Rega Planar 8 announced!

It happened in total about 6 or 7 times, it was last week when it happened 3 times in one evening that I contacted the dealer and within 48hrs I had a whole new rig. The reason I wanted it replaced was that if it got worse and then packed up after the guarantee expired I’d be screwed.

 

It also happenend to me once a couple of weeks ago.

 

Just placed an order on the Rega Planar 8 replacing my RP6. Hoping for the best

 

Having had the RP6 with the white belt and GrooveTracer subplatter and Exact cartridge, I would be curious to know your full evaluation on your upgrade. Adding, that I was very pleased with the upgraded RP6.

 

This happened to me as well. My dealer contacted Rega and was told to disconnect the power connection from the TT and be sure to reconnect it again. Tried it and it seems to work. We will see.

 

Sure. My RP6 use the Tangospinner sub and RP8 glass platter but from what other claims it’s not there the major improvements lay.

 

Just installed the P8 replacing my RP6 with tangospinner sub and RP8 platter. Holy!! Such a huge difference in details and soundstage. Bass is so much better and refined. Details all over the place are there and I hear tons of information I've never heard before, yet not bright or anything. Much more silent too. Really really happy with it

 

Or there's Techincs...

 

Just checked the speed using RPM app which Rega also recommends. My table shows 33.6.. I had hopes of 33.3 this time but now at least I can change this with the NEO. How have others Planar 8 measured out of the box using RPM?

 

Also, there seem to be no 1.7mm allen key for speed adjustment included in the P8. In P6 it seems to be included though. Very strange..... And I cannot for my life find a 1.7mm allen key on the market?!

 

Talking to myself here Downloaded two different strobe disks and indeed table is running to fast. So much for "each table is calibrated by the factory". At least the distributor will send me the secret 1.7mm allen key. I had forgot all the problems I've had in the past with Rega. Leaning platters, faulty motors, arm lift replacement etc etc. And now incorrect speed on a +2000USD table and some grease/oil on the VTA adjustment wheel that is so sticky I'm not sure how to get rid of it. I mean, they have eyes in the factory or? Made in the UK should mean something? Not having a contact window on their web page says everything to me.

No matter how good they are (when they work) their quality level is still 6-7 years later really bad IMHO. Simple things Rega! Come on. I believe this is my last Rega table. I hope it will bring me some joy for a couple of years at least. Because when they work, the sound great.

 

So the variation on 33.3 is about 1%....I’m so glad for you that you can when listening tell the difference !

 

Turns out Rega has a tuning tool made in plastic.. I downloaded a strobe disc for reference instead. It was slightly off but is now tuned to 33.33. The RPM app showed

that it was more off than the strobe disc and Turntabulator showed.

 

I have listened to my new P8 (with Alpheta 2 cartridge) long enough to be able to discuss it with some plausibility. My first impressions were somewhat negative because one of the belts was loose and laying in a small amount of thin oil. I cleaned the belts and checked for a leak but couldn't find one and haven't seen signs of a leak since. The other negative impression was that the unit is very light and seemingly flimsy. But that is on me because I have always liked hefty and solid audio equipment.

The only problems I have experience are:

• The unit would slow down significantly when playing very intermittently.
• When powering off I would sometimes hear a sharp sound similar to a loud static discharge.

The factory reps suggesting disconnected the Neo PSU to P8's cord and ensuring that it was firmly seated. This seems to have worked since neither problem has occurred since.

How does it sound? GREAT ! I have been listening to LPs and thoroughly enjoying them. After a good cleaning with the superb Degritter RCM many of my old LPs sound very good. No hums, no background noises (except from older LPs) and no glitches. I actually want to listen to records and don't mind the ritual that comes with playing a record.

I haven't yet done any serious comparisons to my best digital sources but feel that they are better than P8 playing my best analog sources (new Blue Note Tone Poet LPs) by a noticeable margin. No I haven't gone through a rigorous procedure (and I won't) but the differences are clear to me and in my house that is all that counts.

If I have any regrets, it is not getting a P10 but I wasn't sure that the phono section of my Esoteric F05 would be able to distinguish the improvements. The P8 is mounted on a Symposium Segue platform which rests on three Stillpoints ultra mini "filters"

 

Thanks for the tip on the “pop” when powering off! Doesn’t bother me too much since I just power my amp off first, but I will give it a try.

My only gripe with my P8 is that the rubber on the tone arm rest is peeling up on the right side, which gets annoying when trying to queue up a record as it can cause the tone arm to invert/pop up. I’ve tried pushing the rubber back flush, but it just wants to peak out. Not a major issue, just an annoying fault for a TT at its price (but also on me since I haven’t done a real whole lot to try to fix it).

 

So I had an accident yesterday and damaged my Apheta 2 cantilever. Really pissed of with myself as I always put the stylus guard on it but was just wiping the area underneath under the stylus inbetween records and caught the tip with the back of my hand. Suffice to say it is bent beyond repair.

Anyway, it seems that Rega offer a rebuild service for £520.00. I also believe they offer a trade in offer which I could put towards an Apheta 3 although how much they are prepared to offer I will not know until tomorrow. Has anyone compared the 2 and 3? Is the 3 worth what is likely to be around double the cost of getting the 2 repaired? The 2 did not seem to have a very long life but I always thought it was a great sounding cart. Any opinions apprecaited!

 

Commiserations.

I blew up my tweeters on my Kef Reference 203/2's the other day. I spent Saturday refitting the new Uni Q's. On the plus side they sound better than before. I measured them, close mic'd with REW (at low levels). They are bang on, the maximum deviation is 1/2dB in a couple of places.

I was an idiot. I decided to see how high a frequency I could hear, with little thought of how a constant 17khz tone effects a tweeter

 

I guess we need to know the reasoning behind the decision of pairing the A2 with the Planar 8. Was it cost? Was it that the A3 didn't make much difference in sound on the Planar 8 and its standard arm and decided that the A2 was the optimum cartridge for this turntable? I suggest asking those questions (and hopefully getting an honest response) before making that decision.

Please keep us posted.

 

The Apheta3 didn't exist at the time the Planar 8 launched. The Apheta3 was launched at the same time as the Planar 10. The Apheta2 is now discontinued.

 

What might be an even better option is to send your broken "2" to Soundsmith and have it massively improved for about $450. A house cleaner decided to dust my 'table and broke the cantilever off of my Dynovector 20XL cartridge - which I prefer over the Rega Cart. I sent it to Soundsmith and had it retipped with a sapphire cantilever and microline stylus. It took about 5 or 6 weeks but WOW the improvement is pretty massive.

Retips there start in $200 range and go up depending on the cantilever used and the stylus shape. Really great job retipping, perfectly aligned. Plus they clean and test the whole cartridge at the same time.

Retipping Services | Soundsmith

 

Can't find anywhere that sells it (in UK that is).

 

I got it from the distributor. Seems like it’s not available for purchasing. Very strange since Rega make a deal of that it can be changed...

 

In the NEO technical description at turntablePSU-Rega it says that it is a 1/16" allen wrench (I have plenty of allen wrenches but don't have a NEO around to verify).

 

If you can find one that size then let me know. It seems like Rega went the difficult path..

 

My P8 owners manual says it's a 1.7" Allen Key. I just tried a 1.5" and a 2mm. The 1.5" is too small and the 2mm is too large. Hmmmmm.