since I bought the AT33PTG 5 months ago it had been in the box and not installed since I still have the DL103 on the arm. Recently I just sold my Rega Elicit which comes with the built-in phonostage so I am left without a phono now. Previously I did not use any step-up transformer for my 103 and just hook the P5 direct into the built-in phono stage of the Elicit integrated. I have read some good recommendations on the Dynavector P75 phono and might get this for my P5/AT33PTG. Do you reckon this to be a good combination? I don't have much experience with vinyl having just started out in less than a year. The P5 is my 1st turntable. Thanks in advance.

Dzeikei,

You've got a stunning turntable/phono stage combination and there is no way the bass could be described as anything other than tight and clean.
I would suggest you try the various loadings you have at your disposal and experiment with placing the P9 on a slab of marble or slate on top of the Quadraspire.

Is your rack and TT sited on a suspended wooden floor and/or close to the speakers ? If so, it could be a mild case of feedback which is easily rectified.

The Apheta is an excellent cartridge, somewhat reminiscent of a London Decca but not quite as dynamic in the bass regions. You have the best phono stage to make the most of this very dynamic and communicative cartridge.

Thanks for your reply Dave! Need to try experimenting with loadings and also a slab of marble or slate under the deck. Would you suggest Rega's own wall shelf? Floor is made of parquet and quadraspire is placed on the right side of the room maybe 7 or 8ft away from the right speaker. Have you tried any other cartridges than Apheta with the Ios with good results?

It appears that your speakers are sited well away from the TT, so feedback shouldn't be a problem. If the parquet is on concrete, then that rules out floor borne feedback.

You have one of the best phono stages I have heard and it is definitely not soft in the bass - far from it. I would suggest you play with the loadings for best results with the AT. I regularly use various Lyra, ZYX and Ortofon cartridges with the IOS in addition to the Apheta and it always sounds great.

Rega's wall shelf is an effective and reasonably priced shelf which disappears from sight with the turntable in situ. It might well sound cleaner than the Quadraspire as there is no shelf to pick up vibrations and feed to the turntable. I would though, try a hunk of marble first on the Quadraspire to see if that tightens things up.

Thanks Dave. I'll experiment with the loading first and try that marble too as soon as possible.

I also agree with (hifi) Dave on the Ios, a must keep. Rega's advice for positioning Planars is a light wall shelf or their own bracket. I went from one t'other bringing a big improvement.

I have read some good recommendations on the Dynavector P75 phono and might get this for my P5/AT33PTG. Do you reckon this to be a good combination? I don't have much experience with vinyl having just started out in less than a year. The P5 is my 1st turntable. Thanks in advance.

Not too shabby for a first TT. The P75 should work fine, as it has several loading options. No personal experience with this particular phono stage unfortunately.

Jeff

P75 is an excellent phono amp for it's price. I've been on it for more than 5yrs with 17D2 and still happy with it.

To add on, there's a lot of room for improvement as well. You can change the wall wart to a better power supply such as Russ Andrews or you can even get better than that if you are prepared to spend. I recently got hold of Kingrex power supply for a fairly good 2nd hand price and it's quite a big jump from the Russ Andrews. On top of that, if one can DIY, it can further push the performance by changing the regulators inside the ps. Just sharing on how far more you could push the P75 should you start to outgrow it.

I have read some good recommendations on the Dynavector P75 phono and might get this for my P5/AT33PTG.