Corey Manders, a Canadian engineer resident in Singapore. A saxophonist, he plays at the Raffle's City part-time during weekends. Corey has earlier added almost all my upgrades to his Rega P2 TT(with stock sticky pad motor):

1. The stainless steel dual pulley with silicone belts
2. underslung counter-weight
3. Aluminium sub-platter
4. Acrylic platter
5. Motor isolation base
6. Top and bottom bracings
7. Record clamp and rubber cork mat

Though he thought he has done all that's necessary to uplift his "tired" P2 TT,  the beautiful look of acrylic plinth in my website was too tempting for him to resist! So another round of upgrade for him....

Here's his new P2 TT with Ortofon 2M Bronze cartridge, what do you think?

Hi Michael,  Though it took me some time, I did change the plinth to my Rega P2, I'm really happy with it. Here are some pictures previous to the change:  So, I have listened to quite a few albums after the initial changes (motor adjustment, adding the braces, the underslung counter balance of the tone arm, cartridge change, platter and sub-platter change, the pulley change, and the belt changes). There is definitely an improvement in the bass with the plinth change, which results in an overall increase in volume. I was listening to a few steps ahead albums, and the change in bass really requires lowering the amplifier volume. After the change, my family kept asking me to turn down the system for fear of neighbors complaining. I think that is directly attributable to the increase in the gain in the bass. So, here are a few images after the change: I've put a switch in the box for the PCB you passed to me. I have resoldered all of the wires and extended the red, green, and blue wires leading to the motor. I have temporarily stuck that box under the plinth on the right hand side, using some double-sided tape. It works for now, but I may look for a better looking solution.  But thanks Michael, awesome job designing the plinth!  Cheers,  Corey

Thanks Corey!

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For Rega RP3 TT, aluminium sub-platter would be the easiest upgrade to begin with. It's almost a "universal truth" that aluminium sub-platter upgrade is a must to replace the stock phenolic one. Here's another testimony from Thim Lee of Perth :

Hi Michael  Just reporting back on the aluminium sub-platter. After almost two weeks or 30 hours of listening to my RP3 with your Basic Aluminium sub platter.  All I can say is that I am happy with the product. I am no audiophile but what I notice after the sub platter has settled down is stronger bass, much stronger than on the standard sub platter. And it was lower and tuneful, which makes my whole system come alive. Stronger than any cd I have heard through my Stello transport and dac. Tracking is also much better than before. Lots of ambience and on occasions sounding almost surround like.  Well, being patience is indeed a virtue. The first time I installed the upgrade, it almost made me beg the question why? There was so much sibilance and transients were gone, and my favorite Dave Grusin record sounded lifeless. And now, a totally different beast. I am listening to Kevin Eubanks at the moment and the bass, the transient, dynamic range are all there. It is clear and 'smooth' sounding like how a record should sound like. Top end is clean too. Not splashy any more and triangle sounds sharp without the glare though without an absolute extension compared to my cd but I would blame this on my cartridge.  Now eagerly waiting for my aluminium feet to arrive and that should be it for now until my Elyss 2 give up the ghost. Bought some plasticine to use on the feet.  Take care and talk to you soon.  Thim

Thim's second upgrade : Aluminium feet

Hi Michael  Photos of my Rega with metal sub-platter and aluminium feet.  The new set of feet has certainly improve focus and reverb and the change is not subtle.  The sub-platter has I think finally settled in and the overall sound is much more balanced and cleaner with no audible distortion. Have a good one.   Kind regards   Thim

Thanks, Thim!

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Cejatan of Queensland (Australia) has a RP6. It's a very good Rega turntable. I also have a bright red RP6 which I have been experimenting with various upgrades (refer to my earlier post on RP6). And I can assure you that Underslung Counter-weight and stainless steel dual pulley upgrades which  Cejatan has chosen to begin with would definitely bring significant sonic improvement to his system. 

Another point to highlight here is my underslung counterweight retrofits the original Rega stub. In case you decide not to remove the original stub for some reasons ( may be fear...  or a stubborn stub simply refuses to budge), you can still add the underslung counter weight to your TT without problem.

Cejatan shares his experience with us here. Enjoy!

Hi Michael,  HI Michael, Here are pictures of the completed project. I bought the following from you:  a. Counterweight  b. Double pulley and 2 belts  Although I have problem trying to take out the original stub, I still managed with your direction to install the counterweight. With only this, the high registers opened by and the sound was more spatial and stereo separation was much better.  I next installed the double pulley and the 2 belts. This was much easier with the pulley puller. It took less that 10 minutes.  I also changed my stainless steel ball to ceramic to complete. With all these changes, I invited some of my friends over to listen. One came bearing gifts....2 dozen vinyls which he had in his garage. Whooola!!!!  Here are some photos to show the improvements. Anyone out there, I would recommend Michael for the tweaks.  Until next time.  Best Regards Cejatan

Thanks, Cejatan!

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