Unexpected issues with Rega planar TT, a respectful manufacturer product?

Wait…do the RCAs have any damage? Is the damage visible?

Make sure you checked and confirmed that all the leads are all tightly connected to the cartridge. That’ll do it if one of them came off, you would lose a channel. 
I had the P2 and it’s a very good ‘table despite the cheap looking RCA. Mount a good cartridge on it and couple it with a nice phono stage and it’ll kick butt. 

@niodari I have(or had) a Rega Planar II - I purchased way back in 1981, when I had very little knowledge about turntables.

Over the years I discovered the many poor design choices about that particular Rega

1. The head and bearings on the original "S" shaped arm became loose and the wiring was really cheep and nasty
   • e.g. I could rotate the head-shell a little when locked in place
   • so I replaced the arm with an RB250 arm
2. But I was disappointed when I learned the cables in the RB250 were not a one piece harness
   • So I replaced the wiring with a Cardas one piece harness - it was a nice upgrade
3. The sub-platter was made from plastic
   • so I replaced it with a metal sub-platter - huge improvement
4. The glass platter, while very good for controlling WOW and FLUTTER - resulted in a long struggle with various mats
   • I never did find one that worked well
   • The solution was to replace the glass with an acrylic platter - that worked really well
5. The Motor never really controlled the speed very well and was slow to spin-up
   • So I installed the Rega Motor Upgrade kit, which improved things slightly, but I still had to perform the old "Rega Nudge" when turning the turntable on.
   • bottom line - turntables that position the drive belt around the outside of the platter provide a more stable speed control and much faster spin up
6. I replaced that counter balance "puck" weight with one that lowered the center of gravity to the same level as the stylus
   • Now it might not seem like much, but the improvements in clarity and dynamics were clearly audible
7. Then I heard about Audiomods Arms - what blessing ! - If you own a Rega - ANY REGA ! - you might want to consider one of these arms
   • they are built by a Magician, Jeff, to exacting standards
     • you have a couple of options - like
       • Micrometer VTA and
       • one piece harness with KLE Innovations RCA’s (this may now be standard equipment)
   • they "look the part" - much more that any model of Rega arm ever has.
   • they outperform their modest price by a considerable margin
8. Then - I finally got rid of that crappy particle board plinth
   • I made my own more substantial plinth, with Bronze cone feet - far superior noise isolation to the Rega option

• I actually kept the lid and the ON/OFF switch - because they worked well !!!

Rega has the largest after market parts supply business of any turntable

• and I have first hand experience as to why that is.

The only good things to come out of my Rega Purchase

• I learned a lot about what makes for a good turntable
• I now have a Turntable that performs exceptionally well

So I guess I should thank Rega ? - OK

• thanks for the poor design
• thanks for the poor quality parts
• thanks for the opportunity to educate myself ?

Todays marketplace has many significantly better tables than a Rega and yet people still believe the nonsense they publish and buy their products.

If you are looking for a turntable

• do your homework
• look at the features that other brands incorporate - there are many
• educate yourself before you buy, because it will save you money in the long run

Back when I bought my Rega in 1981,

• I trusted the salesperson - not many other options - but a Big Mistake !
• but today we have a world of information at our finger tips
• we have many more alternative brands available to us
• so browse away and save some money, time and frustration

And if you still opt for a Rega - enjoy your purchase 👍🤔

Regards - Steve

@williewonka  

Thanks for your post! I did not think that this model was so old and so many improvements could have been made by an end user. You did an impressive job! Perhaps, Rega will say you thank you someday, and you may thank the God that He gave you the opportunity to learn, but not Rega for their poor job. I would not trust an audio company that does not give technical support, and put that cheap cables, parts inside their products. I bought this model because I liked the design and was not looking for something really good. But I did not expect that it can be so poorly made and with no technical support. What is then their "life-time" warranty? 

I am not really interested in improving this TT, i would be happy if it were just doing its job. The RCA terminal has no visual damage. While powered on, i tried to move it but there was no sonic response in the speaker (there is barely noticeable constant noise in the channel). So now i am in doubt now if it is really the cable or something less easily detectable inside the box. The leads to the cartridge look fine. 

@niodari 

I doubt it’s the cable. Did you actually physically check leads on cartridge or just visually inspected it? I had this happen to me with P2. Make sure the leads are on tightly. Take a tweezer or thin needle nose pliers and check every one of the 4 leads on the cartridge. 
If no luck there’s something else going on.

What cartridge is it?

Now i am also doubting more that it is the cable. Yes I checked all four leads by a tweezer, they are tight.  Its a Rega carbon cartridge.

It's a good puzzle...