Rega Planar 1 Plus Turntable Review & Comments

Cheers for this, looks like I've found the player for my 20 odd collectors video game vinyl! :)
 
I take it there’s a switchable speed control?

i.e. not a belt adjustment like the cheaper Pro-ject models.
 
Erm, not seeing any controls at all.
 
I take it there’s a switchable speed control?

i.e. not a belt adjustment like the cheaper Pro-ject models.

Nope, you remove the platter and switch the belt from one pulley to another.

Andy
 
Interesting, I didn't think Rega would go down this route?

For what it's worth my nephew bought a P1 about a year ago , extremely happy with it!!
 
Nope, you remove the platter and switch the belt from one pulley to another.

Have to laugh - that doesn't exactly fit in with the convenience image this TT seems to be trying to bring...

Shot self in foot comes to mind :rotfl:

Perhaps its only DJs who have hundreds of 45 EPs and no one else cares about 45s?
 
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Have to laugh - that doesn't exactly fit in with the convenience image this TT seems to be trying to bring...

Shot self in foot comes to mind :rotfl:

Perhaps its only DJs who have hundreds of 45 EPs?

When I was buying singles, I always bought the 12" 45 version. Much better quality than LPs to my ears. They were usually cut at a higher level because there was so much vinyl to play with, and they just sounded brilliant. If you're buying a budget belt drive deck these days, it seems that a speed change switch is a luxury! They managed it easily enough in the 70s and 80s with the Pioneer PL12D Trio KD1033 etc. It's not a hugely complex mechanism!

Andy
 
I have hundreds of 12" EPs left over from my DJing days. As I have had only technics decks since around the early 1980s, then the idea of a turntable without a 33/45 switch is just plain weird :)

Actually lack of speed slider is weird too, but that a different issue ;)
While I'm at it, I must confess I really don't like belt drive turntables at all - they should be in museums. About the only positive thing I can say about a belt drive is the belt might be handy for making a catapult, but I suspect its too weak. :eek:
 
Another person here who has more 12" singles on vinyl than LP's.

I've got a Linn Sondek picked up for a song (£300 including arm and cartridge!) and got so fed up with lifting off the heavy platter every time (made worse if a 12" had different speeds on each side and it didn't say so on the label!:mad:) that I invested in a Hercules electronic speed switcher.

The cost of that combined with having it professionally fitted (I didn't even dare attempt it myself) wasn't cheap, but it was oh so worth it for the convenience alone.

Upgraded to the Linn from a Rega Planar 3 which was a good deck but just lacked a bit of character for me; the Linn has that in spades!

But yes, agree with the sentiment that a true convenience deck would include an electronic speed change as a matter of course, because once you've got it you never go back. Maybe this would bump up the price?
 
Rega do a power supply to allow electronic speed change, but according to their website it only works on the Planar 3 upwards. It's available on Amazon for £236.

Andy
 
It's available on Amazon for £236

Ouch - may as well get a decent direct drive deck then if you need that. (580 for the RP3, then another 235 = 815 quid). Throw a another few hundred at the problem on top of that at you have yourself a nice shiny new SL1200GR - probably for less than an RP6 + speed changer :)
 
Another person here who has more 12" singles on vinyl than LP's.

You just know you should trade you decks in for a couple of 1200s and a mixer for the proper hands on vinyl experience ;)

(Hmmm, re-reading that - it just sounds wrong :eek:)
 
You just know you should trade you decks in for a couple of 1200s and a mixer for the proper hands on vinyl experience ;)

(Hmmm, re-reading that - it just sounds wrong :eek:)

I'm always up for some hands on vinyl. And it's pretty good to play some records too!
 
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This looks like the vinylplay that rega made for flexson, which at £200 was a steal. In fact looking at the specs for both they are very similar, tone arm is newer on the P1 but I can't see how they're justifying the P1 price.
 
The review above stands in stark contrast to Paul Rigby's in which he said:

"... The Rega Planar 1 Plus is wholly ill conceived and badly positioned. It sends out the wrong messages in terms of sound quality expectations and, if you factor in Rega’s importance to the industry as a brand to be trusted and as a reliable entry point for the beginner into the world of vinyl, the Plus sets the analogue wing of the hi-fi industry back by years. This is not a Rega Planar 1 Plus it is, sadly, a Rega Planar 1 Minus."

The Planar 1 Plus Turntable From Rega - The Audiophile Man

Interestingly Paul thought the Rega Planar 1 the ultimate budget turntable.
 
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It isn't my usual policy to comment on what other reviewers think but the whole ethos of that review is flawed- catastrophically so. Mr Rigby has decided that phono stages built into turntables will suffer from interference. Now, it is far from impossible that they can have this issue but to follow this to its logical conclusion, I cannot for the life of me see how he's perfectly happy with the performance of the Rega Brio's internal phono stage which is working in a far more challenging environment than one sat at the back of a turntable plinth.

It's also- as I note in this review- somewhat pointless to criticise a turntable for limited upgradeability when the company makes several other models you can buy instead to fulfill this need.
 
The "Audiophile Man" does give favourable reviews to usb cables that cost £888 per metre though.........

Andy
 
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It isn't my usual policy to comment on what other reviewers think but the whole ethos of that review is flawed- catastrophically so. Mr Rigby has decided that phono stages built into turntables will suffer from interference. Now, it is far from impossible that they can have this issue but to follow this to its logical conclusion, I cannot for the life of me see how he's perfectly happy with the performance of the Rega Brio's internal phono stage which is working in a far more challenging environment than one sat at the back of a turntable plinth.

It's also- as I note in this review- somewhat pointless to criticise a turntable for limited upgradeability when the company makes several other models you can buy instead to fulfill this need.


I must admit I found his logic odd. I can understand wanting to keep electronics that deal with such low level signals away from strong mains sources, but a turntable? Not exactly a hotbed of interference is it?

Andy
 
I am not a fan of belt driven turntables.
However , thats irrelevant . The only thing I would say is that all turntables with a built in phono stage should have a bypass switch so you can use the built in phono stage if you want to use it , or you can use the one your amp might have . That flexibility is what i would have thought would give them a bit of an USP.
Just my humble thought.
 
It isn't my usual policy to comment on what other reviewers think but the whole ethos of that review is flawed- catastrophically so. Mr Rigby has decided that phono stages built into turntables will suffer from interference.

TBH I actually think its the best place for a phono stage - ie as close as possible to the source rather than inside an integrated amp - ie right near the arm mount for shortest possible low signal wires. See number oof post from people with turntables and hum/ground issues.

The issue arises when for some reason the built in stage is found to be unsuitable, for eg - poor match to a cartridge etc, but this same argument applies to nearly all hifi devices - a functionally excellent streamer with a horrible DAC or whatever for eg. The ideal for a phono stage is as suggested some means of bypassing it and leaving it powered off if required, but of course such would add cost.

As for interference, well a turntable will have some kind of supply and a motor anyway - neither of which are great company for very small signals, so I do not see that adding a phono stage makes anything worse, if anything if done properly it has the potential to make things better. Again, this is not a new problem as all small signal pre-amps have to take care isolate themselves from EMR and electrical environment (mains, low voltage PSUs, USB noise etc) as much as practical.

For me personally, I do not want to use a phono stage inside a TT, but only become my integrated amp happens to have an excellent phono stage, but otherwise I would use such if it is good enough.
 
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The "Audiophile Man" does give favourable reviews to usb cables that cost £888 per metre though.........

Andy
Wow. Apparently it stops the laptop fan noise obscuring the digital signal to your DAC and clouding your music. Incredible. I’m amazed any of my data packets (emails, file transfers, print jobs, etc) can work at all without this cable, having now read about all the noise issues a computer creates...
Let alone how densely consolidated virtual servers can work within clusters in data centres....
:eek:
 
Wow. Apparently it stops the laptop fan noise obscuring the digital signal to your DAC and clouding your music. Incredible. I’m amazed any of my data packets (emails, file transfers, print jobs, etc) can work at all without this cable, having now read about all the noise issues a computer creates...
Let alone how densely consolidated virtual servers can work within clusters in data centres....
:eek:

Yes, but all those things are trivial compared to a music file!! :) They're just so, erm, expensive to transfer!

Honestly, having read his review of rca phono leads that cost £2500, I cannot think of a reviewer that deserves to be taken less seriously. He makes What HiFi seem totally professional in comparison!

Andy
 
So... resurrecting an old thread.

On a road trip my wife has become rather keen on vinyl. Without wanting to spend a fortune the entry level Rega stuff appeals, however I’m a little torn between the Planar 1 and the Plus.

I have a Phono input on my Marantz SR7012 however I question how good it is. Equally I’m not convinced the Planar Plus is going to be much better - the cost of cables is another extra too!

I appreciate it’s not going to sound ‘the best’ through an AVR but if the built in phono stage is going to improve things I’m happy to spend the extra.
 

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