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Turntable advice - Planar 2 vs Planar 3

Planar 3. BUT IF the OP had been willing to "get his hands dirty" with a little DIY then something like a Thorens TD150 with S/H Jelco arm would be better and also cheaper... allowing more for a better cart;)
 
I would get the Planar 3. I didn't know Rega were still fitting a tonearm that didn't have anti-skate adjustment (I would check that) but that would be a show-stopper for me. The P3 will be better out of the box and offers more upgrade potential.

I would avoid a vintage turntable if you're worried about fitting a cartridge. Old decks always need a bit of TLC do get them working correctly and if you're not very mechanically minded.

Any of the Audio Technica VM cartridges should be fine then one day treat yourself to a Rega Exact. With a P3/Exact I think you might find your really good digital getting less use than you might think.
 
Piksky said:
I’m looking at purchasing my first proper turntable with a budget of up to £400. I’m looking at Rega mostly because I like the idea of a lifetime guarantee and I’ve read a few too many forum posts regarding project turntable issues to be comfortable. Also, the turntable novice in me would prefer the fully setup ready to play nature of the Rega arriving at my door - the talk of protractors frankly scares me.
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Piksky said:
All I’d like is for the turntable I get to not embarrass itself when playing one of my few treasured vinyls.
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Mr Pig said:
I would get the Planar 3. I didn't know Rega were still fitting a tonearm that didn't have anti-skate adjustment (I would check that) but that would be a show-stopper for me.
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They were doing (the AS was fixed) but not any longer apparently.
 
Mr Pig said:
I think it was the early RB202 that had fixed bias but they dropped it.
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That is correct, however, RB220 started out with the 'automatic' anti-skating (with a blanking plate over the adjuster slot) and was then altered to include the adjuster mechanism.
 
Piksky said:
Is it? I got it because it was cheap and I was just experimenting with my dads old 80s turntable, the result of which is this thread!

I was worried I’d need to get a better one to go with the better turntable. I take it I’m in the clear here then?
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What’s this old 80’s turntable??
 
Whaleblue said:
What’s this old 80’s turntable??
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It’s a technics SLQ200. The platter is a little warped (it’s been moved around a lot of homes and countries…) and the cartridge is still original. I have many very happy memories of being allowed to listen to all his old records via a massive pair of headphones when I was a kid, but now I’ve rigged it up to my current setup and playing a record immediately before playing the same album on cd reveals its shortcomings: literally night and day difference between the music emanating from the turntable and the CD player. It’s got a pretty new stylus but still, not the best sound.
 
As an update to this thread I really liked the comment that my first post identified me directly as a Planar 2 customer. Having slept on it overnight I was all set to pull the trigger on a graded example, but the thought that it’s current rrp equated to the cost of a graded Planar 3 kept making me hesitate.
So I did what everyone has suggested: blew the budget, went with the 3 and a £50 audio technica cartridge (I can’t remember which one it is). The man at the shop informed me I could upgrade the cartridge by just changing the stylus further down the road - apparently the cart body is the same for all of them in that model line? Something like that.

Either way I’m significantly poorer but this deck is going to last me for a decade or more: I have no inclination to upgrade ever given the size of my vinyl collection, but I know that it’ll bring incredible bang for buck for all those years to come. And you never know: I might just be able to pick up one of those power supplies cheap in a few years time when they’re replaced by something else.

Thanks again for all the help and prodding in the right direction - I really appreciate it.
 
For someone who has very few records I would think the Rega 2 to be the better option.

It has two significant advantages, apart from sounding dammed good.

It’s cheaper (within stated budget).

Has less upgrade options.
 
Well, it’s around 40-50 records at the moment. The number of artists I like who only make physical releases on vinyl is growing by the day (I despise paying for downloads: I want to OWN my music!) so this number will only increase over the years. I think the new turntable will accommodate this very slow and organic growth quite nicely.
 
Elephantears said:
What does this involve? Obvious cosmetic defects?
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Apparently there might be a cosmetic blemish. The dealer I used (Moorgate Acoustics - great service by the way) said they’ve gone looking for these blemishes and haven’t found one yet. So a) they must be minuscule and b) Rega must have some ridiculously tight quality control!

Apparently mechanically and sonically they are 100% sound as per full price versions: it’s cosmetic issues only.
 
Bill Colledge said:
For someone who has very few records I would think the Rega 2 to be the better option.

It has two significant advantages, apart from sounding dammed good.

It’s cheaper (within stated budget).

Has less upgrade options.
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This is the comment I don't understand.
'For someone who has very few records'.
I have had a similar comment myself from a dealer. 'I suppose it depends how many CDs you've got'.

There is a couple of arguments against this comment.
1- Well no, it depends how good a sound the purchaser wants, when (s)he does play their records.
2- No matter how many I have, I can only play one at a time. So actually if anything, it depends how often the player is being used. I could have one record, but play it over and over again. Exactly the same as having thousands of records.
The second one being my reply to said mentioned dealer.
 
Mr Pig said:
It will. Buying records is quite addictive ;0)
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Hah, even I have thousands, only purchased less than 10 new this year.

Not counting those fifty or so, sourced from thrift shops.
Have inherited quite a few too

Its a Wonderfull hobby, time consuming and space needed.
 
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