Rega Planet 2000 - any quirks or known potential problems?

Availability of used vinyl in the genre I am interested in has been declining and prices have gone up. Consequently, I have been acquiring more and more used CD's. A side benefit to this is that I have gotten recordings which were never available on vinyl so I've listened to some newer old stuff from the 1990's and 2000's. Obviously this means my CD player(s) see more duty time.

The player I have used the most and had the longest is a Harman Kardon HD7600 which is 1 bit. It sounds OK and I've always returned to it after dabbling with various Philips/Magnavox and Marantz units which contained 14 bit TDA1540, 16 bit TDA1541 and 16 bit TDA1543 DA converters. I cannot say I was dissatisfied with any of those but was not blown away by them either. Nor can I say that about the HK although as I've said, I keep returning to it.

One player that did seem to stand out sound wise was a NAD 513 three disc changer I had for a while. But it was such a badly executed design and so non-user friendly that I got rid of it. I've seen the term "dark" used to describe NAD CD player sound characteristics. Not sure what that means but maybe it's what I liked about it.

I've come across a locally available Rega Planet 2000. Supposedly lightly used and inclusive of the remote and can get it for $30o.

What I've been able to read about it opinion wise seems to be mostly positive. The term "dark" was used by one individual as were suggestions it was best suited to rock/pop music. These assessments would seem to indicate that I would like how it sounds. As it is a private sale, it is doubtful I am able to audition the player in my system before purchase or return for refund.

I am tempted to take a gamble on it but was hoping there may be those familiar with this player to point out any potential problems which may be common to it.

Thanks for reading and looking forward to any replies.

 

I forget: is the 2000 the 1st iteration of the Planet (i.e., black case with 'heat sink' design elements?) If so, congrats: my fave CD player ever. Analog-sounding, organic, easy on the ears, etc. etc. Only problem would be: they don't make the transport anymore.

I miss mine terribly; the transport failed.

Now, if you're talking about the 2nd iteration Planet, those are pretty good too; just not extraordinary like the 1st.

 

I have and use a Planet 2000. No problems yet. I think I bought it in 2001.

 

Thanks for the input and 2000 is the 2nd version of Planet. I'll arrange to look at it and if no or little cosmetic damage, will give it a go. So the new set of tires must wait another month.

Out of my price range but, also in my area, another Rega popped up for sale - an Apollo but it's black and $200 more. Also a Cambridge Azure 840. It is silver but even more expensive at $600.

If I don't notice a favourable improvement over my HK, I think I have a better shot at recovering the cost of a $300 player than a $500 or $60o one.

 

I owned one and it sounded good. I sold it because I read somewhere that some of the transports were failing and could not be replaced. That and I liked the Rotel RCD 1072 a bit better.

 

It took about 10 seconds to notice that the Planet 2000 sounded better than my HD7600. I cannot remember what something sounded like a nano second after hearing it so I had to play a CD of which I have two copies of in both simultaneously. Having formerly played bass guitar I seem to pay closest attention to that and drums. I must say that the differences between this Rega and the HK are more strikingly obvious than between the HK and other players I've had/have. Those were more subtle.

I do hope that the transport failure I've read about are not rampant with Rega CD players. Supposedly the one I got was lightly used so I've got my fingers crossed that that translates to not a whole lot of time on the laser.

So worst case scenario, they can't be replaced period?

A fairly big motivator for me getting this Planet 2000 was that it is silver. I've been looking for a decent silver CD player on the cheap-ish side for while and if this one did not pop up, I''m not sure what I may have wound up with.

 

These transports / lasers rarely ever give issues and last a very long time. I don't think that I have seen more than one failure (and I sold lots of these players). Much better than any other make that I have seen. I replaced the one myself, so I know that they were available and the service is not as difficult as with most other types with a drawer mechanism. I think the rumor about availability came about as Rega switched to another mechanism in their next player, citing lack of production guarantees from Sony. They were probably being pushed to buy way more than they thought was wise at the time and I suspect rightly so given the changing digital landscape and fragile market.
-Bill

 

What Bill said. To clarify my post earlier - the transport issue I was referring to applied to the original Planet, not the 2000.

I see loads of 2000 Planets (and Jupiters, the then-contemporary upscale deck) coming through as trade-ins at my "local", they all seem in good nick (and sound great, according to the staff there.)

I've always thought it slightly ironic (and wonderful) that the company most associated with turntables and the "vinyl revival", also made the most listenable CD decks.

Enjoy!

 

I actually prefer the sound of Rega digital to their analog products. I still have my original Saturn and that is just a killer deck. Nothing else I have had compares. Also had their original DAC (which I have since traded in) and that was the same high quality sound. I WISH they would make an SACD player. I would be all over that.

 

Thanks all for the input. It's reassuring to know I don't necessarily need to be looking over my shoulder as it were, expecting a problem.

Due to hideously long work days, I have little time lately to do much of anything but eat dinner and sleep but I have been able to spin a disc after I get home at night. This player has been delightful to listen to and I don't play what might be called demanding music, it's all rock and pop.

 

I had a couple of back to back days off so spent some hours with this player and am really enjoying it. A few forum posters mentioned it enhances deficiencies in poorly recorded discs. Boy, they weren't just whistling Dixie. I thought I had equipment or cable problems when listening to some.

 

it's very difficult advising when according to consumer reports the average life of a disc spinner is 7 years. I would probably go for an outboard DAC (second hand) then it won't likely much matter what transport you buy since after discussing this a lot over the years the actual transport mechanisms come down to Elite (not affordable generally) and then the transports than most manufacturers purchase for less than $20 (all of them basically equivalent to each other) and then the uber cheap generally trash.

So I would opt for a machine where you can still buy the transport mechanism. The best mechanisms tend to be VRDS/ Philips Pro-2, and the CEC machines

CD-Player-DAC-Transport List »

The Sony KSS series and Sanyos were good.

I've had my Cambridge Audio CD 6 for 20 years and has never needed any servicing. It used the Sanyo SF-91.

Basically find out which mechanism your unit has and then see if you can buy it online. The KSS-213 in the LM units can still be bought online even though Sony ended production of transport making - so did Philips.

 

Thanks for the list, quite comprehensive. Must have taken someone a while to compile.

Unfortunately I have just experienced a failure but not of the transport which seems to be tracking properly according to the counter.

The problem is audio output. The player worked fine one night but not the next. What sound it produces now is very low level and highly distorted.

Am pondering what to do about this. I'm not in a position to pay a repair person and have not really delved inside a CD player. My "repair experience" thus far has just been wholesale component replacement in a few pre-amps. I have no test equipment other than a DMM so am not able to diagnose anything. I will take a look inside for something blateny obvious and to ascertain if "carpet bombing" is feasable.

It is fortunate that I have not yet disposed of my other player. Kind of miffed now that I postponed new car tires in order to buy this Rega.

 

So I get home tonight and thought I'd start trouble shooting by jiggling the interconnects. I put a disc in and it plays, then the two which I tried playing last night also play fine now. I did not budge the player at all so it was not moving it that caused the audio to return. Has anyone experienced weird behavior like this from their CD player?

 

Yeah, it would not be too hard, for Rega to make an SACD player. I have the new Saturn/dac & for the money it costs, I am sure it can be done for the same or simlar price point.

 

I have not. Hopefully it was just a random glitch or bad connection and jiggling the wires was enough to fix it. Good luck!

 

Clarification - I did not touch the cables or anything else except the power button and the clamp lid to load & remove discs. That's what's odd. It sounded fine one day, no sound the next then fine again the day after.

 

I would suggest the issue is more the size (or lack of it) of the UK SACD market.