As promised I went to demo the RP3 w/ (i think was the) Elys2 cartridge. When I got there the room was occupied, so the guy asked if I wanted to be 'ruined'. Of course I said 'yes', and then we headed into he high-end room. :)
Long story short, I listened to the RP8 and RP3 through the same system... Wow.. What a *dramatic* difference between the two. The RP8 was smooth, organic, even, full in the midrange and upper bass. Trebles were just right and not shrill. The RP3 was nice too, but the trebles were just to shrill and unrefined (compared to the RP8). Now, there is about a $2k difference in price between the two.
Back to the drawing board. I don't think the RP3 is for me, unless the trebles can be tamed significantly.
Long story short, I listened to the RP8 and RP3 through the same system... Wow.. What a *dramatic* difference between the two. The RP8 was smooth, organic, even, full in the midrange and upper bass. Trebles were just right and not shrill. The RP3 was nice too, but the trebles were just to shrill and unrefined (compared to the RP8). Now, there is about a $2k difference in price between the two.
Back to the drawing board. I don't think the RP3 is for me, unless the trebles can be tamed significantly.