[2bigears]

 .  Hello big black disc lovers.   I have a Rega P9 .   It's an oldie but works good.
           Thinking about a Shelter 7000 cart for this deck ,,,,would that work ok. 
        I had a XX-2 on her but I pulled a Homer and broke the cant right off her.   Dough !!!! 
        Thanks for any advice as I haven't got a dam clue.  . As usual ,   Ha

[Sonny]

Hey there, I had the XX-2 and the 7000, they are both very good carts, though very different! 

I have had friends with Rega tables / arms with Shelters, though I've always been more of a VPI man, and they seemed to work well for them.  I think the key is, what are you looking for from the XX-2 and what intrigues you about the 7000?  I've had the 501, 901 as well, if you'd like to know more about Shelter carts. 

Glad to help if I can.

T

[2bigears]

 . Thanks ,,  the XX2 gave me all I needed for sound.  It was amazing in my books.  And in my system.
           I have a chance to buy a 7000 at about one grand used . This cart has good reviews for sure. But you know reviews ,,,,, everything is good .   The XX2 is at least 2 grand or more new.
         Kinda on a budget here.   But you do get what you pay for in this world. 

[Syrah]

Do you know the effective mass of your tonearm?  Apologies if you know this, but you need to take the effective mass and calculate the ideal range of compliance for the cartridge you intend to use.

For example, I use a Shelter 501II, which I love.  On my old VPI Classic it sounded really thin (even with a headshell weight).  I blamed the turntable, which was probably not the cause.  I moved to the VPI Prime with its 3D tonearm.  Hello.  Perfect.  Now I have the Aries 3 with the 12" 3D arm.  Awesome even without a headshell weight.

I think the 501II and the Classic arm just did not get along.

There are tools online to calculate effective mass/ compliance compatibility and various test records to determine whether you've got it right in terms of range.

$1000 for a Shelter 7000 sounds like a pretty great deal if it works for your tonearm.

[2bigears]

 .  See ,  this is why records are a pain in the ass.  I have no idea what your talking about.
            When I bought the table I was told a XX2 would sound great .  So I did.
                Now I'm on a budget ,   But maybe should just uncle buck up another grand for another Dyna-V.
          The deck has the 1000 arm Rega makes.    Good lord .  Tried to find arm mass , still a mystery ?

[sunnydaze]

Get a Dyna 20X.   DV family sound, tons cheaper.   Shop used if you have the stomach for it.   I do...have bought many carts that way....never been burned.    I see good deals all the time for light use or re-tipped 20X's in the $400 to $500 range.  I've bought a few of them over the years.  Nice cart.

Good luck.

[rotarius]

I think all Rega arms are 11.5 to 12 g effective mass.  Definitely use the resonance calculator to determine compatibility of the cart.

[2bigears]

 .  Well I would think the XX2 must have calculated well.  The sound was glorious.
            So I think a 7000 or 20x seem to have good reviews. Both are good prices.
                But that big jump in DV family is seriously a big jump in sound.
     But the 7000 is a grand more new in a box. It's gotta be up in sweet musical land ? 
         Thanks for the guidance so far guys.  Appreciate it very much. 
   

[sunnydaze]

From a Resonant Frequency perspective you will be fine with DV 20X.  Guaranteed.

I've used it successfully on Linn Ittok,  Kuzma Stogi,  Kuzma Stogi Reference,  Michell TecnoArm, Origin Live Encounter.....all with masses similar to Rega.  The last two are Rega variants.

[Syrah]

Didn't mean to freak you out man.  I'm about the middle here in terms of knowledge, so I wasn't sure where to pitch my reply.

Every cartridge has a certain level of boingy-ness.  Some are softer in terms of how much they bounce, some are harder.  That's the "compliance" of the cartridge - how much they "comply" with being pushed.

You could balance a toothpick or a tree trunk so that either would have only one gram of weight on one end.

But the tree trunk would not bounce as much as the toothpick when vibrated.  Even though they have the same downward mass, one is easier to move than the other when vibrate on one end.

Even though both the toothpick and the tree trunk would have the same one gram downward weight, their "effective mass" (i.e. moveability) would be very different.

The tree trunk would sound best with a very low compliance (i.e. stiff, does not comply) cartridge.  The toothpick would sound better with a high compliance (soft and boingy) cartridge.

So that's compatibility.  You could buy a $10,000 cartridge, but if it doesn't mate well with your tonearm, you'd be better off with a $300 cartridge that does.

So when you mate cartridges with tonearms, there are actually test tracks you can play that go through various test tones to determine when the cartridge starts to breakup.  But for now, you should be able to determine (probably just through a Google search) a range of cartridge compliance that suits your arm.

Then obviously, there are people's experiences actually using the specific cartridge with your tonearm.

The same cartridge manufacturer doesn't necessarily mean that all of their cartridges will pair well with you arm.

If you want to cheat, you know the XX-2 sounded good, check its compliance then look at carts that are in a similar range.  Otherwise, just look up the effective mass of your tonearm and search what compliance range is best with that effective mass.  I don't think Regas are typically radically high or low effective mass, so you're probably good with a broad range of cartridges.

[2bigears]

 .  Thanks.  Interesting stuff.  New learning here for me.   I'll google it.  Carts that sound good on Regas.
            I think DV will come up often.   

[Syrah]

Do it.  From memory, I think you might be pretty good with a Shelter too.  They are really nice cartridges.  I think Dynas are (generally) very slightly more compliant than Shelters.

[putz]

Have you checked with Soundsmith about getting the XX2 repaired? Will take a while if they can do it, but worth the wait.

[drphoto]

I had a Rega P3-24 with a Denon 103 HO MC and loved it. Not made anymore but ZU Audio offers a modded version......I'd put it up agains a lot more expensive stuff. Really great cart for the money.
Dunno if this helps or not...
Kicked the crap out of a my Shure V14-4, which is all I had to compare.

I like Rega a lot, IF you can figure out how to isolate them from low end feedback.

I really regret selling mine.

[sunnydaze]

Have you checked with Soundsmith about getting the XX2 repaired? Will take a while if they can do it, but worth the wait.

+1,   

Especially since OP is very happy with its performance. 

There will be significant downtime -- personally I'd just buy a well-priced used cart with low hours to hold me over. Keep as backup for future shakey hands episodes, or sell at small (if any) loss.

I had level 2 SS retip done to my 20X -- well worth it IMO.   I do believe it performs better than stock cart.

[2bigears]

  yes and you guys are right on as usual.  I have phoned NY and the said at SS to open a return/fix file
      and send away.  I would say it would take 4 months. This will also cost 500 at least with my shitty dollar. 
         So if this is the case I could fix the XX2 and get the 7000 for less than a new XX2.   Or uncle buck up
            another 500 or so for a new XX2.   A new XX2 will last me the rest of my days . SS repair is a bit
              of a gamble ,, right  ? Maybe not. How is it they are the only ones to repair carts ?  Is it that
                 tricky ? 

[sunnydaze]

You might want to look into Andy Kim at The Needle Clinic in Bellevue WA.  If you Google you will find his retip services get consisent praise all over the web.

http://www.phonocartridgeretipping.com/index.html

Not a customer, just what I've read.   But based on that, I would not hesitate to use him.  And I hear his turnaround time is much quicker.

PS:   no gamble at all with the SS retip.   His work is impeccable, and like I said, IMO the retip is better than my stock 20X.  If you Google you will find many other guys that say the same exact thing.

[2bigears]

.   Thanks for that SunnyDaze.   I'll phone .  And here we go ,  paradox of choice ,, again,,ha 

[Syrah]

Here's how you figure out the right cartridge.  It seems the target resonant frequency is 7-12 hz.  It seems that your tonearm has an effective mass of 11.5g.

So, now go here - https://www.vinylengine.com/cartridge_database_tools.php#ResonanceCalculator

Compliance of the XX2a appears to be 10.

I don't know what your fastener weight is (i.e. the weight of the screws) but if you put in 4g, you get a 10.18hz as your resonant frequency.  Pretty close to ideal.

Shelter 7000 has compliance of 9.  Plug that in and you get 10.73.  Still pretty good.

By contrast, the Denon 13 has a compliance of 5.  Plug that in and you get 14.4hz.  So not great.  It needs a heavy tonearm.

I say you get the 7000 and either sell the XX2 or send it to Sounsmith.  Then compare the two, and sell the one you like least.

[2bigears]

  well thank you very much.   I bought the 7000 for 900 bucks.  I can send the XX2 away to get a repair.
          It's way worth fixing. I will have the Shelter next week.  Ohhh baby I miss my black tar spinnin