Rega Planar 3 vs Technics SL-1500C

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by Pretty.Odd., Dec 4, 2019.

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  1. luckybaer

    luckybaer Thinks The Devil actually beat Johnny

    Location:
    Missouri
    Why do people make such a fuss over "DJ features" on the Technics SL-1210GR (and others)? So, you'll not consider one of the Technics decks because of the DJ features?! Don't use 'em if you don't need 'em. I don't think I've ever NEEDED to use pitch control - I only fiddled with it to see if it worked.

    I only care about what sounds good and what is easy to use. Looks comes a distant third (if at all), and superfluous features? As long as they don't interfere with sound, I don't care.

    The main reasons I picked a Technics was because they are easy to set up and the detachable headshell. If a Rega had a detachable headshell, I would have considered one of them, too.
     
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  2. patient_ot

    patient_ot Senior Member

    Location:
    USA
    They need something to complain about, especially if they don't have any legit performance criticisms, which people rarely do. Half or more of the complainers will never be a Technics customer anyway, so why should Technics bother to cater to them?
     
    snorker likes this.
  3. snorker

    snorker Big Daddy

    At this point I wouldn’t want a turntable without those features. Detachable headshell isn’t necessarily as “DJ” feature, but it is also essential for me, since I swap cartridges with some regularity. The strobe is good to have too to see if you’re at the right speed (though I’m glad on my SL-1210GAE I can also turn it off). And the target light is extremely useful...I use it all the time. I’ve also used the pitch adjuster on occasion. Some records are famously at the “wrong” speed and were “corrected” in later reissues, like Stones’ Beggars Banquet and Miles Davis’s Kind of Blue. I’ve even played with it on the Doors “Light My Fire” to get the stereo LP version to sound the same speed as the mono single. :nyah:
     
  4. Pretty.Odd.

    Pretty.Odd. Guess I'm Dumb Thread Starter

    Location:
    Montclair, NJ
    Suggestions?
     
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  5. RPM

    RPM Forum Resident

    Location:
    Easter Island
    Once for all: Those are NOT dj features. Period. People claiming that should check a bit of turntable history.
     
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  6. AKA-Chuck G

    AKA-Chuck G Senior Member

    Location:
    Washington NC
    You really say that with a straight face?:shake:

    Great! Now we have censorship. Nice. Then the gort disappears. Notice he has a Technics as well. It does seem ok to bash Rega in this thread without being called "threadcrap".
     
  7. ubiknik

    ubiknik Forum Resident

    Location:
    Chicago, IL USA
    It would seem fair to voice perceived deficiencies in either considering the thread title...
     
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  8. ubiknik

    ubiknik Forum Resident

    Location:
    Chicago, IL USA
    If those are vintage Pioneers, they are great but usually in need of some service with some key parts not available anymore, but I think they have been popular enough that those hard to get parts are being made by someone. I had a SX-780 that I sold off this summer and It did sound great the last time I heard it.
    New stuff can sound great too, a lot of options out there.
    Start with the speakers, the Yamaha you have seems to be very flexible power wise, I think there are some killer speakers out there these days for not as much as one would think, NHT for one:
    I am amazed by NHT SB-1 speakers. What about SB-3 or SuperOne, even better?
     
  9. Joel S

    Joel S Forum Resident

    Does anybody on this thread actually have a 1500C?

     
  10. Stone Turntable

    Stone Turntable Independent Head

    Location:
    New Mexico USA
    This is a very which is better, chocolate or vanilla? discussion. Attributing any level of inherent goodness or badness to a matter of contrasting personal taste and feeling seems churlish, and same goes for the line of argument that says I have no problem with vanilla but the way people advocating for vanilla talk is so obnoxious, so vanilla must be suspect.
     
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  11. McLover

    McLover Senior Member

    I will consider another Rega only when they meet NAB 1964 speed accuracy standards for broadcast turntables and do it for USA $800 or less without Upgrade anything. And they re-introduce the R200 tonearm with it. The AR XA met or exceeded NAB standards for $69-$79 until 1977.
     
  12. Pali Gap

    Pali Gap Whiskey, mystics and men

    Location:
    Under the bridge
    Easy answer- some people DO care about aesthetics and would prefer a more streamlined design without the 'extra' features. You admitted you've never even 'needed' the pitch control. For me the detachable headshell is essential, but I consider the pitch slider, target light, and strobe all pretty useless features. Why does any high-quality deck need a strobe light?? To prove it's capable of doing its job? Less electronics/moving mechanisms is usually a good thing in consumer electronics of any kind.

    There's a lot of people hoping for a 1200 build with an aesthetic similar to the 1500C.
     
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  13. luckybaer

    luckybaer Thinks The Devil actually beat Johnny

    Location:
    Missouri
    We all apply different weightings to different features/functions/aesthetics in our decision matrices. For audio gear, cosmetic appearance isn’t weighted heavily in my matrix (it is to some degree, for sure). Now, for automobiles, I weight aesthetics more heavily!

    To each his or her own! There are plenty of sleeker options than the SL-1210GR.
     
  14. patient_ot

    patient_ot Senior Member

    Location:
    USA
    Either that guy got a lemon or does not know how to use an on/off switch. There are a few members here who have 1500Cs and some on other forums. Never heard of this issue. If it was widespread, we'd know about it.
     
  15. woodpigeon

    woodpigeon Forum Resident

    Location:
    New Zealand
    Mine’s the same. A quick tap on the power button won’t switch the turntable off. A slightly longer press will. It reliably works and might just be a quirk of the design.
     
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  16. Randoms

    Randoms Aerie Faerie Nonsense

    Location:
    UK
    The lack of reintroduction of the R200 will always be your get out clause! :agree:

    With the standard fit of the new advanced EBLT belt alongside the other improvements Rega introduced in the last year or two it will be interesting to see how the latest Rega Planar 2 measures.

    As a teaser, here are some figures for the far cheaper, lesser engineered and poorer measuring Planar 1.Rega | Reference EBLT Drive Belt Accessory

    Incidentally my first turntable was a Rega Planar 3 with the R200 and a few years later I demonstrated the Rega Planar 2 / R200 vs Planar 2 / RB250 and Planar 3 / R200 vs Planar 3 / RB300. Conducted blind, volume matched not one person preferred the R200. My first LP12 was fitted with Rega RB300. There were one, or two who preferred the R200 to RB300 on a Linn Sondek. The Linn Basik Plus outperformed both Rega arms on a LP12.

    Whilst many Roksan Xerxes and Michell Gyrodec owners have fitted RB250 and RB300, on occasions buying a Rega Planar 3 solely for the arm, I have never known a R200 be chosen and fitted.

    The simple fact is that both the Technics and Rega are good turntables and some prefer one, some the other.
     
  17. patient_ot

    patient_ot Senior Member

    Location:
    USA
    The guy appears to be a digital DJ and was trying to use a timecoded record for a software controlled system. Many DJ types will do a quick light press on a TT on/off button but this guy didn't realize the design of the 1500C button is different. So it's likely a case of user error.
     
  18. EightSixEight

    EightSixEight Active Member

    Location:
    Scottsdale
    With all due respect, that guy on YouTube might have problems starting a car too ... you know, the START/STOP button even on a Beamer needs different hold times to toggle state.

    I have a black 1500C and love it. There is a tactile difference between START/STOP (instant feedback), and ON/OFF (need to hold it for a sec or so). The shape of the buttons is wrong too I guess: one is round, one is rectangular.:D The size is wrong too, one is bigger than the other. :D

    This is a solid, very adjustable TT that will be hard to outgrow. Plus I love it's look, and ... it's auto arm lift. I would never ever go back to a fully manual TT. Not sure which type Rega is.

    There are tons of great TTs out there. Get the one you like, has the features you want, and be done with it.
     
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  19. EightSixEight

    EightSixEight Active Member

    Location:
    Scottsdale
    If he wants instant start he should use the ... START button perhaps?!? The ON/OFF will not get the disk to spin anyway ... Seems he's just trolling.
     
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  20. McLover

    McLover Senior Member

    EBLT is the 4th time Rega's changed belt designs. Still does not meet NAB standard for speed accuracy/wow & flutter performance. Nice try.
     
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  21. Crazyhorse11

    Crazyhorse11 Hoser

    Location:
    Edmonton, AB
    I can speak to the Technics, but I currently have a modded out Rega Planar 9 with Rega Exact Cart, Tango Spinner subplatter and Delrin platter. Rega offers an upgrade path that's very attractive. Not sure if that's available for the Technics (very well may be). Also, very happy with the synconicity of other associated Rega products I've inserted into my system (Brio amp, Pre amp, TTPSU). Couldn't be happier.
     
  22. Lane4Imaging

    Lane4Imaging Active Member

    Location:
    Fairfax, Va
    You can have your “rubber band” finicky turntables. Direct drive is solid. Instant start/stop, interchangeable cartridge, great tone arms, I’ll take a Technics every time. Oh yeah, Regas run fast!
     
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  23. Randoms

    Randoms Aerie Faerie Nonsense

    Location:
    UK
    Correct! As I wrote and as clearly stated, those were the figures achieved with the budget and least best performing Rega turntable, the Planar 1.
     
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  24. aunitedlemon

    aunitedlemon Unity is in the pith.

    Location:
    Oregon
    I do and I love it. Use it daily and can't imagine it not being a staple of my listening experience.
    [​IMG]

    Myself included on both accounts.

    THAT is funny, and probably true.
     
  25. Randoms

    Randoms Aerie Faerie Nonsense

    Location:
    UK
    Corrected for you.

    Regas ran fast.
     
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