My new Rega RP6 - Pros & Cons

Hi all,

I finally stopped spending all my money on records and got myself a Rega RP6 w/ Ortofon 2M Black. I'd like to send a big thank you to Seth and Jay @ Soundstage Direct. They were a pleasure to work with and answered all my obsessive questions. Hey, I'm a SH forum member - what'd they expect? Really though, top notch service and highly recommended. If you're in the market for new equipment, give them a call.

Here's my initial impression warts and all. Please no one take offense over my comments. Just like 99.9 percent of this forum, this is only my opinion!

Pros:
- Incredible upgrade in sound quality, not sure if the praise should go to the turntable or the cartridge, but this is a HUGE improvement over my old Pro-ject Debut III w/ Ortofon OM20. The soundstage is massive, detail retrieval is off the charts (and probably beyond my hearing ability) and rhythm, pacing, timing or whatever they call it is immediate and instantly gets my toe tapping.

Cons:
- Build quality: maybe I'm just not a Rega guy, but I wasn't expecting so much plastic: TT-PSU is basically all plastic compared to the Pro-ject Speedbox's all metal case, and the front has all these squishy places on it, plastic hinges on the dustcover. The arm base is plastic, which doesn't seem like a great mounting material, especially against the 2mm stainless spacer installed. Plastic sub-platter and spindle, the plastic spindle just seems plain cheap to me. Isn't a little short too?

- With the 2mm spacer installed the tonearm weight hits the dustcover. I know I'm not supposed to obsess over VTA with a Rega 'table, but it would be nice if there was a little extra clearance.

- Platter run-out or wobble. I've heard others complain about this, and I've gotten it to be pretty minimal as the platter gets a little more settled into it's place on the metal hat on the plastic sub-platter. The first time I set the platter down on the sub-platter and turned it on there was definite run-out. Maybe I just didn't have it seated well.

- Non adjustable feet. I guess I should've know this going in, but I wasn't aware the feet on the RP6 are not adjustable. My equipment rack is pretty level, but it would've been nice to make minor adjustments to the 'table without re-leveling the entire rack.

- Static pop through my speakers when turning off the TT-PSU, anyone else have this?

- Turntabulator and Feickert PlatterSpeed apps report the table is running at 33.55rpm, not ideal.

So, what to do about my quibbles?

I'm sure there are aftermarket upgrades to fix everything I've mentioned above, but now I've got the upgrade itch. I'm eyeing Clearaudio turntables which I think are quite beautiful. But will they compare sound wise to what I like about the RP6? I'm thinking very hard about doubling down on my money and getting the Clearaudio Performance DC with either the 2M black mounted or maybe a CA Maestro v2.

This is just my initial impression of the RP6. We've only been together for two days. I'm going to settle in for some heavy listening the next couple of weeks, and I will report back. Perhaps in the end I go down the Groovetracer sub-platter, Rega mod path. This turntable does sound quite good. I just find the fit and finish a little lacking.

Thoughts? Suggestions?

 

You are pretty much on the money in your assessment.

No matter what turntable you get, you are going to have to put up with shtuff. At least with the RP6, you have the great sound to warm your heart.
Then again, my Pro-ject Xtension 9 sounds just about as good as my RP6, and there seem to be fewer quirks to put up with. Still it is not quirk free and it cost 50% more than the RP6. But I didn't have to buy aftermarket anything, so it probably evens out the ultimate cost.

If the RP6 pisses you off and the SQ is not able to compensate, ditch it. If you like the sound enough, keep it. I would hold off on aftermarket stuff until you are sure about it, though. The aftermarket stuff may (or may not) improve the SQ, but you'll still have an RP6.

Good luck!

 

That sounds like too long a Cons list to keep it. I'd return it and get a TT that not only sounds great but is well made and a pleasure to use.

 

Thank you for posting your initial impressions of the RP6. I find that many people are too caught up in the pride and excitement of their new purchases to be as balanced, thoughtful and objective as you have been, so I want to commend you for that.

I look forward to your further impressions -- both sonically and functionally -- as you continue to get acquainted with the RP6.

--David B.

P.S. Good advice from oregonalex above, I think.

 

I'm gonna call Soundstage Direct when I upgrade to a VPI.

 

spot on review. nice sounding table, but that build quality doesn't make the greatest first impression considering the price.

 

I agree, the folks at Soundstage Direct are great to work with. Highly recommend!

 

Yep, this pretty much sums it up. Always gonna be something.

I'm digging into my cache of Blue Notes tonight after work and the sounds is really fine, so much more refined than what I'm used to. I have no quibbles about the sound quality at all. It's just all those little bits of plastic that get me. I know the first function is sound reproduction, but let's face it, if there are two options and sound quality is a non-issue, I'm going to pick the beautiful well-built one every time.

Still fresh, looking forward to more listening in the coming weeks.

 

Thanks for posting this review. It's quite informative. I will come back to it when I'm ready for an upgrade.

 

I had the exact opposite experience. Seth was nice initially but I had problems with my Scout 1.1. The motor blew and then they sent me the wrong motor. Seth was extremely rude to me on the phone. Probably the worst customer service I've ever had. I returned the TT for a refund but I had to fight to get a refund. I would have exchanged it for another brand of turntable (no more VPIs for me) if Seth wouldn't have been such an aardvark..

Needle Doctor has received a lot of business from me since and they've been first class.

 

thanks, seems like a logical, thoughtful unbiased initial review (shouldn't they all be like this?). usually we're all filled with excitement spilling over.
rega seems to be the logical choice for those not into setup and install details. personally thankful that i am and it wasn't.

 

I'm thinking they were probably pissed off about having to deal with VPI. VPI's customer support sucks compared to Rega's. They probably were just passing on their frustration to you. Not that that is an excuse.

 

If you're going to spend more money, say 2k look at a Michell. They're awesome tables. But at that price come with the Rega arm. I mean let's be honest its the best arm in its price range. At 1500.00 I found the RP6 to be the best sounding table. As for hum and pops and wobble. Give the table about 20 hours of use. It really sorts itself out nicely. I got really annoyed by the plater wobble and called Soundstage Direct and they had the Rega distributer fed ex me a new sub. Put that one in and still had a little wobble. Just gave up and figured I'd grab a Groovetracer sub since I really like the sound and convenience of the RP6 but after another 10 or so hours of playing it now spins flat. The hum and pops also decreased a lot on their own then I finally used a grounding clip and grounded the TTPSU to the ground on my Fisher and now there is zero him and noise. No pops nothing. I never had the static problem with the felt mat that lots of people do and with a decent shape LP she's CD quiet. I didn't measure the speed till after I got everything else sorted and mine is measuring at 33.4rpm

 

I must say that I got rid of my RP3 not because I didn't like the sound of it, but it just seemed flimsier than I thought it should. Of course it's a step below the RP6, but I didn't like the sub platter and glass platter. The plinth and feet seemed kinda cheap as well. But what really bugged me was the lack of torque of the motor. The slightest pressure of a CF brush on a record would stop it. But through all that it di sound nice and I think it was just such a departure from my old faithful SL1200 and SL-M2 tables that were battleships by comparison.

I could say some of the same for my scout, though it is built like a tank otherwise, the flippity floppity aspect of the unapologetic kinda bugs me a bit.

I wonder if I could just go back to my good old Philips 312? Simpler times for sure! Lol

 

If you do like the sound and are willing to spend a little more, I'd say adding the Groovetracer RP6 Reference Subplatter, a white belt and the Rega Heavy Tungsten counterweight would alleviate a majority of your cons.

 

This is exactly where I am, and what I'll be thinking about over the next couple of weeks. Spend a little extra coin to alleviate some of my minor issues with the RP6 or lay out a lot more coin and get something with better build quality and more oomph from the motor, a la Clearaudio Performance DC.

 

Will look at these too, but right now I can't get the look of the Clearaudio Performance and Ovation out of my head. Of course this would cut into my record budget for the next year considerably.

 

Enjoy your RP6!

Great table.

best
jc

 

The aftermarket stuff does improve sound quality

 

Stick with Rega. I think you'll find that a VPI or Clearaudio suck a lot of life out of the music.

 

Why would you buy a turntable that had so many readily apparent cons? Its not like they're the type that are hidden until bought. Sound quality takes some ownership time, but not the cons you listed!

 

Well, they were hidden to me since I had to buy online. There aren't any Rega dealers or many HiFi shops at all in New Orleans. I realize that the cons list does seem a bit long, but they're mostly related to fit and finish. The considerable increase in sound quality didn't take any time to notice. It's a major improvement for me. Been listening to lots of records from lots of genre's and enjoying digging back in to my collection.

P.S. - nice signature

 

Rega generally is very hard to beat for the money - but there are certainly compromises made to hit the price point. The $$ goes to the stuff that really matters, like the tonearm, not a bunch of appearance stuff.

Will second adding the white belt, GT subplatter and maybe also the groovetracer platter.

I'm running a GT Acrylic platter and the white belt on my RP-1 and the difference was NOT subtle. Want to get the subplatter eventually too.

One tip with the motor...what I do is just give the platter a push (in the right direction, of course!) - and then hit the power switch. Basically get the thing more or less up to speed by hand so the motor only has to maintain speed, not build up to it. The RP-1 motor is even more anemic than the higher models so that may not be as nessesary with the -6.

 

In addition to my rp6 w the groovetracer sub I have a beautiful solid looking Dual cs5000 with a wooden plinth.

The Cheapo plastic rp6 kicks ass over that table by far.

 

Fwiw worth. I like my ProJect Perspex a lot better than my Rega (yes it's more cost but no crazy more than an RP6).

I had the same issue with Rega here in New Orleans. I got my RP3 from Ellington HiFi outside Mobile. He also carries Clearaudio. I almost bought a Concept demo he had.