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Rega RP8/10 lid debate

M

Mr Pig

^'- -'^
One of the criticisms of these decks is that they sound 'cold' or lack body. I agree with that, up to a point, but... it's not so simple.

In all my years with the LP12 it was well known that the deck sounded better if you took the lid off. To be honest, the difference between the lid up and completely off was not huge but there was a little more openness and clarity without the cover.

The RP10 is a skeletal design but with a seperate plinth sitting around it holding the lid. Bonkers design really but pretty clever. The outer plinth does not touch the actual turntable at all, except for three rubber bands which hold the outer plinth in place by centering the outer feet around the inner feet. Despite this minimal contact between the two parts, there is a very audible difference when the outer plinth is removed.

There are four ways you can play this thing:

Outer plinth on, lid down
Outer plinth on, lid up
Outer plinth on, lid off
Outer plinth and lid off

I've tried them all and you can hear each change. Rega state that the best sound is in skeletal form, no outer plinth or lid, and of course they are right. This way delivers the greatest clarity and least colouration, but it's not how I play records.

Each step makes the deck sound leaner. With the lid down the muddying of the sound is noticeable and unacceptable, to me at least. However, if you remove the lid, even with the outer plinth still in place, the sound looses too much body and weight so for me, a good compromise is the lid up. It is clearly colouring the sound, especially in the bass, but to me it gives a more natural substance to the sound which I like.

I wonder how many people have judged this deck based on its performance in skeletal form...
 
Thorn said:
Does the lid keep the dust off the turntable and arm?
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When it's down it does! There are holes in the plinth so I guess dust can and will still get in, but it's much better than nothing.

I like the arrangement. I've never wanted a skeletal turntable and still don't. Too vulnerable and a dust magnet.
 
good that the Planar 8 which I will pick up tomorrow has no frame at all.....bye bye Linn LP12 Majik
 
Rushboy said:
Besides, I don't feel like the expensive upgrades at Linn.
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They are ridiculous. Someone on here was saying they demmed an RP10 against a LP12 SE and prefered the Linn, but it was close. And what is the price difference??

It was the same with the Isis CD player. Consensus seemed to be that the Isis and Naim's flagship player were on a par sonically but the Isis cost £6'000 while the Naim cost 16'000 !

I like having a turntable that just sounds great without me having to think about what bits of it I should replace next. The new Technics turntables are also being very warmly received.
 
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wylton said:
I feel it's worth pointing out, that the Linn 'upgrades' are not mandatory!
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This wasn't supposed to be a Linn vs Rega thread. In fact it wasn't supposed to be about Linn at all. It's about one way you can tune the sound of an RP10/8. Believe it or not, after thirty years of LP12 ownership, I couldn't care less about LP12 upgrades. Mandatory or not.
 
wylton said:
No, I'm guessing it wasn't supposed to be about Naim CD5i versus Rega Apollo CDP either..
Click to expand...

You really want to go there? Do you really want to talk about how Linn charge you three grand for a forty year old design? Then hope you'll spend thousands of pounds more in order to make it compete with newer turntables that cost less than that?

Or do you want to talk about how for slightly more than LInn's entry level LP12 you can buy a Rega that can mix it with the best turntable Linn makes? Which costs, how much?

Or do you want to go and start your own thread where you can worship the LP12 in peace? Because really, I'm not interested in the LP12 any more. Been there, done that, not doing it again.
 
Lighten up Colin, I'm not sure what I said that caused that rant! I'm no LP12 worshiper! Merry Christmas :)
 
wylton said:
Lighten up Colin, I'm not sure what I said that caused that rant! I'm no LP12 worshiper! Merry Christmas :)
Click to expand...

Sorry. Happy Christmas to you too.

It's nothing personal. Just get really fed up with sheep who are so blinded by their brand loyalty that they cannot hear even a hint of criticism about their chosen gods without feeling they need to trash every thread with outraged defence. I'm not interested. The thread is about how Rega turntables sound with and without their lids.
 
Mr Pig said:
One of the criticisms of these decks is that they sound 'cold' or lack body. I agree with that, up to a point, but... it's not so simple.

In all my years with the LP12 it was well known that the deck sounded better if you took the lid off. To be honest, the difference between the lid up and completely off was not huge but there was a little more openness and clarity without the cover.

The RP10 is a skeletal design but with a seperate plinth sitting around it holding the lid. Bonkers design really but pretty clever. The outer plinth does not touch the actual turntable at all, except for three rubber bands which hold the outer plinth in place by centering the outer feet around the inner feet. Despite this minimal contact between the two parts, there is a very audible difference when the outer plinth is removed.

There are four ways you can play this thing:

Outer plinth on, lid down
Outer plinth on, lid up
Outer plinth on, lid off
Outer plinth and lid off

I've tried them all and you can hear each change. Rega state that the best sound is in skeletal form, no outer plinth or lid, and of course they are right. This way delivers the greatest clarity and least colouration, but it's not how I play records.

Each step makes the deck sound leaner. With the lid down the muddying of the sound is noticeable and unacceptable, to me at least. However, if you remove the lid, even with the outer plinth still in place, the sound looses too much body and weight so for me, a good compromise is the lid up. It is clearly colouring the sound, especially in the bass, but to me it gives a more natural substance to the sound which I like.

I wonder how many people have judged this deck based on its performance in skeletal form...
Click to expand...
What cartridge are you using? I have Ania which reviews say is warmer or more coloured in bass than apheta2
 
Dust cover and outer plinth have been in the box since day 1 for my RP10 - I have not put a dust cover on a turntable in a long time as it's much easier to operate without and there really isn't that much dust that collects anyhow unless you have pets. Just give the mat a quick brush and off you go...

Glad to hear it sounds better I get why Rega gave the option to have the table look more modern or traditional but the space age skeletal look is where it's at for me.
 
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