Review: Rega Planar 3 Turntable


Category: Analog

This review will deal with the current Rega P3 turntable with Rega RB 300 tone arm and some of the updates that are
available for this venerable performer.

There is not much sense in going into a lengthy review of this table. It has been reviewed many times in the past years and in the Planar 3 or the current P 3 it has remained a bedrock of analog playback for well over 30 years and was updated by Rega to P3 in 2000.

However over the years some after market companies have offered several upgrades for the P 3. This will deal with the J.A. Michell Techno Weight for the RB 300 Tone Arm,the Deep Groove sub platter and the Iron Audio Acrylic Platter. Each of these upgrades brings the performance of the P 3 to a higher level of analog playback and each of these items are quite cost effective for the price/performance dollar invested.

Straight out of the box the Rega P3 is a great table and at its price/performnce ratio there is little in the market place that can touch it. In recent years the RB 300 tone arm has become somewhat of an icon in its own right,with many high end tables employing this arm or a derivative of the RB 300 in higher priced turntables.

However there is on the market today several counter weights for the RB 300. I have used the Expressimo and the Clear Audio offset counter weight with excellent results and this has moved the overall sonics of the RB 300 to loftier performance levels and has improved tracking to another level.

Although this time sought to use the J.A. Michell counter weight, which is the new buzz in Rega counter weights today. This is a well thought out design and the machining is top class all the way. This is a four piece system, which consists of new end stub,slider,2 counter weights and adjuster for stylus pressure. One counter weight for 3 to 6 grams the other counter weight for 6 to 13 grams, so virtually any modern phono cartridge is usable with the RB 300 arm. It does take a little more finesse to get this counter weight right than with the other two menetioned,but once properly set up, brings the overall sonics of the RB 300 several levels up from the other contenders. Vinyl Engine on the net has covered this counter weight and while I thought their claims were somewhat over embellished, I now have to admit that for the most part their analysis of the Michell Rega Counter Weight was right on. One just has to hear the RB 300 arm with this counter weight. It is a major leaque improvement of the stock Rega Counter Weight and easily surpasses the Expressimo and Clear Audio Rega counter weights. The Michell is far more precise in its overall execution and allows the RB 300 arm to far excell its performance bar. I highly recommend this J.A. Michell Counter Weight for the Rega RB 300 tone arm. A very worthwhile upgrade, that far belies its modest cost.

Next upgrade was the Rega sub platter, to the Deep Groove sub platter with ruby ball bearing. Not a lot has been written about this. However the stock sub platter on the P 3 is slighly off speed on the fast side and the general trick has been to add to electrical tape to the perimeter of the stock sub platter to get spot on speed. However the sub platter does not have much weight to it and is made of some plastic fiber material. Therefore the flywheel effect if any is quite minimal and the start time to speed is about 2 1/2 to 3 revolutions to 33.3 rpm.

The Deep Groove sub platter for the Rega P 3 solves a multitude of those inherent problems with the stock sub platter. The Deep Groove sub platter is precisioned machined from aluminium stock and is ever so slightly larger to avoid speed problems. The ruby ball bearing along with its lubricant allows the platter to reach full rotational speed in one revolution and appears to put less stress on the belt and motor pulley assembly and due to its slightly heavier weight adds the much needed flywheel effect to the P 3. This is a very easy install and can be
handled by anyone with basic turntable skills. The directions are clear concise and step by step and with 20 minutes at most the job is done. Using the VPI strobe disc confirm the one revolution to speed and was rock steady at 33.3 rpm. A great upgrade that is more than offset by the price and brings up the level of the P 3. I do recommend this upgrade as the Rega greatly benefits from the lower noise floor,flywheel effect and the reduced stress on the motor,belt and pulley.

The platter on the Rega P3 and other Regas has been the glass platter with felt mat. Although it was considered a revolution in its day, time and technology has pushed forward and the word today is acrylic platters. the one used here is the Iron Audio pure acrylic platter as replacement for the glass platter. This is a very nicely machined acrylic platter with frosted top and polished clear side. It is well balanced,flat without visible warpage and fits precisely of the Rega and Deep Groove sub platter. It is somewhat thicker than the glass platter and is slightly recessed underneath so that the stock height is retained. Nice side benefit to this is that the sub platter becomes less visible with the recess. The Iron Audio Acrylic Platter makes a tremendous difference in the sonics of the Rega. Sound stage is vastly opened,depth front to back is seamless and well defined and detail one thought that was not there, comes to life. This is one of the most dramatic upgrades with immediate benefits I can think of. Can be used with the stock Rega Felt Mat, or in this case the Herbie turntable mat.

These upgrades are more than cost effective,greatly enchance the overall performance of the venerable P3 to loftier heights and if your really into analog, these are a must have for the Rega Planar 3 or P3.

The Rega P 3 now competes and is on par with my VPI Scout and the overall cost is less.

The J.A. Michell Counter Weight was $125.00

The Deep Groove Sub Platter was $189.00

The Iron Audio Acrylic Platter was $95.00

The Rega P3 was purchased for $500.00

So at a total of $909.00 here is a great analog playback system that is on par with my VPI Scout at $1,500.00.

This is just posted as food for thought if one is considering the upgrade path for a Rega Planar 3 or P 3. Plus these do not have to be done all at once and can be added as time and budget dictates.

So if you have been looking at some of the higher priced tables, but budget dictates else, here is a solution that delivers perfomance one can get easily spolied to and one does not have to make excuses for. One of analogs great turntables with updates that bring it to higher levels of resolution with cost effectiveness a priority.

Doesn't get much better than this.

Associated gear
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VPI,Oracle,Project, you name it,has been through here at one or another.
ferrari
"These subplatters are inferiorly machined, no doubt"

I wouldn't say that. There is a good chance that they are machined at least as well if not better than a stock P3 subplatter. I was just meaning to say that this is the only possible aspect that could improve speed stability.

You can find glass platters on ebay occasionally. If you find one at the right price then that might be worth a punt.

I still think if speed stability is the goal the motor replacement should be top of the list. I would also be extremely careful to level the table, as the bearing can rub if the table is not absolutely level.

I still haven't got around to using 140w oil, but I'll report back when I do.
When you thik about it ... to have to upgrade an already paid for motor is really piss poor. I didn't spend tons of money on this turntable starting out, but the parts you get SHOULD WORK WITHOUT FAULT WITHIN NORMAL OPERATING USAGE. A tweak is to improve not maintain.

An off-speed motor, non-shielded motor, poorly machined subplatter, the flimsiest of felt rags as mat, crappy holds for the dustcover, ground in-line with signal, sheesh. and the way people go on about Rega's. Would it be fair to say "This thing ain't made right?".

I remember buying a turntable in the '70's and at the very least it was sturdy, silent, like my old Sansui which I dumped for the NAD533. Makes me wonder if I did the right thing.
put a new belt on and the speed/wow issues are gone.

i feel silly after all this grousing for the problem to be so trivial.

i suppose it was a dual issue oil + belt. i think i will make this a 6month new oil and yearly new belt maintenance thing.

the subplatter is still in the upgrade path as it has the ruby bearing which would make it a quieter single jewel movement but it's gotta wait untill i finish getting all the parts for and building a Hagerman Bugle Pro.

what tedious fun all this is. :-)
Well I got the DeepGroove subplatter and it has made a big improvement.

first thing i noticed after the subplatter settled is that when i spun the platter without the belt attached it spun for a much longer time than it did with the the plastic subplatter ... and it seemed smoother too. The ruby bearing probably causes less noise - this is a one jewel movement device now.

Oil used was labelled "SRM/TECH Ultimate Turntable Main Bearing Oil" which was supplied by the seller. (This was an ebay win.) It seems to work as well as the Valvoline 80W gear oil I had in the bearing well before.

How did it sound? I put on Jaco Pastorius which i had played the day before with the plastic subplatter and now the bass definition was really tight and detailed. previously bass thumped or deeply twanged but now there was much more noticeable definition in the bass note. the electric bass Jaco played on "Donna Lee" had a pebbly sense to it and the rest of the bass on that album offered up much more weird detail. Cymbals set in the air, drums tapped independantly and seemed more in the distance, strings had more definition. There was more magic. I expect cello will be very sweet. And trumpet and sax ... the sense of expectancy engendered by my first experience tells me something!

Next I put on a VOX disc, Alfred Brendel playing Schubert. This record has NEVER sounded this good. Piano sounded real. We have a piano in the house and my daughter plays so it was sensational to hear that record sound so realistic. Piano notes are more delicate or have more weight as the instance requires, wow and flutter are _non-existant_ and the flow of the music was noticeably sweeter.

I was considering the OriginLive DC motor over the Heed powe rsupply because on the OriginLive there is a feedback control which helps to compensate for 'moments' of change and you can switch from 33/3 to 45 by a setting on back. But I may not have to go there so soon now. The whole point of going to the DC motor was to eliminate the speed issues that I thought might be coming from the cogging AC motor ~ That cogging motor still must go but, for the moment, it seems the speed issues are almost fully extinguished due to the DeepGroove.

personal aside: the best part about incremental upgrades is the thrill you get from each 'noticeable' upgrade and the childlike expectancy you get get looking forward to the next. I have been made convinced that this turntable will exceed my expectations and it will probably be the last turntable I buy. [this is where i hear an evil laugh in the background bwahaHAHAHAHA]

one small note: I put this subplatter on a NAD533 and the centering ring prevented the medite platter from dropping down. The centering rng had to go, then the platter sat flat on the subplatter. Removing the centering ring was easy with a toothpick.
Also the drive belt is important to keep fresh as it ages and becomes less compliant (much like your windshield wipers) it is more prone to slip and transfer noise at a higher level. This I found out when I decided and sold a perfectly good table because I did not realize that both the belt and also the bearing oil, which is a hypoid 85 weight, needed replacement / freshening. It turned out those were the only issues. Word to the wise...learn from my experience.

I have just noticed that some relatively simple vibration control/reduction products, reviewed by a couple of British rags, said to be effective, offered by SMR/Tech. They look to be individual elastomer dampers for the Rega platter, bearing and motor along with some other items (motor thrust bearing, spindle support pad, etc. They claim they damp & obsorb the mechanical vibration to reduce both the motor and bearing vibes even further.

Other considerations that are not just Rega specific but will raise the performance of any TT include Pete Riggles awesome VTAF on the fly adjustment / decoupling device, the Universal RSR LP stabilizer ring including a light weight version, or the heavier VPI LP ring weight with appropriate spindle weight, a really good record mat / platform - either or the Boston Audio MAT 1, Funk Firm Acromat or full platter, DIY or Gingko Cloud device, a really good phono preamp ie Gram Slee Reflex or Bent Audio step up transformers or ..., which can all be transfered to what ever TT you may get in the future or have now. The list goes on .... Have some fun and enjoy the process. You may find you really appreciate and enjoy your own personal custom audio hot rod TT...

Hey, as promised above, did anyone test any of the power supply units like the Heed Audio Orbit, or Project Speedbox or Vpi SDS, Linn Lingo, or DIY Armeggio for true 60 hz supply with your P2 P3?

Shama - to hear intelligently causatively
Jon