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Rega Planar 6 sagging issues

Hi all, first post so go easy.
I’ve been searching the web as my P6 which I brought new just over three years ago from my ‘local’ dealer has a plinth that is sagging over time. It was perfectly straight when purchased but, has sagged / warped / dished over a period of time.

I’ve got a call back from Rega tomorrow as I’ve made a 2 hour round trip to my dealer to drop it off and it’s come back from Rega to say that it’s perfectly acceptable. I fail to understand how something that was straight upon manufacture but has later developed a sag is and can be acceptable? How long before it is outside the tolerance Rega allow and then what happens? It doesn’t appear that a lifetime warranty is all it’s made out to be.

This isn’t a dig at Rega, I’m just putting it out there to the doubters that there is a problem whereby plinths are deteriorating over a period of time and it’s certainly not Rega bashing from me.

This is my first turntable in over thirty years and I pushed myself financially to buy a P6 to avoid the ‘upgrade route’ I certainly wouldn’t of bothered if I had known this was / could be an issue which is a shame because it’s a fantastic table!

Here’s some videos I’ve uploaded of mine.



 
Scotty94 said:
...my P6 which I brought new just over three years ago from my ‘local’ dealer has a plinth that is sagging over time. It was perfectly straight when purchased but, has sagged / warped / dished over a period of time.
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Welcome :0)

You've really got two considerations. The cosmetic effect and the functional impact. Personally, I don't think a bend that slight is a big issue cosmetically. Sure, it shouldn't be there but few people would notice it and you'll tend to forget about it yourself. But we're all different in how much we bother about such things.

The second is that a bent plinth could effect azimuth. The distance between the platter bearing and arm mounting is much less than the width of the plinth and you don't know if that area of the plinth is even bent. All things considered, I would want to check the azimuth and shim the arm base if necessary as azimuth error is something that plays merry hell with the workings of a cartridge.
 
Mr Pig said:
Welcome :0)

You've really got two considerations. The cosmetic effect and the functional impact. Personally, I don't think a bend that slight is a big issue cosmetically. Sure, it shouldn't be there but few people would notice it and you'll tend to forget about it yourself. But we're all different in how much we bother about such things.

The second is that a bent plinth could effect azimuth. The distance between the platter bearing and arm mounting is much less than the width of the plinth and you don't know if that area of the plinth is even bent. All things considered, I would want to check the azimuth and shim the arm base if necessary as azimuth error is something that plays merry hell with the workings of a cartridge.
Click to expand...

Hi Mr Pig, thank you for the welcome.

with regards to the cosmetic effect, it may not seem like much of a bend but, it’s still a bend and looks worse in the flesh, I see the bend every time I listen to music and I hate it! It detracts from my listening experience and has been noticed by others.

With regards to sonic effect, I have no idea if it affects the sound, if it does, as it has happened overtime then I’ve got used to it is the only way I could describe any sound deterioration - I’m not sure whether there is or isn’t. BUT, the. End has happened over time, what is to say it won’t get worse over time and when does it become unacceptable to Rega and at what point do they say it’s no longer covered under a ‘lifetime warranty’ against defects bearing in mind it’s acceptable to them already. One thing of not sis that Rega asked me via my dealer to remove the platter and check of the bearing housing was tight so there is obviously an issue they are aware of?
 
Seanm said:
Couldn’t live with that myself. It’s not a budget deck.
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Exactly where I am at present, I pushed myself financially to buy the P6 as my turntable for life so as sad as it is to say, I’m beyond disappointed with it and the service so far and seriously worry about how bad it’s going to get in another few years!
 
Mr Pig said:
Welcome :0)

You've really got two considerations. The cosmetic effect and the functional impact. Personally, I don't think a bend that slight is a big issue cosmetically. Sure, it shouldn't be there but few people would notice it and you'll tend to forget about it yourself. But we're all different in how much we bother about such things.

The second is that a bent plinth could effect azimuth. The distance between the platter bearing and arm mounting is much less than the width of the plinth and you don't know if that area of the plinth is even bent. All things considered, I would want to check the azimuth and shim the arm base if necessary as azimuth error is something that plays merry hell with the workings of a cartridge.
Click to expand...

Azimuth and VTA if the base is dished much. Looks like you could slip at least one Rega shim through that gap.

But then Rega are VTA-deniers...
 
Scotty94 said:
..what is to say it won’t get worse over time and when does it become unacceptable to Rega and at what point do they say it’s no longer covered under a ‘lifetime warranty’ against defects..
Click to expand...

I understand that concern, and it's reasonable, but Rega aren't like a car manufacturer. Despite being a prominent UK manufacturer they behave very like a small family outfit and stand by their products.

To give you an example, my RP10 was bought used and I picked up on an azimuth error. I wasn't looking for Rega to do anything about but but Paul Darwin contacted me and offered to service the deck and sort out any issues for me free of charge. Which they did.

He didn't have to do anything, I hadn't asked them to, and most manufacturers would have charged for the service. So I would be fairly confident that if the bend does get worse they will do something about it.

Not wanting to live with it and being disappointed is a different issue and I sympathies. I could live with it but I would be a bit annoyed about it. And I don't know what you could do about it. You could sell it and buy something else but it might not sound as good or may have issues of its own. A lot of turntables develop faults or blemishes as they age. Wood plinths can warp, veneer can shrink, alloy can tarnish, rubber perish, lids crack and springs go soft. Is it acceptable? I don't know. It's a tough one. The line between what is reasonable to expect and what is just the nature of materials in the real world. I reckon your deck sits right on that line.
 
Yank said:
Azimuth and VTA if the base is dished much. Looks like you could slip at least one Rega shim through that gap.

But then Rega are VTA-deniers...
Click to expand...
A slight dip across the front does not necessarily equate to a dip between tonearm base and main bearing; especially so, with braces fitted both top and bottom.
 
Scotty94 said:
Exactly where I am at present, I pushed myself financially to buy the P6 as my turntable for life so as sad as it is to say, I’m beyond disappointed with it and the service so far and seriously worry about how bad it’s going to get in another few years!
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Totally get this (and welcome to the forum by the way). I think they’ll probably replace it for you if you push. To be fair and as Mr Pig says they do look after their customers, it’s just with this kind of thing for some reason they like like to raise an eyebrow at you first.
 
Subito said:
Barely three years old? This is so far from acceptable it’s not even in the same solar system.
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For all we know, the customer could have been using a house brick as record clamp.

Personally, I'm looking forward to hearing how acceptable it is that someone sees fit to post multiple whinge videos on YouTube before having their 'call back' with Rega tomorrow.
 
Is the plinth double sided? Maybe you could remove everything, flip the plinth and reattach it all and hope it sags back to square :D
 
Craig B said:
For all we know, the customer could have been using a house brick as record clamp.

Personally, I'm looking forward to hearing how acceptable it is that someone sees fit to post multiple whinge videos on YouTube before having their 'call back' with Rega tomorrow.
Click to expand...
He’d have to have been using a brick or worse for that to be user error. And he’s already experienced the dealer’s I’m Afraid They’re All Like That Sir routine, so I’m not sure he can be accused of jumping the gun.
 
Craig B said:
A slight dip across the front does not necessarily equate to a dip between tonearm base and main bearing; especially so, with braces fitted both top and bottom.
Click to expand...

Or it could be even more at the center if the whole plinth is dished.

Perhaps the formica on the top shrinks faster than the layer on the bottom?
 
Craig B said:
For all we know, the customer could have been using a house brick as record clamp.

Personally, I'm looking forward to hearing how acceptable it is that someone sees fit to post multiple whinge videos on YouTube before having their 'call back' with Rega tomorrow.
Click to expand...

Well he’s definitely going for the big headlines to attract as many as possible isn’t he? P6 video A-C.
He doesn’t even mention REGA in the title. Honestly, Whinge videos:rolleyes:

Welcome!
 
Yank said:
Or it could be even more at the center if the whole plinth is dished.

Perhaps the formica on the top shrinks faster than the layer on the bottom?
Click to expand...
You Yanks and your brand names for everything!:)

Rega describe the laminate as being HPL (High Pressure Laminate); 'exceptionally thin whilst extremely rigid'.

Doesn't sound like the classic Formica product, perhaps that is the point?
 
matt j said:
Is the plinth double sided? Maybe you could remove everything, flip the plinth and reattach it all and hope it sags back to square :D
Click to expand...

He'd have to play his records backwards and Neil Sedaka would sound like satanic messages.

Which is probably less disturbing than him sounding like Neil Sedaka...
 
Craig B said:
For all we know, the customer could have been using a house brick as record clamp.

Personally, I'm looking forward to hearing how acceptable it is that someone sees fit to post multiple whinge videos on YouTube before having their 'call back' with Rega tomorrow.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the comment, I have never used a re it’s clamp on the turntable.
As for the the ‘whinge’ videos, they were purely the easiest place to upload them as I have a YouTube account, if they were whinge videos then I would’ve named them more constructively and actually put a comment against each one to make them more searchable! What does the place they are uploaded to determine if they are whinge videos or simply an easy way to link them to here!?

With comments like this I’m glad I bothered to join and share my issue, my aim being to try and gain as much info as possible and find out if this is a more widespread issue ready for my call back tomorrow with the service team. The results from this issue so far seem very different from case to case and country to country.
 
Craig B said:
You Yanks and your brand names for everything!:)

Rega describe the laminate as being HPL (High Pressure Laminate); 'exceptionally thin whilst extremely rigid'.

Doesn't sound like the classic Formica product, perhaps that is the point?
Click to expand...
It’s not that rigid if it bends / deforms is it which is my point where mine has deformed over time.
 
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