I have both turntables. The clinic sound comes from the cartridge itself not the direct drive technology. So far I am enjoying the technics sc-100c more vs the rega planar 3. This might simply be the difference in cartridges. On the rega i have the VM540ML and on the technicis i have the 95sh. Now, I'm not sure if id get the same clinic sound on the technics if i swtich out for the 540ml. Maybe its in the tonearm design? Maybe its the weight difference? I dont know for sure.
I think I am ready to sell my Planar 3 and get the new Technics SL-100c. I have acquired a fair amount of 45rpm records, which I don't ever play on that table because of the belt switching issue, which is a pain. I always planned on getting the Neo PS but I can sell the Rega and get $500-600 for it and with the $400 I've set aside of the Neo, I am at the cost of a new SL-100c. The big advantage with the Technics over the Rega is the swappable headshell. I will be using a Nagaoka MP-200, but I also have the MP-110, which would be nice to use on less than pristine vinyl to preserve the life of the MP-200. All that said, I do love the Planar 3, and it will be hard to see it go.
I enjoy my Rega RP3. Things I don't like - as Dr. J mentions, swappable headshell is a miss. I also really dislike that the feet aren't adjustable (without buying an add-on), and above all else - PUT FOUR FEET ON THE DAMN THING, NOT THREE. It just makes balancing more difficult. You also need the Neo PS because of the speed issue. Not being able to switch on the fly is extremely annoying. This is coming from someone who rarely plays 45RPM, its just that when faced with a 45RPM album, or single, changing the belt position by removing the platter is, frankly, ridiculous. I have looked at the Technics, of course. Not important for sound, but for me I really don't like the aesthetics. It's all too fussy for my liking. The clean look at the Rega is far more to my liking. Although I recall reading a post from someone elsewhere saying the clean look is what they hate about the Rega, so it's all personal choice. Mind you, if I had a choice, I'd go back to my beloved Linn LP12. Last time I mentioned it I was told it's actually not very good, but personal taste is personal taste. The Linn is my sweet spot, but I stupidly let it go years ago. Oh! And one other thing - Rega is just down the road from where I live. So it feels good to buy not only British, but local.
In my retail days from yesteryear, at one stage I worked for a Rega and Linn dealer very close to you and picked up the monthly turntable allocation from the old factory. Some people, far more intelligent than me, suggest three feet are more stable than four... Anyway, Regas unlike turntables with four fixed feet sit flat and can be easily levelled on a decent floor or shelf bracket. My first turntable was a 1980 Rega Planar 3 which was bought from the original branch of Rayleigh Hi-Fi... The earlier Regas were fitted with the S-shaped R200 which came with a detachable headshell. Ever since I've only used arms with a fixed headshell, on Linn Sondek LP12s and like many, consider a detachable headshell a disadvantage and not an advantage. There again I lived in an era where you would daily demonstrate that a turntable was more important than the arm and that the cartridge was more important than the cartridge... Possibly after the first few hundred cartridges, you get better at fitting them, but certainly I found the RB250 and RB300 really easy to align cartridges. On a Linn it took a but longer as you removed the arm from the collar to tighten the cartridge. After that first Planar 3, where I got switching to 45 down to a fine art, without any drama, without the need to change a belt in the time I owned it, I only used a LP12, until sadly family life made the use of any turntable impossible. The current LP12, which has come with the upgraded Karousel for the last couple of years, is according to my nearest dealer, selling very well and outperforming some more expensive alternatives. They described the Karousel as a game changer. However you choose to listen to your records, happy listening.
Buy an older one, maybe late 80's, and do what I did. Put a Jelco arm on it, and an external power supply (doesn't have to be Linn). You can now swap cartridges, and have 45 RPM at the push of a button. And, it will sound great, even without the fancy shmancy new bearing that should have been made 25 years ago. jeff
One of my previous TT's was a Rega RP3 Union Jack edition. It looked good but ran about 1% fast (as confirmed by my KAB strobe disc), ended up having to buy an aftermarket belt (Edwards Audio Little Belter) to get that fixed. Rega said the speed variation was within tolerance. It also hummed with the Rega Carbon cartridge it came fitted with as the arm got towards the centre of the record. Basic design errors imo (it didn't hum with my Ortofon moving coil). The platter finish was also slightly rough and ready, but forgiveable at the price. Currently own an SL120GR with Achromat and KAB damper. Using it with an OC9-XML cartridge. It's very solidly constructed and the speed seems to be very stable to me. And, it sounds good enough. I wasn't convinced about the looks originally but it has grown on me - looks purposeful in black. If I had a bigger record collection (mine is circa 250) or was still adding much to it then I'd have sprung for the G in black (don't like the silver finish version). The newer Rega's look good and, as other posters say, there is room for both technologies when done correctly. Unfortunately, I'm not sure all dealers are as open minded. I steer clear of the flat-earth Linn/Rega ones in the UK. I don't see myself buying another deck and am going to sell my Funk Firm Vector V / Roksan Nima - it doesn't sound as speed stable as the Technics. It's also had one motor failure and the second one has become noisy.
I tried that once. Had a SL1210MK2 and put a Rega RB600 arm on it from a P25. I didn't think it was worth the effort, but that's just my opinion.
I was joking! Both companies make awesome turntables. I can't see any debate between the two companies. Different approaches and different styles, that's all.
I've not heard the term Flat Earth used for over 30 years and I was a Linn / Rega dealer, who also stocked Roksan and Michell 30 years ago. Despite being able to buy nearly all available turntables in the UK at good prices, one member of staff spent their money on a Roksan Xerxes the rest on LP12s. We also bought those very non-Flat Earth things, CD players!! As Linn in their top performing turntable actually digitise the analogue signal inside the turntable, Linn are arguably one of the least Flat Earth companies. My nearest dealer stocks SME, Pro-Ject, Michell, Linn and the Technics SL-1000R. Customers aren't tied and gagged, they are free to audition and buy anything they want. Are you sure that a non Rega or Linn dealer are any less biased? Despite previously being a Rega and Linn dealer and only having owned Rega and Linn turntables with 30 years of fault free listening, I would certainly audition a current Technics.
Well, I wasn't joking when I did it. I bought a special mounting plate and modified the plinth to fit it for the tonearm. There was a lot of chatter on the web about the process when I did it about 8 years ago or so. Was supposed to be the thing to do to take the table to the next level. But maybe they were joking too.
I have run a Rega tone-arm on an SL-1210: not a significant upgrade. An Ekos on a Technics is better. But I've gone further and my Ekos 2 hasn't been used for a couple of years now.
@tryitfirst, which Rega arm did you try? As you haven't mentioned which arm replaced the Ekos, then neither will I! From memory, the RB600 was a small improvement ftom the bog standard RB300, which was a £90 arm ftom the mid-eighties to mid-nineties, with the new three point base, a low capacitance cable and improved bearings - obviously the last two are rather important!
P.S. from my experiments I do think that while the Technics arms are OK, they may contribute some of the qualities which caused flat earthers and other critics to criticise the sound. With a top notch arm it really is a superb deck worthy of any downstream system. You do not need to spend tens of thousands to get superdeck performance. My Mk5 cost me 200 quid at Crack Convertors. It has a Mike New bearing, but the stock bearing is perfectly good. It has an external power supply but the new decks don't need that. The motor is superb, the arm is something of a bottleneck.
I believe it was a 301. I don't have it any more. I don't want to fall foul of forum rules. Yes, I would love to do more research on this and I'm planning to build some multi-arm plinths for that purpose and for demonstrations. My point, I suppose, is that a couple of upgrades to a Technics can turn it into a deck which competes at the very highest level. I don't believe that is true of a P3, and that would sway my decision.
I'm very tired of this debate which in my humble opinion is nothing but a pissing contest. Both brands take a total different approach and every audiophile, lover of vinyl can choose what he or she likes best. There is no good reason whatsoever to disqualify one of these brands.
Agreed, both great, but I offered my advice for people who are trying to make up their minds which to buy, not for the other sort of contest. And even pissing contests can be fun for contestants and spectators alike ;-)
I very much enjoyed my 1980 Planar 3, despite it not having great specs in a couple of areas. The latest Planar 3, with all the production upgrades, including the EBLT belt is a significant improvement, BUT, however much you throw at it, the performance rarely approaches a current Rega Planar 6, which in the UK is the price equivalent to the Technics SL-1200 GR. Fitted with the same cartridge, most music lovers would enjoy listening to either turntable, many unable to name which is playing in a blind dem: the bashing of either brand is rather bizarre. If I was still a Hi-Fi dealer, I would simply do the dem and the only important opinion, is whoever is buying a turntable. Whilst the current Rega Planar 3 is a fine turntable in it's own right, I can only agree that it can't compete at the highest level and obviously, it has never been intended to.
The Planar 3, obviously, not a high-end turntable. Hell, there are three models above it! For me I consider it the "starter level" turntable, a point where you leave "entry level", but you don't enter "high level". Buying one, you're not getting the best, but you're getting a decent starter. That said, my model is older (it has the RB300 though), and didn't have the Neo PS. I upgraded this and I have to say it was a good improvement. At this point, I can't imagine a Rega without this 24V motor. Markym above lists a litany of problems he had with his, but I don't echo those. All of that said, whilst I can't afford to do it, I do have a hankering for the next level up. I've tried a Carbon stylus, and then a MicroLine, and there's a difference (as you'd expect) but it's not so dramatic that is takes away my desire to go to a P6. But then, that p* suuuure looks pretty. It's easy to go big when you're not actually spending the money!
