Rega Planar 3 Turntable 24V Upgraded

Looking at a Rega turntable you will probably notice a distinct absence of the many gimmicks and gadgets which are currently being fitted to so many record decks. Concentrating much more on high quality, Rega has been able to keep the design simple and very effective.
At every design stage Rega has considered the effect on reproduced music and engineered the wow, flutter and rumble so that the ear is least annoyed. Thus they achieve far better music reproduction than a turntable designed only to perform well into test equipment.
The Planar 3 has been developed to extract the ultimate in sound quality from the Planar design. The turntable is engineered from 12 mm plate glass and covered with 3 mm thick natural felt. This combination helps stop high frequency vibration feedback to the record and assists the rest of your equipment to produce a stable stereo image and clear, un-muddled sound.
Careful attention to every minor detail of assembly is important and the designer personally checks every turntable. This means that only limited quantities are available.

DUST COVER
The thin and resonant nature of most lids supplied with turntables makes them quite effective receptors of air-borne energy. Rega uses
acrylic rather than polystyrene or PVC because of its superior rejection of acoustic feedback.
HINGES
The dust cover hinges are Rega's own design and could more properly be termed acoustic decouplers since they are designed to effect
maximum resonance isolation between lid and plinth.
BASE
Thin sheet metal, plastic, aluminium, and/or wood box construction was rejected since the air so enclosed acted as a Helmholtz resonator generating its own sound. Rega turntables use solid, one-inch-thick low resonance particle board stressed with a solid hard laminate. The result is a hard and light plinth with exceptional isolation from acoustic feedback.
FEET
Conventional use of four feet means that unless the turntable is precisely stable the unit will rock minutely in response to feedback. Since it is impossible to rock a tripod, Rega uses three feet (this also allows ease of levelling) each consisting of three layers of rubber possessing different resonance frequencies for maximum isolation.
THE DRIVE SYSTEM
The drive system consists of an injection moulded plastic pulley and hub coupled by a round section rubber belt. The use of relatively inert materials in the coupling system effectively isolates the metal motor and turntable spindle and eliminates the transmission of metallic resonances from these parts to the stylus.
THE BEARING AND SPINDLE
Conventional practice is to utilize a resilient thrust pad to decouple the platter shaft from the plinth in an attempt to isolate resonances. This can be quite effective although Rega Research found that it also decouples the stylus from the record groove and deteriorates bass reproduction. Rega therefore utilizes a unique steel ball thrust pad for a direct coupling and tighter bass reproduction.
On the thrust pad in a bath of thick high pressure oil is a 5/16 inch diameter spindle which is precision pressed in the hub and revolves in a diamond lapped bearing that retains a lubricating film between bearing and shaft giving an “oil” bearing with no lateral metal contact.
THE PLATTER MAT
The traditional practice of using metal platters necessitates the use of a thick "lossy" rubber mat usually containing ribbed circular rings to suspend the record and damp out the metallic resonance of the platter. For the same reason that it is undesirable to use a resilient main bearing thrust pad. this decoupling of the stylus from the record by the thick, soft rubber pad results in loss of bass detail and tightness.
Rega Research has developed the technology for manufacturing plate glass platters which have very different and more easily controlled resonance characteristics than metal. An added benefit is that the precision inherent in float glass can only be achieved in metal through expensive precision machining.
To damp out what resonance does exist, the Planar 2 uses a thin hybrid mat which preserves bass tightness and avoids the small resonant cavities formed when a record is played on a circular-ribbed mat. These cavities resonate in response to the resonances
generated by the stylus as it traverses the record.
The Planar 3 utilizes a 3 mm thick felt pad which more ideally suits its slightly thicker (12mm, 4½ lb.) platter and allows tag cuing. The combination of glass and felt helps stop high frequency vibration feedback to the record and allows for the production of a stable stereo image and clear, un-muddled sound.
Rega turntables do not have electronic speed control since this invariably degrades the audible performance. Rega uses a synchronous motor which locks on to the mains frequency and hence cannot be less accurate than electronic speed control that uses as its reference a neon light illuminated at a rate determined by the mains frequency. Speed control via a neon light can therefore be no more accurate than the tolerance of the supply voltage which is itself inaudible.
Furthermore. speed control usually exists primarily to correct drift which is itself the result of the electronic parts warming or aging. To
overcome this irony manufacturers are introducing feedback systems based on references independent of the mains supply i.e. quartz crystals. The quartz crystal produces a reference which is compared to the revolving platter. An error signal is produced which indicates the amount of correction required.
This type of speed adjustment. however. is still capable only of correcting relatively slow speed drift and is wholly inadequate when dealing with the audibly offensive high frequency flutter caused by the momentary slowing of the platter as the stylus encounters a high frequency transient. Turntables utilizing feedback error for speed adjustment will inevitably further degrade the performance when encountering these flutter-producing transients. This is because speed correction does not take place until after the transient information is traversed by the stylus and an error signal derived. Speed correction takes place after it is no longer required and therefore creates its own error which requires subsequent correction. This constant modifying of the signal exacerbates the annoying high frequency flutter which the system was supposed to correct. In addition, the sophisticated electronics required for this self-defeating exercise are less reliable and more subject to aging than the rest of the turntable. The circuit boards themselves are also the source of unwanted resonances in many electronic units.
WHY REGA TURNTABLES SOUND BETTER!
Recognizing the limitations of conventional specifications was a liberating experience at Rega Research for it allowed them to concentrate on previously neglected or unknown parameters which do affect sound reproduction but do not lend themselves to quantifiable measurement.
Research revealed that the most important neglected parameter was the distortion caused by acoustic feedback at all gain levels and all frequencies. The taming of this feedback information is in turn intimately related to an understanding and control of resonances generated by the stylus and motor and excited in all parts of the turntable by feedback information.
In the development of Rega turntables conventional specifications were used only as a guide, and the choice of turntable design philosophy as well as the selection of individual components was made entirely on the basis of their contribution to audible performance. The Rega turntable is therefore a synergism: the overall sonic achievement is greater than the sum of its parts.

Drive method: belt drive
Motor: 110V AC synchronous
Platter: glass
Counterweight: tungsten or stainless steel
Speeds: 33 and 45rpm
Dimensions: 466 (W) x 365 (D) x 125 (H) mm with the dust cover shut

Turnaround

Orders will usually dispatched within 2 working days of receiving cleared payment.

Shipping Rates

We calculate your shipping rate based on the total weight of your items and your delivery address. Standard shipping to the UK Mainland (excludes Northern Ireland, Isle of Man, Channel Islands) is free, except where specifically indicated. Don't worry, you'll always see the final shipping charge displayed before you reach the payment step (on the checkout page).

Carriers

We despatch the bulk of our UK mainland items on a 24 hour service.  Non-Mainland locations – Isle of Man, Isle of Wight, the Scilly Isles, the Scottish highlands and Islands, the Channel Islands and Northern Ireland may take a day or so longer. Smaller items are delivered using Royal Mail 24 or special delivery. Larger items are delivered using a courier service such as UPS and occasionally by a Pallet service.

Order Tracking

If a tracking # is provided by the carrier, we will update your order with the tracking information. Please note that some orders will not have tracking numbers.