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AS Challenger mk 2 vs. Avid Diva 2 sp vs. Rega P9

After many hours of research i've narrowed down my next turntable to...
1-Acoustic Signature Challenger mk 2
2-Avid Diva 2 sp
3-Rega P9

Have heard the P9 mulitple times and was impressed. Frequency extension and bass slam appear to be a minor weakness with the P9. Have never heard the Diva 2 sp or any AS models. From what I have read the Avid/AS excel where the Rega P9 is deficient. I would appreciate any comments from current/previous owners or those that have had experience with these 3 turntables. FWIW i'm considering a Helius Scorpio 4 or OL Encounter tonearm on the Avid/AS, cartridge preference is a ZYX R100 for all 3.
dayglow
fjn04
1,339 posts
 
Vortrex, Did you think the GTA was better in any specific area? I haven't done any comparisons, but I could still upgrade my order.
Word has it that the upgrade path is like:
Simplex > Amadeus= 10% better, Amadeus > Amadeus GTA= 5%....
Sorry to steal the spotlight, but this info could prove useful to the OP. Cheers, Don
vortrex
148 posts
 
if I had to put a number to it I'd say the GTA is 5-10% better, most notably for me is the bass and an overall "bigger" sound. I'm also hearing some slight nuances that I never did before.
roscoeiii's avatar
roscoeiii
1,155 posts
 
And once you get to the GTA or a Vortrex, you are at the end of your upgrade chain for analog except for the cart and phono stage. For better or worse. The Well Tempered tables sound great but you lack a tonearm upgrade option. Not that there aren't other areas of a rig that can be improved. The Well Tempereds sound great. But this is worth pointing out. It could be a plus for some. For theb tweakers, maybe less so.
pani
1,049 posts
 
Pani/Manitunc-Thx for your response. The Diva 2 i'm considering is the SP model. Which has a 6.3kg platter vs. 2.5kg it also adds speed control. I would never expect a basic Diva to outperform a P9.

Dayglow, it is not only the platter size but the suspension system that the Diva lacks compared to their (Avid's) established models. The Volvere has a similar suspension mechanism as the Acutus which makes it sound extremely close to the Acutus. The Acutus sounds more hefty and goes deeper in the bass but the Volvere sounds a tad more agile. However they are more or less alike sonically because they share a similar platform and build. Hope this helps.
fjn04
1,339 posts
 
Thanks Vortrex, your comments are much appreciated. Just to make sure, it sounds like at one point you went from an Amadeus > Amadeus GTA ?
If so, I assume all else including cartridge remained the same.
Dayglow-If you spend around 5K on the TT setup, what will you do for a phono stage. You haven't mentioned anything about owning one.
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