I am not a fan of the OM series. I find them quite compromised. I even prefer rega's own cartridges to this series and I am no fan of them either!
Until recently, Ortofon had an excellent series called the 500 series which started at £50 for the 510. The 520 was significantly better and retailed for £80. You may find some around. If you do this, note that the Ortofons are taller than the Regas so your dealer will need to fit a 2mm spacer under the arm in order to bring it up to correct VTA. Ortofon have a new series about to come out (or just out?).
Goldring have a new 1000 series which is a direct competitor to Ortofon's 500 series. Again, 4 cartridges in the range in similar price bands. I've heard the top of the range and it is far better and more acceptable than their old 1042 which was a bit brash and harsh in the treble.
I think that's your lot at this price range - Ortofon, Goldring and Rega.
I've been looking on ebay at Rega Planar 3's, which are pretty nicely priced, in comparison with the newer P3 decks.
Do you know if there are any significant improvements to the P3 over the Planar 3? I've looked extensively around the internet and I can't a decent comparison between the two revisions.
As far as I know the differences between the P3 and the Planar 3 are a modified plinth and the improved ,rigidly mounted motor. I myself have a Planar 3 and have installed the new motor,which to my ears improves the sound significantly.The drawbacks though are it costs around 80 GBP and you need a soldering iron.However these are minimised by the fact that its relatively easy to fit and you can flog the old motor on eBay for around 20 Quid.
Indeed, the motor has been changed to a much quieter item which allows Rega to mount it more rigidly. This improves pitch stability significantly. A Planar 3 can have the new motor kit upgrade. However, the new P3-24 (as I believe it will be called) has a new 24-pole motor and can be run with an external power supply. Given the excellent effect this same setup has on a P5, this should be very interesting, particularly if Planar 3s can have the upgrade (don't know at this point).
That said, the old Planar 3 was always a good performer. I doubt you'll find any comparative reviews between the two.
I also don't know what effect the newer plinth had on the deck.
Incidentally, the new Goldring cartridges are called the 2000 series. The new Ortofon cartridges are just two - the 2m series. Tried one the other day very briefly and it seemed a nice performer.
Incidentally,I find the Goldring G1042 does not sound "a bit brash and harsh in the treble" on my RB300 if it is tracked at around 2.25-2.35 gms. Might be something to do with VTA.
Found a new P3 on eBay, which I bought... fantastic condition and half the price. Bargain. It came with two cartridges: Ortofon Super OM20 and Rega Elys. The former is currently fitted, with the necessary spacer ring.
Which of these two cartridges do you guys think is superior and why? I might have a go at changing the cart back to the Elys, but Rega make it sound like a complex exercise... do I need to take heed of their warnings?
Changing a cartridge in a Rega arm is not difficult. It requires the proper tools and set up guage along with good eyesight and a steady hand. The more patience you have to devote to accuracy, the higher the rewards. You can read a few reviews of the two cartridges in question and decide which best suits your tastes and system needs.
Check the archives of this section of the forum for a downloadable two point set up protractor suitable for most tonearms.
In 1975 or so I bought one of the first three Planar 3's brought into the country directly from the importer at the time. I had an Infinity Black Widow tonearm mounted on the table rather than the standard "S" shaped arm Rega sold at the time. The Black Widow was constructed of carbon fiber and was an ultra low mass arm with knife edge bearings suited only to very low mass, high compliance cartridges like ADC. I sold that table and arm in 1982 to upgrade to a VPI HW-19 which is stll my current table. I have a RB300 mounted on the VPI and have run Grado's for the past two decades.