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Rega Planar 3

droodzilla

droodzilla

pfm Member
A friend of mine has his eye on one of these in a local antique shop but it has a slightly odd power cable like an inverted kettle lead (i.e. a male IEC plug) and is described as running on 250V.

Question 1: My friend could simply attach a kettle lead and plug it into the mains, but would it be safe to do so?

Question 2: The turntable in question has a slightly curved tonearm, but many photographs of the Planar 3 show a straight one. Are there different versions and, if so, how do you tell them apart?

Thanks
Nigel
 
The standard P3 has a captive lead with a 3 pin plug. If it's had another fitted (the style you describe was popular as a compact multi way in the 90s, I have one) then you can remove it and fit a std plug. It will run on 250V, so will everything. Fortunately nobody deliberately distributes 250V so you'll get 240V and like it. It will run fine on 220, 230, 240 and even 250 if you could find it.

The curved arm is an RB200 and marks it out as an early one. Probably less desirable than one with an RB300, I'd pay no more than £150. It's worth £125 all day long though. What's the price, if I may ask?
 
Thanks Steve, that helps. It's on sale as part of a batch which includes a NAD 7020 amplifier, a tape deck and a pair of Wharfedale speakers. The deck's in good condition apart from a small burn mark on the perspex lid. I think the shop were asking for £100 for the lot :)
 
What a deal! Does it have the wooden trim around the plinth? Love that design with the R200 or the Grace 727 arm that was a common partner in my neck of the woods.
 
It was the planar2 that had the wooden trim not the planar3.

I'd jump at that lot for £100, cracking deal!
 
As others have said, snap it up! ISTR a mate had and sold a P3 with the wooden trim. It was an early model with a RB200. I don't think it was a P2. I didn't know they put Grace arms on some, never seen one of those.

Edit - just checked and it was an early P2. I sold it for him, just found the emails. It went for £100 6 years ago.
 
Here, in NZ, locally built Planar 3s of the 70s and early 80s had the trim. In rimu or tawa, I think. A friend had one. The arm might have been the 707; the Graces look similar to me and it was a long time ago.
 
The RB200 arm is now highly sought after. I 'upgraded' my early P3 by removing the 's' shaped arm (a Rega-badged Acos Lustre) and replacing it with the straight RB300.

I can't say I felt the difference was significant, certainly not a night and day experience, and, in some ways, the old Acos arm was just lovely.

Snap it up. Bargain!
 
stevec67 said:
As others have said, snap it up! ISTR a mate had and sold a P3 with the wooden trim. It was an early model with a RB200. I don't think it was a P2. I didn't know they put Grace arms on some, never seen one of those.

Edit - just checked and it was an early P2. I sold it for him, just found the emails. It went for £100 6 years ago.
Click to expand...

Early planar2's with the RB200 had a thiner plinth and the wooden trim, later ones with the RB250 were melamine finished.

All planar3's I have ever seen right up untill they released the P3 with the bevelled edge had a thicker plinth like the one on the planet, the finish changed a few times and at one point they made a brushed effect one which I really liked.
 
Here a new sight for you then, linnfo:

scaled_P6090767.JPG


source

So: the NZ variant with the rimu trim and Grace 707 arm. Well stylie on its own, and even more so next to, say, an A60 or early Creek 4040, I reckon.

I've never seen a Planar 2 with a trim here, and I didn't know there were so many variations of the Planar finish. My imported mid-80s Planar 3/RB300 has the brushed one you mention. Apart from the smooth finish of the trimmed variant, I've not encountered another, except for the occasional coloured one.
 
Lovely looking deck.

It makes sense that Rega might have spruced up their export models to justify what would have been a high price in those days. Having owned and early Planar 2 and 3, I think this is one of the nicest looking early Rega's I have seen.
 
Lovely looking deck.

It makes sense that Rega might have spruced up their export models to justify what would have been a high price in those days. Having owned and early Planar 2 and 3, I think this is one of the nicest looking early Rega's I have seen.
 
Hi, Droodzilla, I'm still using my Planar3 from 1983, complete with R200 arm, and I have a Dynavector 10x4 cartridge, recommended by my dealer, so, assuming the antiskate isn't shot, you can look for decent cartridges. I would recommend the P3 over the P2 - night and day improvement, from my auditions - and replace the belt with a white drive belt. And an oil change. It will improve the sound.
 
Durmbo said:
Here a new sight for you then, linnfo:

scaled_P6090767.JPG


source

So: the NZ variant with the rimu trim and Grace 707 arm. Well stylie on its own, and even more so next to, say, an A60 or early Creek 4040, I reckon.

I've never seen a Planar 2 with a trim here, and I didn't know there were so many variations of the Planar finish. My imported mid-80s Planar 3/RB300 has the brushed one you mention. Apart from the smooth finish of the trimmed variant, I've not encountered another, except for the occasional coloured one.
Click to expand...

Nice, never seen one like it before, I'm pretty sure the grace arm is a different geometry to rega arms too, the only other non rega arm I have seen on a planar is an sme 3009, I suspect these were shipped with a rega arm an retrofitted with an sme. The deck you show looks all original!

It would make sense to manufacture rega decks locally in NZ as I'd imagine it's far more cost effective then making them here, shipping them and risking damaging them.
 
Interesting reading, thanks all. I'll let you know what my friend decides. He's wavering at the moment because he already has four turntables!
 
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