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Rega Planet Has Arrived; Jolida 202 Enroute


MBM135

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Well, the Rega is here! $370 for used in mint condition. Not a great deal but not terrible either, I guess. Nothing to really suggest it is used. Box, manual, remote and a good seller too--this was packed like it was going to Iraq.

Hooked it up and have only listened to a few CDs. It sounds great but I need to listen more to see if it really beats my cheap Denon DCM-370 changer. Changes will be subtle I'm sure and more identifiable later. Will be doing some comparisons later this weekend. I will have to look at the Rega posts here again to see what music folks have played to test this unit.

Waiting the arrival of the Jolida 202. Ordered it today. After a number of repeated failures to find a Scott at what I thought was a good deal I went with Jolida. The Harman Kardon AVR-125 will be in the home theater room with the Kg4s.

I upgraded the tubes to inexpensive Electro Harmonix and JAN Philips from the cheapo Chinese ones that are stock. Found these on eBay. Here is what I know about tubes: LESS THAN ZERO. So, at least I have a warranty and can call the guy I bought it from who promises to be very helpful in walking me through the biasing procedure if need be. Plus it looks cool--tubes all standing up at attention like soldiers for all to see... Is that a reason to buy an amp??

Biasing procedure worries me a bit. 202's are biased from the bottom--was almost a big enough deal to make me buy a different model. I guess the instructions are clear and I did buy a $19 multimeter today to accomplish the task. Hope this is as easy as people say. I'm sure all the tube guys are LOL.

Will be interesting to see how tubes and the Rega warm up the Forte IIs. Bought the Rega on the advice of that Mobile Homelss guy. Seems to know his stuff...

Anybody using a similar set-up? Rega with Jolida, Scott, Eico, etc?

Thanks!

Mike

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Thanks! I will post once i've had a chance to try everything. I am still intrigued by the possibility of finding a Scott. I will look from time to time for a "steal". Would be awesome to compare the two together.

Hey Craig, for down the road, if a guy wanted to do some tube rolling what is the best? Telefunken? Mullard? I am going to give this a couple months to settle in and see what it lacks, if anything and ask for advice. Do you sell tubes?

Thanks,

Mike

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Anybody using a similar set-up? Rega with Jolida, Scott, Eico, etc?

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Mike, I have a Rega Planet, Eico Hf-81 and Heresy IIs. I replaced Denon equipment as well. Although you didn't say in this post what amp you are replacing, if it's run of the mill solid state you are about to become a very happy fellow. Where the Rega will make a more subtle difference, the amp should make a dramatic difference. The Jolida will probably be so much more revealing that I'd suggest witholding judgement on the Rega until you get it.

I just got my amp back from Craig a week ago. It's sounding sweeter by the day as the caps burn in. I imagine the Jolida will take a little time as well if it's new and hasn't been played.

As for good recordings, if you lean toward jazz... Dave Brubeck Quartet's Time Out in the 1997 remastered version on Columbia. Although it doesn't have vocals, the forward presence, variety of sounds and the production quality are excellent. Piano is revealing. Also Mark O'Connor's latest, In Full Swing contains rich violin with vocals by Jane Monhit and Wynton Marsalis' trumpet.

These are just my opinions--I'm sure others have their preferred recordings for auditioning equipment. Is it just me or do violins sound particularly sweet with Klipsch horns and tubes? I keep gravitating toward recordings with violins and female vocals.

John

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