Rega Planar 3 Manual
The iconic ‘Planar Three’ returns Replacing the multi award winning and five times What Hi-Fi? Product of the Year (RP3) was never going to be an easy task. It took our team of designers headed up by Rega's Roy Gandy, two years to develop the all new 'Planar 3' following the biggest re-design of the iconic 'Three' model ever seen. Our team have worked tirelessly to improve every aspect of this turntable offering improved ergonomics, usability and first and foremost, sonic performance.The new ‘Planar 3’ is truly a new turntable for 2016 carrying over just two components from the previous model. New features of the Planar Three RB330 tonearm - Designed using the latest 3D CAD & CAM technology, the new RB330 is the culmination of more than 35 years of tonearm design experience.
Rega Planar 3 Manual
Featuring a brand new bearing housing, and our latest tonearm tube designed using intelligent redistribution of mass ensure this arm will exhibit fewer points of possible resonance. Extreme stability with almost friction free movement from the new high precision bearing assemblies guarantees to gather more information from your vinyl than ever before. Featuring a new bias assembly, re-designed stiffer vertical bearing housing, integrated arm clip and an improved spring housing with easier to read numbers. Rega made, new low capacitance phono cable with Neutrik plugs,. Improved lower friction, precision horizontal and vertical bearings.
New design 100g mild steel balance weight. Plinth - High gloss acrylic, laminated plinth, stiffer and vastly improved appearance, ergonomically positioned power switch.Three plinth finishes available gloss black, white and red. Double braces - Improved thicker 3mm phenolic bottom brace and new metalised skin phenolic top brace. Bearing housing – Re-designed brass main hub central bearing, improved fit and construction reducing stress on the bearing itself.
Sub platter - Re-designed sub platter, improved accuracy and improved stiffness. Platter - New float glass ‘Optiwhite’ polished rim 12mm – Improved accuracy in manufacture and stunning looks. Re-designed foot - New improved foot to increase stability and reduce vibration transfer. 24V motor - Improved new motor control PCB with integration for the addition of for electronic speed change and improved advanced anti-vibration circuit (sold separately).
Mar 23, 2016 - Rega Planar 3 review: The new 3 builds strongly on its award-winning predecessor delivering a class leading combination of sound, build and ease of use – read the review. It's a manual speed change on this deck, which involves moving the rubber drive belt from one step of the motor pulley to the next. The Rega Planar 3, together with its successors, the P3 and RP3, is a well-known budget audiophile turntable by British hi-fi manufacturer, Rega Research available since 1977. It was a belt-drive deck that broke from convention, by employing a solid plinth in lieu of the compliantly-suspended chassis or sub-chassis used in. Rega Planar Three. The RP3 has been designed and engineered to achieve outstanding. Performance way beyond the expectations of a product at this price. RB303 Tonearm - Making the best better. Designed using the latest 3D CAD technology the new RB303 is the. Culmination of more than 30 years of.
Motor cover tray with integrated cooling. DB Technology (Double Brace Technology) 'Mass absorbs energy - lost energy equals lost music!' Rega has pioneered the use of lightweight rigid plinths. Clever use of lightweight particulate core with a highly rigid phenolic resin skin became the foundations of the high level of performance achieved by the now iconic original Planar range. The new Planar 3 takes this design philosophy to the next level. A lightweight acrylic laminated plinth strengthened using a new improved double brace system mounted specifically where the increased rigidity is required (between the tonearm mounting and the main hub bearing) which forms a structurally sound 'stressed beam' assembly. This rigid plinth design prevents energy absorption and unwanted resonance, which will add unnatural distortions to the music.
Equally, heavier mass can transfer more unwanted energy, such as motor or bearing noise directly into the rotating record. The use of braces instead of the complete skin allows double thickness phenolic resin in these key areas while providing further weight reduction to the plinth which directly addresses the issue of mass absorption and unwanted energy transmission. Hand assembled RB330 tonearm.
24v low noise motor / 12mm float glass platter. Lightweight double braced plinth. Precision main bearing. Factory fitted Elys2 MM cartridge (optional). Compatible with the TT-PSU electronic speed change and power supply box (optional). Dimensions (lid closed) H 11.7 x W 44.7 x D 36 cm. Weight 6kg.
The Rega RP3s haven’t changed much in appearance over the decades. Put the original next to this new one and most people would be hard pushed to find any differences beyond the smarter plinth and the updated tonearm. To date, the generational changes have always been about steady evolution, with the aim of improving performance.
But by the company’s usual standards, the shift from the, our current, to this new 2016 Planar 3 is seismic. Just about to give a proper jump up in sound quality, and perhaps for the first time, the company has also tried to make it look slicker too. It starts with the glossy plinth – available in black or white acrylic laminate – which is far smarter and better finished than before.
The plinth is also more rigid thanks to a pair of phenolic braces on the top and bottom surfaces that strengthen the area between the tonearm and brass main bearing. That main bearing is redesigned to improve fit and reduce stress, and there are also upgrades to the subplatter, platter, motor PCB and feet. Most of these aim to improve sound, but some such as the gloss finish on the plinth and the highly polished ‘Optiwhite’ edge on the 12mm glass platter help add a touch of visual class to a product that has never bothered with such things in the past.
The arm may look familiar, but here too Rega has rung the changes. It’s now called the RB330 and has a new bearing housing and redesigned arm tube. It’s pretty much a new design, then. These revisions aim to improve rigidity, control resonances and reduce friction – all good things for sound quality. The bias arrangement is clearer now, as are the markings on the spring-loaded dial that sets the tracking weight.
This new arm also has better quality output cables with classier plugs. Both aspects have attracted some criticism in the past. Despite the scale of the upgrade, the 2016 Planar 3 remains what it has always been: a simple, well-engineered deck that puts performance first. This new one may look a little smarter, but the priorities haven’t shifted that much. Aside from the rubber feet there’s no real attempt at isolation here, so you’ll need to use a rigid, level support. Ideally, it’ll be positioned well away from the speakers too.
All turntables, even those with elaborate suspension systems, benefit from such an environment. Rega will supply the Planar 3 without a cartridge for £550, but our sample had the company’s long-running (and rather good) Elys 2 moving magnet fitted.
The cartridge works so well as part of the package that we would advise anyone to spend the extra. The Elys 2 mounts onto the RB330 with a three-bolt arrangement that ensures alignment is spot-on. Beyond finding a good support, setting tracking weight (1.75g) and bias, there's not much more to do. You still play 45s? It’s a manual speed change on this deck, which involves moving the rubber drive belt from one step of the motor pulley to the next. Once up and running it doesn’t take long to realise that Planar 3's two-year development has paid off.
To our ears it sounds considerably cleaner and clearer than its talented predecessor. There’s greater transparency here and more resolution of detail too. It also becomes clear that the engaging musical character of the last generation hasn’t been diluted at all, if anything this new version is even more fun. It’s right at home with all types of music. We start off with Mozart’s and are impressed by the Rega’s organisational skills. Every instrumental strand is kept neatly in place and composure maintained regardless of the complexity of the music. There’s scale here, and a surprising dose of authority.
Large-scale dynamic shifts are delivered with enthusiasm while shifts of a subtler variety are handled with finesse. Tonally, things are nicely balanced. By the highest standards the Elys 2 could do with a touch more refinement at the top end, but there’s little else at this price that does notably better. Importantly, the cartridge – and the complete package for that matter – conveys the music with cohesion and sparkle. The Rega ties together the individual strands in such a way that the music makes total sense.
The music’s message and its emotional content are communicated with utmost clarity. Some rivals may have a more etched and analytical sound but nothing we’ve heard at this price is so entertaining. This is brought home with Four Tet’s. The Rega channels the irresistible momentum of this track brilliantly, delivering the sound with plenty of attack.
Rega Planar 3 Manual
There’s no shortage of insight either, the Planar 3 digging up layer upon layer of low level information. The good news continues with REM’s. Here, the Planar 3 delivers Michael Stipe’s laidback vocals with some style. His voice comes through with its distinctive character intact – there’s plenty of texture and nuance coupled to a convincing sense of body.
The gentle swing of the track is brilliantly rendered and there are equal doses of power, weight and articulation at the low end. All in all, it’s a great performance by the band, and the record deck.