Newbie - Rega RP1 Setup

[spammo]

Hi All,

i've finally taken the plunge and bought myself my first record player, a Rega RP1. Now after reading lots of different topics on record players/rega rp1 i'm a bit confused about knowing the correct setup, methods for making sure it is getting the best sound out of it.

I hope you can out my mind to rest and answer some of my questions as i'm very keen but also new and don't understand all the terminology's (forgive my ignorance!)

I've followed the instructions for the setup with the weight on the tone arm (fully inserted until the end) and this balances ok.

I have set the bias between 1-2 (middle)

my question is how do i know this is setup all ok? Some records play with no issues but some have slight cackle/pop. these records aren't in great shape but seems to be happening on lots of them.

how do i know the needle is sitting ok?

what is the tool i should buy to check balance?

Last question (this one may seem stupid so apologies!),

Should the arm sit beneath the plater when i put the arm down, (i was testing to see balance etc) or should it be level with the record? is this normal? should the balance make it set level with the platter/record?

Apologies for these basic questions but as i'm really interested in the subject i want to make sure i get it right from the beginning and understand how the record player should be setup.
I might have setup all ok already but at the moment i don;t if its ok or not ok

Cheers

[Sandbah 92]

Spammo, welcome to VE and the world of Rega. My bias/anti-skate is set about where yours is and seems to be pretty much the norm for these table. If your arm is balanced correctly it will float just as 2 equally sized people would on a see-saw if I can use that analogy. For downward stylus pressure > VTF - vertical tracking force- I use a Shure stylus pressure gauge > SFG-2 Stylus Force Gauge. I also have a digital gauge but prefer the Shure > You Tube has some very good tutorials on how to use the gauge and some are being used by Rega owners in those videos. For that you will have to move the counterweight on the end of your tonearm and the movements of it will often be "microscopic." I suggest you backoff on the counterwieght just a bit from where you have it now. How is the sound - to YOU - with the way things are set up now? Let your ears be the judge of some of this. The crackles and pops are due to records that have damage or just may need a good cleaning. Suggest a record cleaning machine for that or the Spin Clean which a lot of people are having great success with with for relatively little money. Check out this site - Vinyl Engine - for how people clean records with out a machine - you'll find quite a variety of suggestions and techniques. For your infromation I've had a Rega p1 - the model replace by the RP1 - for the past 4 years and I'm getting sound from it that it quite stunning in every respect - especially with the Nagaoka MP110 cartridge which is a gem for killing surface noise on my records which cleaning does not eliminate. Enjoy the table!

[raphaelmabo]

Crackle and pop is not a sign of a bad setup of the tonearm. Some cartridges are more sensitive to this than others (I am not familiar with the cartridge the Rega RP1 comes with) but nothing is really wrong. If it is just "slight" then I see no reason to worry.

If the cartridge tracks well (not skipping tracks, not loosing it's way) all is well. I presume the cartridge was factory mounted (you didn't install the cartridge yourself?) - then you don't have to do more than setting anti-skate and balancing the arm. When the arm is leveled, "floating" so to speak, then this is tracking force '0'. When a tracking force is set (the exact tracking force depends on the cartridge in use) then the arm should dip down where the cartridge is. Tracking force is down force, it keeps the cartridge down on the record. If the tracking force is too light, then the cartridge may skip tracks and does not keep itself in the groove and you also get a bass light sound.

[Sandbah 92]

Spammo, ditto what raphael just said. I should have asked you waht cart you are using - I just assumed it was the Ortofon om5e supplied by Rega - is that correct?
With that cart and others you acquire along the way always set the VTF - downward tracking force - accoeding to what the manufacturer suggests. Most of the time it's set at the halfway point between the minimum and maximum for the cart. For, example if it's 1.50 to 2.0 then it's usually set at 1.75. When you set your VTF then your arm no longer balances > the needle wants to set down into the grooves of your lp. I also suggest you go into the tools section of this website and copy to the correct scale the Rega Stevenson protractor for future use and reference. There is some debate if one should use the Rega Baerwald protractor or the Stevenson but I believe the Stevenson is more in tune with the Rega geometry. Get your VTF as accurate as you can till you get a tool to get a good reading on your VTF. You don't want so much pressure that the cantilever - the lttle arm that has the stylus on the end - is pushing down to where it becomes more and more horizontal and parallel to the lp. This can damage your stylus, cantilever, and your lp's. No amount of cleaning is going to repair damage to vinyl, but a better cart and stylus can ride through much of it with much less notice to you. A great way to keep your stylus clean is to use the cue lever and dip the stylus into Mr Clean Magic Eraser - the original white kind and you do not wet it! Let the cue lever dip into to it 2 or 3 times after each lp side > do not drag the stylus through it. Lots of posts and threads on the different audio sites about Magic Eraser. Hope some of this helps you.

[spammo]

Many thanks for your replies.
I think everything is setup as advised and it does sound great.
I just wanted to make sure i was setting up correctly and going about it the right way.

Thanks again, am so enjoying listening to my vinyl!

[Sandbah 92]

Terrific! Those of us with the intro Rega tables very well know how musical they are.