Rega introduces the new Rega Planar 6 Turntable

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by btf1980, Jul 15, 2017.

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  1. Agitater

    Agitater Forum Resident

    Location:
    Toronto
    . . . and my main turntable is a gently modified RP6 that I'm not trading or selling or giving to one of my kids until I'm ready to spend a significantly greater amount of money than I did to buy and mod the RP6. Works beautifully with a Dynavector Karat 17D3.

    Oh I do agree. What I think I expressed was a wish about how I think audio equipment reviews should generally be structured.

    . . . unless it's an Audi TDI diesel (or a VW TDI diesel) about which engines VW lied to everyone in sight in its marketing. Silk purses are sometimes made of sow's ears, and sometimes they just contain sow's ears. Some silk purses are the real thing. VW lied to everyone including all of the licensing authorities and regulators about pollution control operation. I agree, though, that any engineering trickling down from the RP8 or RP10 is likely to be a good thing. I wish some of the Porsche engineering had trickled down to my VW Jetta TDI diesel in the form of clean diesel development that didn't turn out to be partly lies.

    Then again, there are a lot of perfectly good reasons for making engineering advancements. Sometimes the engineering changes are designed to create manufacturing efficiencies, sometimes to create better turntables (or cars), sometimes they amount to an insufficiently tested mistake, sometimes consumers look at the changes and stay away in droves, sometimes consumers like the changes. I think that audio equipment reviews should be better than they generally are in order to help consumers make better decisions.
     
  2. TVC15

    TVC15 Forum Resident

    Location:
    New Jersey
    Bill - the criticism is of the poor review, not the table. And it is as piss poor a review as they come.

    Also, we are all onto the collusion amongst the manufacturers / publications / forums / salesfolk. Time for the industry to adopt a new tact.
     
    H8SLKC likes this.
  3. PopularChuck

    PopularChuck Senior Member

    Location:
    Bay Area
    spraypaint :laugh:
     
  4. PopularChuck

    PopularChuck Senior Member

    Location:
    Bay Area
    because manufacturers often provide review units to journalists well in advance of an announcement or release under an embargo (agreement not to publish until a date stipulated by the manufacturer). the idea is to have reviews coincide with the announcement.
     
  5. Morbius

    Morbius Forum Resident

    Location:
    Brookline, MA
    Looks like you've taken everyone into account, seems the only one with a valued opinion is you!

    My most recent collusion.
    [​IMG]
     
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  6. H8SLKC

    H8SLKC Forum Resident

    Location:
    Boston, MA
    I can predict that the reviews will say. We all can. "Great pacing, rhythm, and timing." "Regas always make you want to tap your feet to the music." "This turntable may look like its predecessor, but it's an entirely new beast under the hood." "Rega only used XX components in common with the previous version." "Rega is famous for running a little fast, but nobody can ever complain about how well they just get everything right."

    I could go on and on. I'm waiting for the reviewer who insists that there is a tiny bit of British soil placed into a capsule in each turntable, to catch that special "I don't know what" about the Britishness of the company. Maybe another will comment on the sprinkling of unicorn fairy dust that's no-doubt been applied to the machine.

    There is a boosterism about Rega around these forums, including among very vocal dealers, who by definition arrive with conflicted motives, that makes me wonder about some sort of arrangement supporting the never-ending stream of happy-talk focused on Rega equipment.
     
    Donniej, Gumboo, Tim Müller and 3 others like this.
  7. swvahokie

    swvahokie Forum Resident

    Or maybe they just have been making damn good turntables for over 40 years. I'm not sure why you choose to post crap about Rega's in every Rega TT thread. Why not just enjoy your Marantz and quit thread crapping on Rega, I'm sure it sounds good since Clearaudio makes good tables too.

    Whats going on now at Rega is pretty simple, just watch the Fremer factory tour. Gandy has reninvested heavily in new technology and brought in some pretty sharp engineers the last couple years. The new tables are much better than the old ones, and not because of collusion. Just old fashioned engineering. And before you call me a fanboy, I also like VPI tables and I would have seriously considered a Merrill table if I didnt have a cat. The Rega is an excellent table with a truly functioning dustcover since I didnt want to choose between a nice cartridge and my cat.
     
    Gardo, PhxJohn, andybeau and 8 others like this.
  8. btf1980

    btf1980 Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    NYC
    Hope you're sitting down for this. Are you ready? Perhaps it's none of the things you're insinuating, and Rega is well received because Rega does in fact make good products. I know, that sounds crazy!

    Honest reviews are paramount. If a product performs well, then it should be stated. If a product performs poorly, then it should be stated. You'll get no debate from me about that. However, you seem to just want a bad review for the sake of it and anything other than that is a conspiracy thanks to "boosterism" and "a never-ending stream of happy talk" around Rega. That's just bizarre.

    Some of us in this community are perpetually negative. We'll complain about overpriced products that offer little in return relative to the price. We'll complain about the hobby in general. Then a manufacturer will come out with a new model, a new MC cartridge, a new power supply and will keep the package at around the same price as the outgoing model that was released half a decade ago, and some people will say there's a conspiracy to keep the news and buzz of this development mostly positive. Are you even hearing yourselves at this point? You haven't even heard the turntable, but you're wondering about the happy-talk surrounding it.

    Being in the audiophile business has to be a drag sometimes. You certainly can't please everyone I suppose. Such is life.
     
    sturgus, PhxJohn, andybeau and 3 others like this.
  9. btf1980

    btf1980 Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    NYC
    Considering the tone this thread has taken, if the early review to coincide with the announcement was positive, it would definitely be a conspiracy in the minds of some.
     
    PhxJohn likes this.
  10. TVC15

    TVC15 Forum Resident

    Location:
    New Jersey
    All propaganda

     
    H8SLKC likes this.
  11. TVC15

    TVC15 Forum Resident

    Location:
    New Jersey
    Are they? How? That's the exact knowledge gap these reviews are failing to fill.

    No doubt they are good tables - I've owned several. The issue being debated here isn't (at least for me) the relative worthiness of the tables themselves.

    EG - they actually brought speed control to a non flagship table. B That's the innovation here. Not plastic laminate and foam.
     
    Tim Müller and H8SLKC like this.
  12. jon9091

    jon9091 Master Of Reality

    Location:
    Midwest
    That sounds like a completely different thread topic than this one, which is simply a discussion of this particular turntable.
     
  13. JCOehler

    JCOehler Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    It appears this belongs in the "fake news" thread :winkgrin:
     
  14. Ken_McAlinden

    Ken_McAlinden MichiGort Staff

    Location:
    Livonia, MI
    Moderator intervention: This would be a good time to start a separate thread to discuss opinions on audio equipment review approaches. In the context of this thread, comments on reviewer approaches are being mistaken for comments on the actual Rega Planar 6 Turntable.
     
  15. KT88

    KT88 Senior Member

    The foam core is a huge deal. It was only available before on their $3000 and $5000 tables. It is much of what makes those tables sound so good, as hard as it might be for some to believe. The speed adjustment is a bigger deal for some than others, but the foam core is a benefit to everyone, and now at $1600, it will introduce many more people to the benefits of the much lighter plinth design.
    -Bill
     
  16. TVC15

    TVC15 Forum Resident

    Location:
    New Jersey
    Assuming there's a benefit, which I'd love to hear all about in an objective and comparative review that really digs in. Benefits of precise speed control and a non-plastic subplatter are more obvious.
     
  17. KT88

    KT88 Senior Member

    Obvious perhaps, but not more important. You should make effort to hear one of their tables that incorporates a foam plinth. I have tried using aftermarket aluminum subplatters and the difference there is subtle and not all positive. The plinth material change is not only more readily audible, but it makes for a better sounding deck without drawbacks.
    -Bill
     
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  18. H8SLKC

    H8SLKC Forum Resident

    Location:
    Boston, MA
    First, it's a foam plinth that is then covered by a rigid plastic, which by its nature must reflect vibration just as any other plinth surface would. Second, foam plinth, wood plinth, granite plinth, no plinth, MDF plinth, acrylic plinth, they've all been used (and many more) in many very, very expensive and highly regarded machines. It simply cannot be that the plinth material is so very critical to the sound of a record player, since so many materials have been used so successfully. So, it seems absurd to attribute special properties to this plinth material.

    Also, different doesn't mean better. I believe that the different=better conceptualization is a plague upon those who fall into this hobby. The buyer may be able to hear a difference between their old RP6 and the new Planar 6, but without the incessant pleading of the manufacturer and dealers that the difference means that the new one is better, the new one becomes a tough sell. I believe that placebo is highly important in selling audio equipment at the boutique level.

    It's not that I'm anti-Rega, it's that I'm anti-shlock and anti-hype. These are not exotic machines and don't need to be sold as such, and buyers would be very well-served to use some skepticism about the value propositions in the audio hobby.


     
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  19. swvahokie

    swvahokie Forum Resident

    The light plinth cannot transfer the energy to the much heavier platter. The lighter the plinth, the less energy the plinth can transfer. Simple everyday physics. It works and it works very well. Just as well as the opposite approach of mass loading the plinth. Different approaches, but both can minimize the transfer of energy to the platter and tonearm.

    I bought and love the new P3, I wasnt crazy about the outgoing RP3. The new table removes a layer of mud from the sound. The 2016 P3 was already nipping at the heels of the RP6, and yes I have heard them. The Planar 6 has all the improvements that the Planar 3 has, plus adds an even lighter plinth, better subplatter, heavier platter, and a new adjustable speed controller. So, why would it not be expected to sound much better.

    Have you even heard a Rega? I've heard all current tables except the RP10. Also heard the VPI Prime and VPI Scout and used to own a Merrill table and the original Well Tempered. Rega TT's are very competitive in their price ranges.
     
  20. jon9091

    jon9091 Master Of Reality

    Location:
    Midwest
    And what model turntable are you using? Your equipment profile is blank.
     
  21. Marshall_SLX

    Marshall_SLX Rega P9/RB2000

    @Kostona

    Do you have any way of weighing your P6 with everything on it (except the dustcover and mat, as people may use different mats), then could someone weigh their RP6 so we can see the weight difference.

    In the meantime i will weigh my P7 and my P3 - 24 @swvahokie could you weigh your 2016 P3.

    Could be cool to do a weight comparison between models so people if you have RP8, 10, 3, P5, 1, 2, 9 then chime in.

    Maybe if we do total weight and then do weight without platter to get a more accurate comparison of plinth weight.
     
  22. TVC15

    TVC15 Forum Resident

    Location:
    New Jersey
    Theoretically it sounds plausible. But does it really matter? In what ways does it matter? Were prior Rega tables, up to an including the old P9, guilty of too much energy transfer? How does that manifest, sonically?

    Precisely machined subplatter removed warble and tightened pitch on my old p25. Speed control can tame a fast deck (when everything sounds "sharp" to my bassist ears).

    Foam plinth? Like the stuff used in packing materials? $2k for a plinth made of "great stuff"? Why?
     
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  23. rpd

    rpd Senior Member

    Location:
    Nashville
    Bingo!
     
  24. Marshall_SLX

    Marshall_SLX Rega P9/RB2000

    P7 - 6kg with everything except dustcover and mat

    P7 - 4kg without dustcover mat and platter

    P3 - 24 - 5.4kg everything except dustcover and mat

    p3 - 24 - 3.4kg without dustcover mat and platter

    I am going to surmise that plinth weights (including the frame around P7) are very similar because the P7 has the heavier subplatter, heavier arm because of the metal base mount, extra little mounts on the feet (only a few grams), possibly a heavier bearing (it is bigger) and an extra few grams from the extra set of screws in the P7 to hold the frame on and the motor is mounted with screws and washers where the P3 - 24 motor is mounted with double sided tape.

    The standard 12 mm glass platter weighs 2kg which is exactly the same as the P7's ceramic platter and i have to admit that surprised me.

    I only used a regular set of digital bathroom scales so i have rounded a bit as it can be 0.1 either way sometimes which is 100 grams so i cant be absolute with these weights but to gain a more accurate reading i weighed with me holding the TT standing on the scales.
     
    Last edited: Aug 21, 2017
  25. swvahokie

    swvahokie Forum Resident

    How about this. You are standing 3 feet from me, I rare back and hit you between the eyes with a foam ball thrown as hard as I can throw it. Next, I slowly toss a brick at you and hit you between the eyes. Which event do you think is going to transfer the most energy to your brain? :cool:

    The RP8 was considered at least as good as the P9 when it was released. That was with the P9 having a superior platter, tonearm, and speed control. The only thing that the RP8 had better than the former flagship was the much lighter plinth. The result was a much lower noise floor that allowed the RP8 to pretty much obsolete the P9. The RP10 took an improved P9 style platter , better arm, and better speed controller than the P9 and made the top Rega a killer table. Now, I will admit the P9 does look better.
     
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