Rega Planar 3: A Revolutionary Vinyl Spinner for Mike and David
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- Опубликовано: 9 июл 2024
- This episode sees Mike and David paying homage to the Rega Planar 3, a stalwart of the British hi-fi scene - and a seminal 'affordable audiophile' turntable.
The guys have each owned several examples of this classic vinyl spinner in the past, so are well placed to judge this very latest version. It's fair to say that, after all these years, they still love it - and reckon it's better than ever.
Each episode of Hi-Fi Riff features the guys' unedited, unexpurgated views about all manner of weird and wonderful hi-fi designs. Mike has a wealth of knowledge from his hi-fi retail years, and David has written about hi-fi for thirty years. Now Editor-in-Chief of StereoNET, he's picked up a few things along the way.
So brew up a cuppa or crack open a can, and relax and enjoy some one-take hi-fi riffing - and please leave your comments below. Oh, and don’t forget to hit the Subscribe button, this one goes up to eleven!
The eighties-tastic title tune is called ‘UFO/Mike’s Jumper’, and used with the express permission of our old pal and rights holder Simon Lythe. 
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Had my rega 3 about 2 years now, I have always had vinyl since the mid 70's & approching retirement It was a treat to myself with no regrets with this rega.
Nice love in on the Planar 3, thanks.
I think im going to pre order the rega planar 3 50th anniversary after watching this 😊
I bought a Planar 3 with a 1979 motor and no tonearm but found a nice RB200 tonearm used and installed the 24volt moter and it's as good as gold. In fact it's now more speed accurate than the P6 in my main system. Love that both you can skip the tweaking and just listen.
I had a Rega Planar 3, NAD 3020A and Heybrook HB1 loudspeakers back in the late 80's. Beautiful music. My jaw dropped at the improvement a Sound Organisation table made under the Rega. Really shows how important this is to performance.
Nice system, and you're right - the Planar 3 more than many turntables, really benefits from a good support.
Had a 1983 Rega P3 with Linn Basil LV arm for many years. Upgraded to the Rega P6 a few years ago with RB330 arm and Ania MC cartridge. Love it! My end game turntable.
Just to say how happy I am to hear this review as I have just placed an order for a P3 50th Anniversary edition…..cannot wait to hear it!
Swapped mine for a Pink Triangle back in the early 80’s and got the full price I paid for it from the dealer. The PT sounded fantastic for a couple of months then started to play slow. It was the most unreliable piece of junk that I have bought. I ended up buying a See Revolver to use when it was away being repaired and this deck sounded better than both, especially when I took the Ittok and K9 off the PT and used those. I still use this set up today nearly 40 years later as a second deck with the ATVM95C stylus to play second hand records alongside my LP12.
I've had the RP3 for about 7 years now and been very happy with it. I's sitting on a welded steel rescord stand i bought from Amazon for very little money. That stand has adjustable levelers on it's feet and is very stiff when set up. I have a 3" thick maple chopping block under the TT (sits on the 1/2" thick cheap ass shelf that stand ships with) with sorbethane hemispheres between the stock rubber feet and that maple block and the combination works very well when it comes to isolation. I'm using an old Vinyl to Analog converter phono preamp I've had for a couple of decades and that feeds my Rogue TP5 preamp (it's included phono stage is to dark for my tastes. i also have a LaPacifica DIY preamp I use for moving coill carts (have to get my Denon 301MkII retipped).
Saving to upgrade from Rega P1 to the P3. Bought the P1 a little before quarantine, best investment ever without even knowing. Can't wait to discover what the upgrade will bring to the sound.
The short answer is... a lot!
Well, at least it will bring some money for Rega......
White Rega Planar 3 owner here, just discovered your channel and love it (and subscribed!). I recently upgraded the cartridge to the Exact and also now pairing it with the Rega Neo power supply, and it sounds insanely good. I can't imagine what will persuade me to part company with it (famous last words, but anyway!). Kudos to you guys, looking forward to what's coming next 👍
Nice one, thanks for the feedback and good to know that it's not just us who think the latest Planar 3 is one of hi-fi's greatest bargains.
Another white Planar 3 owner, paired up with a Neo power supply, looking to improve the sound so planing on a new cartridge (Goldring 1042 or Ortofon 2M Black - dealers suggestions over the Exact) , currently fed via a Rega Fono to a Hegel H95 and then out to some nice little ATC SMC 7's, only have a small listening room but this set-up works rather well. Contemplating a big TT upgrade in 2024 but to what remains to be seen. Great video, loving the nice laid back chat style videos, now a happy subscriber. Thanks Guys.
What a joy this channel is for a British 50 something audiophile! I bought a Planar 3 in 1987 from AudioT Bristol, replacing a Thorens td150 (little did I know that deck's potential).
On playing it at home I was so disappointed - it sounded flat, un-dynamic and boring! I soon found that the heavy shelf I'd plonked it on was to blame, and much home-made sub-table tweakery ensued which utterly transformed its sound. I never felt it truly bettered the Thorens though, which I still use today, but it could sound quite magical with careful placement.
Agree 100%. A light, rigid table with the dustcover off is when the Planar 3 gives of its best.
It can sound dire when poorly placed - just try it on the floor to see how bad!
Hi guys just came across you. great chat and insight to rp3. was getting the 50th anniversary just before xmas there with good discount for exact cartridge and Neo power , but missed out. but quite glad because it was walnut only......seeing your gloss white has blown my mind ....looks absolutely FAB....so coming in a couple of months. keep up the good work. cracking channel. nice n easy style. 👍👍
Thank you so much... we are normally an acquired taste, so appreciate your nice comments 👍
Mike
Awesome review.
Used to own a RP3 with the RB300 years ago sat on the rega wall mount. It was paired up with Myst tma3 and a pair of linn index plus. A very good budget system. Changed the planner 3 for a Manticore Mantra a few years later.
Seriously conssidering the 50th Anniversary edition, seems like an unbeatable deal!
It sure is. Hoping to get one next month. I found out yesterday that 10 years ago Rega did a 40th Anniversary model for 2013 only and cost more at the price of £800.00. This new Anniversary is a steel.
Rega planner 3 is hard to beat
Agree... and has been for years!
Thanks guys, another interesting chat!
I've plenty of time for the old Rega - although I jumped into the Roksan Xerxes at the time, I paired this with an RB300 arm which was a hi-fi bargain! Its probably still got my old AT OC7 moving coil attached, but its been dumped in my loft for the last 20 years, so who knows what state its in!
I literally have just set up a new turntable as I'm finally selling my LP's and needed to capture some music from LP which has never had a digital release - or is so rare it costs more than I want! I've just set up a Sony HX500 (put it on an isoaccoustics platform) and I put a nagaoka mp-110 cart on it as I wanted to capture a DSD stream and I heard the Sony produces a really competent digital output for the price. I'm still breaking in the cartridge, and wont do final captures till its had at least 30 hours play time, but I'm staggered at the quality I'm managing to achieve with this modest set up. I think there might be something in this 'DSD sounds analouge' sentiment :) My initial test capture of an old Kraan LP, sounds better than a fantastic remastered version on CD when played back through the Auralic G1 I'm using as a front end. Frankly I'm shocked, the cart has not run in and I thought I was doing this on the cheap and would get according results! Just goes to show, you can play in this area for more than 40 years and still get surprised!
Thank you for bringing us this content, I do enjoy to hear you guy's and your thoughts on this equipment!
Great stuff guys, keep these videos coming, love the banter and anecdotes between you!
Nicely done guys. 👍
I remember selling these back in the day over 30yrs ago & the Planar 3 holds its own today. In our dealership the next step up from a P3 would have been a Manticore Mantra/RB300/ATF5. I have an LP12/EKOS/Karma in my set up, and if my house burnt down, would I replace the Linn with a Rega Planar 3 plus a reasonably priced MC? Very possibly. Big Bang for your buck with a deck like this, and the law of diminishing returns kicks in when spending more. Does what it says on the tin.
My cousin (also a pro musician) asked me for a bit of advice for his first 'proper' turntable to rediscover his substantial vinyl collection and I just immediately said "Rega Planar 3". His budget meant he chose the P1 instead (still a decent deck) but I wonder if he'll be hankering after a P3 in the future. Does anyone really need anything more in a deck than this in all honesty?
I had a Planar 2 in 1989, great first turntable.
Rega do do a ready made vinyl system the ONE for £999 as of May 23 .
P1, Brio and Kyte
That is probably an absolute bargain for a beginner.
I have the P3 can’t recommend it enough and thinking about adding power supply mine came with Elys 2 cartridge so that’s something else could look at in time.
I do enjoy take on hifi some of vintage stuff find interesting as takes me back .
Keep it guy’s
Wow, top score. It would be nice to see a video with recommended integrated and pair of stand mounts to go with it.
Great suggestion!
Just bought a Planar 8 as an experiment after watching the Roy Gandy interviews on RUclips.
Watching the Rega Plannar 3 review was Brilliant...
At the start of the (2022) year, I purchased a Rega Plannar 3 in Red (the best colour) with the RB330 & the wonderful Exact Cartridge.
Agree the Rega is so easy to set up compared to a PT1/Linn LVX Plus, with many different cartridge even after the years & amount of time this process has been done.
Interesting what you guys said about the platform being used under the Plannar 3, for the first 8 weeks, I placed the deck on a turntable table that was under my 35 year old Pink Triangle (PT1) for this it was great.
But for the Plannar 3 at best this table was okay.
Then I purchased the Rega Wall Mount Platform...Oh Boy What a Massive Change in Sound quality, well worth the £180 price tag....
It didn't stop there, but adding the Rrga Neo (MK2) Power Supply gave this Great Sounding Turntable another lift in sound quality...
The first day or so osing the 'wall wart' that came with the turntable it seemed okay, but the specs were slightly different, from the one in the Neo box, on plugging the unit that came with the Neo made subtle changes to the sound stage, adding to the music, also adding the new Reference Drive Belt...
The rest of my system is a: Myst Tma 3 & a set of Celestion SL6S & stands...
PT
Years ago wanted to fit a rb300 to my LP12 and the dealer said “better off with a Linn arm, because the rb300 just sounds wrong on a LP12”. Little did I know it was a sales spiel just like they are doing today!
I have a rega planar 3 which I bought new in the ‘88. I also have a linn from ‘82, so just pre valhalla, which I have owned since ‘97. While the rega has always been a very competent performer, the linn always sounds better all around for me. It is just more musically engaging to me, even in its 40 year old untouched state. But for many the rega might be all they need to be happy.
Great Video. I like the planar 3, it´s a very nice turntable. I just hate this "upgrade" trap Rega uses to milk it´s customers. Just tell everybody upfront that you better spend twice the money in total.
Very unfair, the upgrade paths are comparatively cheap
Hi guys. Great review. I have a sonus faber omnia and looking to integrate a P3. Do you think this will work? Im limited for space in my living room hence the reason for the Omnia which tbf i love
Would a bamboo butcher block with some Isoacoustics pucks below it work as a platform or would I be better of springing for Regas wall mount? I want to give my Rega P3-24, Exact, TT-psu, Aria phono a chance before giving up on it (which so far was just sitting on top of the media cabinet).
Never got on with the 3 happy with linn esp when got 2nd hand 42/110
If i where too choose the planar 3 or the audio technica AT -LPW50 what would you guys go for looking for the best sound
What turntables do you have today?
I have an LP12, ARO, Lingo and Nagaoka cartridge, David has every turntable ever made! Mike
I was under the impression that the upper ladder brace and the lower filled in brace were both phenolic resin; the ladder brace having a metalissed finish ???
How it compers to marantz
Yes, I agree this Rega planar 3 the later model is top notch it has won What Hifi awards year after year which persuaded me to buy one in white & was in complete heaven, it inspired me to upgrade my whole system to to marantz 6007cd & pm6007 amp, then I liked the white so bought new white Bowers & Wilkins 607s2 speakers system complete & very happy.
I would wager in a blind listening test where the participants were not told brand of format of playback gear, they would be hard pushed to tell difference in sound between P1 P3 and P10...or even the niad
That would apply to most brands in similar price brackets but the p3 has to be the best in style & sound quality , if in doubt go for the p3 mid priced.
Awkward…!