Rega RP1 VS Pro-Ject NEW to the forum

[AudiophileNewbie]

thanks for your precious anwers .

will this be a good audiophile phono pre amp ?

Cambridge Audio - Azur 551P - MM Phono Preamplifier - Black

Its quite affordable so i may consider buying it.

As BlacRaven suggested I connect the TT (with RCA cable) to the phono pre amp (Cambrige 551 lets say ) and from the phono pre amp with RCA cables to my headphone amp (Ocean bravo ) and then to my headphones . Right ?

As far as scenario 2 is concerned which is that i want to play through my speakers MM1s it goes like this : TT->phono pre amp -> Stero Pre amp -> Amp -> Speakers

Thats too many amps haha . So i have to buy a Stereo Pre Amp and an Amp too to play throguh my speakers ?

I am kind of confused cause i thought it goes TT->phono pre amp -> Amp ->speakers (and if my MM1 have built in amp,which i have to make sure, i dont even need the amp )

thats if i dont go with the ART usb phono pre amp

[JohnMichael]

thanks for your precious anwers .

will this be a good audiophile phono pre amp ?

Cambridge Audio - Azur 551P - MM Phono Preamplifier - Black

Its quite affordable so i may consider buying it.

As BlacRaven suggested I connect the TT (with RCA cable) to the phono pre amp (Cambrige 551 lets say ) and from the phono pre amp with RCA cables to my headphone amp (Ocean bravo ) and then to my headphones . Right ?

As far as scenario 2 is concerned which is that i want to play through my speakers MM1s it goes like this : TT->phono pre amp -> Stero Pre amp -> Amp -> Speakers

Thats too many amps haha . So i have to buy a Stereo Pre Amp and an Amp too to play throguh my speakers ?

I am kind of confused cause i thought it goes TT->phono pre amp -> Amp ->speakers (and if my MM1 have built in amp,which i have to make sure, i dont even need the amp )

thats if i dont go with the ART usb phono pre amp

The Cambridge phono preamp is a good preamp and should please over the long run. I am a Rega fan so I suggest their turntable. Down the road there are modifications you can do to increase performance.

Yes plug the table into the Cambridge inputs and the outputs to your headphone amp. If you have speakers with built in amps you would not need a power amp. Sounds to me like all you would need is the turntable, Cambridge 551P and a set of IC's from phono preamp to headphone amp.

[AudiophileNewbie]

thanks for the answer.

well as of today i bought the RP1 white for 350euros shipping included ( 450$.) Dont know if it was a good purchase but i t certainly was the cheapest one i could find including shipping.

What kind of modifications do you mean , changing the belt ? or the platter (acrylic ) or the cartridge to Ortofon 2m ? Is the platter or the belt upgrade for performances purposes or just for the design because i dont know how an acrylic platter would change the performance of playing . but again i am totally new so i wouldnt know .

Also one other thing that i read about the RP1 . Do they have this wobble effect and how does it influence its performance ? Is it normal cause i have heard a lot of people talk about this wobble .

Also should i consider the Cambrige 651 which has both MM and MC options ? I dont know what this is exactly (i will search it later ) but would you suggest this pre amp in case i later decide to switch to an MC cartridge (for any reason that i dont know yet lol )
Also this Cambridge 651p is better than the 551p as far as performance is concerned ?

Its in my budget top ( ammount that i would give ) but for the reasons above i may consider spending 80$ more in obtaining the 651p instead of 551p.

Its ok about playing through my headphones . I totally understood it and i cant thank you enough .

But what about the speakers. I believe the MM1 s have built in amp so would i need an Stereo pre amp too?? or just connect the phono pre amp with the speakers and i am done ?

I am sorry totally noob here , whats the IC s ?

thanks for understading and helping me !

[blackraven]

IC's are RCA interconnect cables-

Analog Interconnects

Buy some decent IC's as they do affect sound. You may also need Phono IC's (tone arm cables) to connect the RP1 to the phono preamp unless your Rega comes with a cheap pair.


Mods for your Rega include upgrading the tone arm, sub platter and platter, speed controller. Before considering any of these mods, consider upgrading to a better cartridge like the Ortofon 2m, AT120 or AT440ML.

For now I suggest getting the better phono preamp and see how you like the TT and sound. Then when you have the money, upgrade to a better cartridge.

[JohnMichael]

Sorry IC's are abbreviation for interconnects which are the wires with rca jacks on the ends to connect the phono preamp with the headphone amp for listening to records through your headphones.

MC stand for a low output phono cartridge usually using a moving coil to generate a low voltage. The lower the voltage the more gain is needed from the phono preamp. They generally do not have interchangeable stylus. Since you are just starting out and with budget restrictions I would stick with a MM phono cartridge. They are generally higher output and will mate well with the 551P. Another benefit with a MM cartridge is if you bend or break the cantilever that holds the stylus you can buy a new stylus/needle for less than the cost of the entire cartridge. Once the stylus has worn you can replace just that assembly without removing the cartridge.

I have heard about the wobble but I have not used an RP1. I would not worry too much about it and if yours does have an excessive amount of wobble I would exchange it. Some find the plastic subplatter has a little wobble. I think it is more visual than audible.

Most dealers have the performance pack to improve the RP1's performance. Here is a link to Rega's information of the Performance Pack. You do not need that to enjoy the table. These are for boosting performance. I would buy the basic table and in time step up with the PP.

Rega RP1 Perfomance pack

I am not sure how you are using your speakers currently so I cannot help much but if you are using a computer for a source there are more knowledgeable folks than me. I am sure there is a way to interface. You may need a phono preamp with a USB output to the computer. NAD makes one as does a few other manufactures at not much cost. My computer is in the bedroom and my system in the living room and never have the two interfaced.

Rega Fono Mini

The nice thing about the Rega is the cartridge will be factory installed and the tracking force easily set. It will not require a lot of skills to begin play. If you have any more questions feel free to ask.

[AudiophileNewbie]

I cant thank you enough for all the help /time/effort on bringing these answers.

A whole new exciting world is opening ahead of me. I will have to search each detail on your answers in order to understand more about these things (MC, cantilever etc).

To answer as to my current setup .

I play my music (currently only FLAC ) from my imac which is connected through an AUX cable through my Ocean tube amp and i connect my beyers to the headphone amp .

As to my speakers i only connect my MM1s to the imac through USB and since it has a built in DAC and Amp i enjoy my music.

I want to setup the TT totally seperate from any computer . The plan is to set it up next to my computer so i can easily switch/connect the headphone amp or my speakers (though it has only AUX input or USB , so USB is not an option ) to my pre amp or pre amp and stereo pre amp respectively.

The question still remains though . In orer to connect my speakers MM1 ( which have as inputs AUX or USB ) which have a built in Amp , would i still need a stereo pre amp or anything more than the phono pre amp in order to play my table (BlackRaven suggested that i should have TT->phono pre amp -> stereo pre amp-> amp -> speakers )

[JohnMichael]

I cant thank you enough for all the help /time/effort on bringing these answers.

A whole new exciting world is opening ahead of me. I will have to search each detail on your answers in order to understand more about these things (MC, cantilever etc).

To answer as to my current setup .

I play my music (currently only FLAC ) from my imac which is connected through an AUX cable through my Ocean tube amp and i connect my beyers to the headphone amp .

As to my speakers i only connect my MM1s to the imac through USB and since it has a built in DAC and Amp i enjoy my music.

I want to setup the TT totally seperate from any computer . The plan is to set it up next to my computer so i can easily switch/connect the headphone amp or my speakers (though it has only AUX input or USB , so USB is not an option ) to my pre amp or pre amp and stereo pre amp respectively.

The question still remains though . In orer to connect my speakers MM1 ( which have as inputs AUX or USB ) which have a built in Amp , would i still need a stereo pre amp or anything more than the phono pre amp in order to play my table (BlackRaven suggested that i should have TT->phono pre amp -> stereo pre amp-> amp -> speakers )

Here is an example of integrated amps that have a phono preamp, preamp and power amp in one chasis. You would plug the turntable into the phono input and use the line out for your MM1 speakers. Later if you wanted other speakers that do not have built in amps such as larger B&W speakers you would hook them up to the speaker outputs.

Affordable Integrateds (with phono!) | Stereophile.com

There are a lot of options so it is good you are doing some research first.

[AudiophileNewbie]

Thanks i will do my research first and then decide. Ill probably go for the integrated amp so i have everything i need .Thank you so much for the help .

Wil definitely recommend this forum to my friends