Rega Planar 3 upgrades help.

I'm thinking you want to brag about the fantastic deal you made, and in that light, I want to be the first to congratulate you.

Lol. Actually I did not know I had a deal until I got home and search for the legacy behind this TT. I found it in audiomart and I drove one hour outside the city to get it last Sunday. The owner did not want to ship it so that worked on my benefit. I am really excited now in bringing this TT to a different level of performance.
Thanks.

When I had a Rega, mine improved when put on Cadas blocks (2 in front and 1 in back) to eliminate the factory installed feet. 

Tangospinner has upgrades that are well made and affordable. Check him out on ebay or Google him directly.

Go to vinylengine.com and get all the info about Rega tweaking.

I had a P5 years ago and found the subplatter and belt the best bang for the buck upgrade. I did find speed noticeably faster(even with the optional power supply)which was one of the things that wore me down to invest in a more substantial table.

Hindsight, all the other mods I did where a waste of money if you are more than a casual listener. 
All the Rega tables are great for what they are and the upgrade thing becomes a slippery slope after addressing the subplatter issue IMO. You may find-wow, if the subplatter made such a difference, what if I change the...???$$$$
Since you got the table for cheap, investing a few bucks may be worthwhile. I would leave the glass platter alone, as it contributes to the Rega "sound" and look for a real cork mat and maybe replace the rubber band suspended motor with the upgrade as well. 

Another consideration, invest as much as you can in a phono stage to hear what the the table is capable of if you don't already have a decent one. Happy listening!

I have the Graham slee reflex M.
I already got a deal on motor kit for $140 and I ordered the reference band.
I will keep the glass platter because rega signature is important to me.
Anyone familiar with structural mods upgrades ?
I was encouraged by a local analog guru but I want your opinion as well.
Thank you

consider spending as much as a you can on a LOMC and using any money on additional mods on good records and call it a day.

The Rega upgrade bug can have you upgrading endlessly until you realize an entirely new/different table and cart is the real solution.

Interesting point!
I love rega sound signature. I don’t want to lose that.
I’ll do the motor kit
The GT sub platter
Reference belt
No the structural modes. At least for now.
Regards

Some Rega owners like the sound of the stock glass platter, others prefer either of the two GT platters. They are very well made, and relatively reasonably priced.

I have run a Planar 3 for 15 years.My best upgrade was the Pete Rigglo VTA adjustment which houses the arm in bronze.The ability to adjust the VTA to match an LP is by far better than all the other upgrades I installed but you have to drill out the plinth for it.The next best thing is to put brass weights between the arm and the platter which I posted before Rega actually did it to on their newer model underneath the plinth.My Planar 3 with the sub platter,belt and counter weight upgrades out performs CD reissues,Lp reissues of 50 year old music on my original LP pressings.I would not buy another turntable without the ability to adjust the VTA.

Put a Dynavector 10X5 on it for the best bang for your buck!!


Matt M

I would go this path......Tango spinner pulley, feet and subplatter...$165.00. Michell VTA adjustment. $35.00. That is $200 worth of upgrades and reasonable for the Rega. 

Then try out various mats compared with no mat.

And, yes, a good MC cartridge will go a long way to increase your enjoyment!

Another cheap tweak is to buy $10 worth of dynamat and apply it to the bottom of the plinth.

This is a great table to have a lot of fun with and you should enjoy all the options available. Down the road you might even consider making your own plinth, or having a local cabinet maker create one for you. This can be done very reasonably and may address one of the weakest points of the table.

Yes, in the end you might end up replacing many of the tables parts but it can be great fun going down this path with you ending up with a table of your own creation!

Enjoy!!!!!!

Don't for get the ceramic bearing.....another $10.00.

This is pretty much a dead string, but I though I would throw in my 2 cents.  Yesterday I got a bug and modified my RP6.  I have always had the table on a 3/4" piece of quality birch plywood.  The plywood is sitting on pink bubble pack.  That was a huge upgrade in itself.  Once every 4 or 5 months I replace the bubble pack as it shrinks.  These are the small bubbles, not the large ones.

Wow.  $11 invested and the noise floor dropped like no other mod I have done in the past.  I have a few friend with systems in the 100K to 200K price range.  Yesterday was the first time I have been able to turn up my vinyl setup and get that hyper analytical resolution and volume, without there appearing to be all sorts of grunge in the way.  I don't know why I did not do this a long time ago.

FYI, I also found a couple pieces of 2" thick acrylic that I stuck under my monoblocks as platforms.  That also lowered the noise floor and increased resolution.  Not near as much as isolating the TT motor from the plinth, but it was noticeable.  I got the Acrylic for $40.  That was a steal.  A sheet was $1,800.

A hugh piece of my text dropped out.  The big change was remote mounting my motor.  I screwed a 1/2" thick spacer of plywood under my motor, then pealed the motor off the plinth and used 30lb  sticky tape to adhere it to my base.  I also mounted the speed controller to the base.   You can buy a whole Michael Lim setup, but I spent $11.  Michael's is about $170 with shipping. Michael's  has higher resale.  

@kingrex thanks for posting! I’d wanted to do that a while back, and it totally slipped my mind. Thank you for the reminder.

Also, I have my table on a teak cutting board, but I rest that on a partially inflated inner tube instead of bubble wrap. 

But still.. Great minds!

If you want to see where this all went, here is the link
https://www.audionirvana.org/forum/the-audio-vault/diy/43633-rp6-hot-rodded-with-remote-motor-mount

Basically that`s what the SRM Silent Base does !
I added one, as did my buddy and it absolutely lowered the noise level. We both agreed on that without doubt.
In fact, after I set his up for him he asked me what to expect knowing I`d already done mine.
I declined to comment...told him to listen for awhile then tell me what he heard.
It was EXACTLY what I heard...quieter all around.

Worth every cent AND looks great in clear acrylic !

@mountainsong - here is my revamped Regar Planar II from 1981

http://image99.net/blog/files/category-turntable-mod0027s.html

It sounds amazing and I would not change it - the uprgades were edcational and gave me greater understanding of the issues associated with each uprade

Regards - Steve