Rega Planar 25 Turntable – Cherry / Heed Orbit Power Supply / Linn K-9 Cartridge

Here we have a Planar 25 turntable from British vinyl experts Rega Research. Introduced in 1998 to commemorate the companies 25th anniversary it was designed to fit between the Planar 3 and Planar 9 models. Our example is in good fully working condition and is supplied with a Heed Orbit Power Supply – please refer to photographs for cosmetic condition. They will be professionally packaged and come with our regular three month warranty, but please note this does not cover the fitted Linn K9 cartridge which is likely to be 30+ years old as it was discontinued in 1996.
Rega Say….
Your Rega Planar 25 has been designed to be effective, easy to use and above all – to reproduce music better than any other turntable. We have omitted all the usual gimmicks and genuinely concentrated the manufacturing costs on the high quality and design necessary to reproduce records accurately.
The tonearm tube itself (which is a one piece silicone/aluminium casting) is very rigid, whilst being low mass.
The tonearm assembly is constructed using precision, hardened stainless steel, miniature ball races of the highest quality.
The bearings fit on to ground shafts and into the tonearm using interference fits. This means that no adhesive is required and therefore none of the associated (component-adhesive-component) losses in rigidity prevail.
The RB600 tonearm is on a single-axis mounting and has the casting with the same tolerances as an RB900; it has an aluminium powder coat finish and uses a tungsten counterbalance.
The glass platter is a rigid, high density material which provides stability and assists in the isolation of record information against other sounds (i.e. knocking or vibrations) and also provides excellent speed stability; thus providing increased sonic enjoyment.
The motor power supply incorporates passive equalisation which makes use of existing correction capacitors and can be varied for each motor. This design reduces motor vibration using only the simplest of networks – it enables the motor to be mounted directly to the plinth whilst simultaneously achieving the ultimate in performance. (It may also safeguard from damage that can sometimes occur during transportation of the deck.)
Using an uncompromising manual speed change facility eliminates any speed inconsistencies that can occur from drive belts.
We have used the highest quality phono connectors and low noise, wide bandwidth interconnect cable. These are genuine professional products and are the best available for the job. Do not be tempted to fit any other wires or cables.
Heed Say….
The speed accuracy and stability of many belt drive turntables driven by a synchronous motor depends entirely upon the quality/consistency of frequency delivered by the domestic mains supply. However, mains frequency at 50Hz / 60Hz leaves much to be desired since it is subject to fluctuation, distortion, and other innumerable problems prior to reaching your listening room. The Heed Orbit off-board turntable power supplies offer a sophisticated solution to stabilise and improve any 4-pole, low-power 110V synchronous motor drive, elevating your deck’s sonic performance to startling new levels of musicality. Backgrounds become “blacker”, separation of instruments more sharply defined, while bass gains added depth, and the overall soundstage widens accordingly.
Orbit models give the added convenience of electronic speed change between 33 1/3 and 45 RPM via one single, elegant push-button in lieu of the rather fussy manual speed change arrangement of many turntables (removing the platter and shifting the belt on the motor pulley time and time again.)
The Orbit regulates your turntable’s motor drive via an intricate quadrature-quartz speed generator, providing unsurpassed speed accuracy and pitch stability. Packed into a hefty, shielded steel casework (protecting the unit from electromagnetic interference and vibration) are two mains-filtering transformers, and a high-current amplification circuit to assure that the power passed onto your motor is smooth and constant, with no fluctuation and virtually immeasurable distortion.
Specifications
Type: Turntable power supply
Output Frequency: 50 Hz (for 33.1/3 rpm) / 67.5 Hz (for 45 rpm)
Output Stability: 0.1 % frequency shift / max. 1 % THD
Output Power: Max. 3 W
Dimensions: 95 (W) x 220 (D) x 75 (H) mm

For a review from US magazine Stereophile please click here