Rega P5 v P7

Just got back home literally 10 mins ago from my P5 v P7 demo having spent a very illuminating hour hearing these turntables back to back.

Other equipment in the set-up was Nait 5i and Naim Ariva speakers connected with NACA5. Needles were Elys in the P5 and Super Elys in the P7.

Tracks played were:

Al Jarreau/David Sanborn: Since I Fell For You
Judie Tzuke: Living on the Coast
Mahler: Der Einsame im Herbst from Das Lied von der Erde (BPO/Giulini)
Morrissey: Suedehead

Starting off with the P5, using its basic psu and playing the Al Jarreau track, brought back memories of the good old Rega sound I'd got to love several years ago - there are most certainly strong genes in this one! The compound 12/8 rhythm feel of the track was really brought to life and engendered the track with a great deal of 'fun' - like the band were enjoying working with their superb singer and vice versa, especially when AJ does some scatting at the coda of the song, and the band really starts to groove. Sanborn's Alto tended towards being thin, but his often raucous tone can often go this way anyway.

Going on to the Judie Tzuke song (although we also listened to the Mahler and Morrissey, we ended up using the AJ & JT tracks in the main so I'll deal with these) with its busier, denser mix, tripped the P5 up in that it was harder to follow separate strands. Still had plenty of 'bop' but where Judie's voice is double-tracked in a couple of places, the higer part tended to get lost when the going got tough, leaving only the fundamental behind. All in all though, the P5 shone and for the money was a bloody good listen. And so we added the Rega's optional psu...

...It was like the depth of field on a camera lens had been lengthened - instead of the loudest part taking prominence, other strands began to appear and made a better, more cohesive overall presence. As if the band had been away and rehearsed for a few hours, only to re-appear and really mean business. The pace seemed 'slower' somehow, but less frenetic and more together. Higher frequencies were clearer and less full of 'grit' too - the psu, for 150 quid, is a very worthwhile addition. The same observations could be applied to the Jarreau track I should add, especially Bob James' keyboard accompaniment which insteand of droning along in the background, became more of an instrument in its own right.

And so on to the P7...

One should bear in mind that the '7 had the more expensive cartridge fitted. First on was the Jarreau track once again, so before jumping to any conclusions I thought I'd let the sound wash over me for a few minutes. We changed to the JT track and did the same, then went back to AJ for a more serious listen. Sure - the P7 adds both character and clarity to its musical portrayal as though the painter's been given some extra colours, plus the backgrounds are darker, as though someone has been and turned the noisy air con off in the studio, compared to the standard P5 which was a tad 'noisy'. The thing which worried me most about the P7 though was that it sounded 'boring'. As though Jarreau was singing a hackneyed old standard, like, when he'd rather be doing something far more fun. Where was that almost 'dirty' swinging 12/8 rhythm? For the first time during the dem, my mind started to wander. Using 'hi-fi' criteria, of course the P7 sounds cleaner and more detailed but it's lost a fair amount of the emotion the P5 was injecting directly into the music's veins. The extra clarity of the P7 was also the sort you'd get from adding a better quality cartridge...which it did have, remember.

To sup-up:

The P5 represents absolutely storming value for money and is a turntable I could happily live with - the addition of the 150 quid psu is just the icing on the cake.

Th P7 for me brings about some confusion - its hi-fi-type credentials are reasonably obvious, it being clearer and 'cleaner' sounding than the P5 and less 'gritty'. However, it is also an extra 600 quid over the standard P5 and for me that's the crux...as is the fact it has some pretty damn serious competition at the price...talking of which, as soon as I got home I put the Jarreau track on the Gyro and sat down to listen. Not only could I now hear virtually all the musicians' parts playing more clearly (especially the aforementioned keyboards) but compared to the P7 it was exciting, and when Al Jarreau, to use musician's parlance, 'goes off on one' towards the end, it really made the hairs on my neck stand up.

At its price the P5's a bloody bargain...the P7, for these ears, isn't.

Michael - you've got a corking turntable there. I loved it.

 

Gromit,

Thanks for the excellent review - fascinating!

I must book a dem with my dealer pronto. The dealer I have in mind also sells Dynavector, so I mght see if I can listen to the P5/20XH combo myself!

Cheers,

JonR

 

I wonder if this is all down to the P5 running a little fast?

 

If you are demming a turntable, you obviously have to use the same arm & cartridge, otherwise a waste of time.

 

True - but a 'waste of time'?? I don't think so, certainly not in this instance. As I said, the 7 was at an unfair advantage because it had the supposedly better cartridge fitted yet to my ears wasn't significantly better than the P5, and definitely not 600 quid better. The arms are obviously the same.

Jon - I'd imagine a DV20 in a P5 would sound pretty damn good, if my somewhat foggy memory of Dynavector needles serves me right. It should keep the speed but add some clarity.

 

Thanks Gromit, very informative

Michael.

 

A friend brought his Ortofon SPU Royal N up to my place at New Year. It sounded very, very different from my Troika. If you are specifically demoing a turntable, all other variables must be unvaried, otherwise you are demoing more than one thing at a time.

 

You're right James but the differences between the Rega Elys and Super Elys are unlikely to be huge.

Michael.

 

Hey, what's going on here? The forum leaders still list Bub as banned. But I see he is his usual friendly self upon re-entrance.

 

And...

I agree, it's particualarly a shame in this case as I believe the P5 & P7 share the same arm. So, if you add the external PSU to the P5 you are potentially getting a very similar deck though with a different platter at substantially less cost.
A lost opportunity, but not a totally meaningless demo (especially as it was supposed to be skewed in favour of the more expensive deck).
the Dynavector DV17 Karat is a really nice match for Rega arms IMHO (assuming a good phono stage). The Denon 103R is less brilliant at the frequency extremes (IMHO), but has a stunning mid-range.

 

You might need to refresh the forum leaders page in your browser. He's not showing up on my version. James is back with us again

Michael.

 

I was being neither friendly nor unfriendly, just matter-of-fact.

 

Welcome back.

 

Thanks.

 

Monday's dem is going to be the Spacedeck.

Watch this space....(I'll get my coat).

 

Great write-up, Gromit!

Indeed, as I discovered with the Regas, it's really all about levels of refinement. In your demo, with its dual-belt drive and hypnotic ceramic platter, the P7 seemed to refine a little too much of the excitement you were expecting out of your selections.

Any chance you might squeeze in a Xerxes demo as well? There aren't any Notts dealers here in Belgium and I'd love to here how they compare before I make my decision on the new Xerxes.

Cheers, Dex

 

Very much seems that way, and an observation that remains consistent throughout those folk I've spoken to. Don't get me wrong, the P7's still a very nice TT indeed and would still not be out of place in a superb-sounding system. It's just that the 5 represents such fantastic value it makes the 7 appear more than a little expensive, especially when there's some serious (to put it mildly) competition at its price point.

Would love to but I don't think Pete's got a Xerxes in the shop - would certainly make for a very interesting comparison. The N/A will be up against a Gyro of identical spec to mine so let's say this will be the acid test - I'll report back and try to be as accurate as poss to give you, I hope, at least some idea.

All the best,

Richard.

 

Having a Gyro in the house should prove most interesting! See if you can get 'em to swap the arms between the two for a real test o' the tables!

Enjoy, Dex

 

Oi Oi Jimbob :JPS:
Nice to c ya to c ya nice
Alright my love
Over to the old score boards

Curt

 

Hi Curt.

All well?