2. analog
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radical Rega plinth DIY upgrade

Has anyone here ever endeavored to replace the plinth on their turntable? Pretty radical concept, I know. And you're all perfectly within your rights to tell me I'm nuts, flat out.

But I'm a tradesman and not afraid of throwing money, tools, and time at things just for grins. I've got a Rega P5 and I've never been thrilled with the appearance of the plinth. And how can any plinth that looks like plastic be substantial enough to do the job of the best plinth materials?

So I've got this crazy notion that perhaps I can create a new one. Basically, you'd have to disassemble the table and use the plinth as a pattern for the new one. All of the borings would have to match in terms of thickness/depth and obviously all of the centerlines would have to be reproduced precisely. But think of the possibilities! Granite? Yeah baby! (oh alright, the machining would take some doing). Corian or some other solid surface? Piece of cake! You could get hold of some stock Black Diamond, or similar, material and sandwich something. While you're at it, get the best vibration decoupling feet you can afford.

I've got a colleague with a CnC in his shop so if I pay for a diamond cutter I could even get granite mortised...

It makes my tools tingle just thinking about it.
fripp1
fripp1 OP
54 posts
 

Yeah, the P9's a nice table, so is the P5, but neither of them get close to the superb higher end tables out there.

I'm just looking at (just for example) the VPI line. I'm not sure what that material is in their HRX ($8K plus, or somewhere around there, without the outboard motor or separate power supply), but it's dense as hell.

Again, I think the money they (Rega) chooses to put into the various models going up the line is a function of amount of bang for a given buck.

Another thing that bears consideration is that Rega has made their reputation on value, not on state-of-the-art. I don't think it follows that a given unit cannot be improved by upgrading some element of the product. If that were the case, they, Rega would never have moved off the RB300 tonearm standard (which I believe was their first). The fact that they are still even selling the RB300 on a TT is to the point I am trying to make: it satisfies a certain level of performance value at a given price point that works for Rega in the marketplace.

I'd love to hear other opinions on this, and I know there are DIYers here.
playpen
161 posts
 
After trying lots of things with my planer3 rb300 the best upgrade was reposition of stock feet with mapleshade entry level 2inch brass footers with one placed between the motor and the tonearm not like rega set it. Sounds much better than ceraballs and better than anything else I tried.They also look good under table,not to expensive as I recall.The plinth loves it. I can,t believe how much better my table sounds with that 2 inches of brass right between the arm and motor,probably best bang for buck I did to it.
stringreen's avatar
stringreen
6,383 posts
 
Right you are PLaypen.... I used 3 Cardas Blocks - 2 in front and one in back and it really opened up the Rega I had.
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