Just a quick either/or: stock Rega 25 or upgrades Planar 3

Same price for both (around $700).

The P25 is stock.

The Planar 3 sports a Tangospinner subplatter and triple pulley, high-mass acrylic platter, Ruby ball bearing, and Michael Limm bronze bearing well/hub.

No cart on either one.

So let’s hear it! Point me in the right direction!

 

This is a Planar 3-2016, I'm guessing?

If so, the Planar 3, especially with the the subplatter upgrade, is better. The P25 is a slight downgrade from my P5. It might have better tonearm wiring, but that's about it. My P5 has the RB700 shared with the P7. The P25 has an RB600, so it's a slightly lower spec, but higher than the RB300 off the the P3-2000. The Planar 6 is the 3rd gen replacement for my P5, with RP6 being 2nd gen. When Rega upticked the series from 5 to 6, the tonearms were shared between the 3 & 6 series. So theoretically, the RB330 should be better than the RB700 in spec.

Here's my logic on tonearms specifications: RB330>RB700>RB600.

The Planar 3-2016 also has the 24V motor, so you can upgrade it with the Neo. You'd have to spend $225 for a motor upgrade on the P25.

Now if we are talking about the older Planar 3 with an RB300, then the P25 is much better, but I'd recommend buying a tangospinner subplatter to get the most out of it. I will say that I'm not really a fan of acrylic platters on a Rega. So you should request if the stock platter is included.

 

Thanks for the comprehensive reply.

Unfortunately, it made me realize that I might not know what I’m looking at. The ad for the Planar 3 specifies the RB202 tonearm and pre-2016 24v motor.

 

Anybody else wanna weigh in? I promise I won’t bump it again after this.

 

It seems that it is an older version (RP3, P3-24 or P3 2000?) but with a RB202- in this case I would go for the P25 instead.

 

Don't buy either one of them. The Frankenthing that they are calling a Planar 3 is not. It's cobbled together from parts of what sounds like six different tables and aftermarket accessory makers. The bearing alone is made of three components by three different companies...

Anytime you buy anything used, you need to be aware of condition. That's true even when something is fully stock. When a component has been taken apart and reassembled many times, it isn't what it was. Turntables are not meant to be treated like that, and they don't like shipping so well either. So my advice is to by a complete unit, locally if possible. If it's used, you can inspect it for any whacky stuff and get a good idea as to if the seller is being honest about its provenance. Better still is to buy new. The lastest Planar 3 has many improvements over either of the models that you are looking at and is not that much more expensive. It's way well worth the small difference in price to get nearly every aspect of the table improved and in guaranteed new condition. Lastly, I agree with vinylontubes that the glass platters sound better than the acrylic platters on Rega tables.A mint, stock Planar 25 is a nifty deck, but it's 21+ years old already now and it doesn't match the new Planar 3 for sound, even if it were new.
-Bill

 

I agree with Bill. Get a new Planar 3 and upgrade the subplatter yourself. It'll sound better and you'll avoid the headaches of trying to change any mods you don't like (looking at that pulley).

 

I thought for sure you guys would say P25. I really didn’t expect you to say neither!

I appreciate you putting it in no uncertain terms. I’ll hold out for a newer P3.

 

Get the latest P3, not the RP3. It was a big upgrade. The latest deck has the on/off switch on the bottom of the plinth. Switch on top- older deck

 

Thanks. They don’t make it easy with their naming conventions. Not to mention that people don’t really know what they have (or are being dishonest).

 

The latest deck was released in 2016. It has the 330 tonearm.