REGA PLANAR 10 - REVIEW
REGA PLANAR 10
Legendary British high end audio firm Rega Research has been on a mission to redesign and reintroduce their turntable line for several years now. It started back in 2016 with the revamping of the iconic P3 into the Planar 3. This was a complete retool of the table, improving parts quality, and addressing areas overall that could be improved. Rega followed suit by doing the same for the Planar 6, the Planar 8, and their reference turntable, the Planar 10.
Rega not only took a fresh look at their turntable line, but they also developed numerous new products, including integrated amplifiers, speakers, CD players, DACs, and cartridges. Several of their phono stages were reworked as well, and they have even marketed a complete entry level system called The Rega One, with a turntable, amplifier, and speakers. All Rega products are designed and manufactured in their factory in England from top to bottom.
We received the aforementioned Rega Planar 10 in for review, outfitted with the Apheta 3 cartridge. The Apheta sits right below the top of the line Rega cartridge, the Aphelion 2. The Planar 10 and Apheta 3 combination retails for $7895. The Planar 10 also includes a custom designed outboard power supply and speed control.
The Planar 10 comes equipped with an impressive ceramic oxide platter and their reference drive belt, along with their flagship RB300 tone arm. Rega has always been known for their tone arms, even supplying designs to other turntable manufacturers. The new, top of the line RB3000 was specifically designed to have the fewest joints possible, but with maximum stiffness where Rega thinks it should be applied. The tone arm is actually hand finished, with no paint applied to ensure low mass. In fact, low mass, and rigidity are essentially Rega’s guiding principles for turntable design.
Rega also strives to lessen the impact of vibration and resonances from an external environment. The use of a skeletal plinth is also in evidence, a feature likewise found in the Planar 8, the turntable one step down from the reference Planar 10. The plinth is very low mass, and very stiff. It is hard to believe, but Rega both reduced the mass of the Planar 10 by 30 percent over the previous model, and also increased stiffness!
Another area Rega paid particular attention to was the subplatter: redesigned and coupled with the new main platter, this makes for a pretty impressive engineering feat. Rega uses advanced materials, and exacting tolerances ensure as much information as possible is extracted from your records.
A critical part of the Planar 10 package is the outboard power supply and speed control. It allows one to switch between 33 1/3 RPM and 45 RPM using front panel buttons. The speed can be adjusted precisely with a simple tool using the controls on the back panel. I was able to get the speed exact, as confirmed by several different iPhone apps designed to measure platter speed. The digitally controlled crystal oscillator is the nerve center. Lastly, internal resonance control for the PSU has been addressed as well.
Set Up & Listening:
From unboxing to spinning a record, a total of 15 minutes was required. That is not a put on. After removing all packaging, and setting the Planar 10 on a Symposium Svelte shelf, we only needed to put the ceramic oxide platter in place, balance the RB300 tone arm, set the Apheta 3 tracking force, and the anti skate. The last piece of the puzzle was adjusting the speed. We found that on taking delivery from the factory, the table ran almost exactly at 33 1/3 RPM, and only needed a very minute tweak.
Rega tables are internally grounded, so no extra ground wire connection is needed, there are no esoteric adjustments like VTA, or any other complicated items to worry about. Once installed in the system, we were very pleased with the finish and workmanship. One last area that makes Rega tables virtually care and hassle free is that they come with tethered, in-house made interconnects. No lossy phono plugs to be seen.
The review system included a Rogue RP-5 tubed preamp, an Audio Research VS-110 power amp, Magnepan speakers, Audio Art and Black Cat cable, Audience and Bryston power conditioning, and Symposium rollerblocks. We also had in-house the latest version of the legendary John Curl design, the Parasound JC-3+ phono preamp, for a forthcoming review. Spoiler, the JC-3+ and the Planar 10 could not have been a better match.
With great anticipation, we put together a big stack of vinyl from varied genres and vintages, all ready to go. The first record we played was Low Spark of High Heeled Boys, the classic Traffic opus on Island records. To say we were utterly smitten from the get go with the Planar 10 would be an understatement. Having played this record on too many turntables to mention, it was literally like hearing it with fresh ears for the very first time. On “Hidden Treasure” Steve Windwood’s vocal, acoustic guitar, along with Chris Wood’s gorgeous flute, seemed to come to life with texture and depth that were startling.
In anticipation of the upcoming deluxe box set which will feature 2022 remixes, we spun an original Capital pressing of The Beatles’ Revolver. This album was a watershed moment for both the Beatles and for pop music in general, and that might be selling it short. It features some of the first loops ever created with spliced analog tape, along with backwards tape effects, as heard on “Tomorrow Never Knows”, and then there is the horn section on “Got To Get You Into My Life”, and of course, the string section on “Eleanor Rigby”. If that were not enough, there is also the use of Sitar and Indian rhythms on George Harrison’s “Love You Too”. One can only imagine what listeners experienced in 1966.
This listener was so immersed in the sounds of the Revolver and the sheer lifelike sound the Planar 10 produced, that we spun the record three times, both sides, consecutively. We had never heard the bass and drums so locked in, the guitars as panned in their distinct channels, and the amazing presence of the vocals. We had several “pinch me” moments.
We then pulled out a very special stack, our recently procured original Island and RCA pressings of all five releases from legendary British progressive rock band Quintessence. We paid more than we like to for these albums, but they are not easy to find in good condition. We are very familiar with the Esoteric/Repertoire CDs, which happen to be superb sounding. The Planar 10 brought the vinyl versions to a new level, allowing a much higher level of connection to the music.
Tracks from the debut album, In Blissful Company, the self-titled second effort, and the rest of the band’s releases, were simply ravishing, brought to life by the Planar 10 in ways we did not expect. The sheer majesty of the arrangements, the stunning vocals of lead singer Phil Jones, the exotic guitar interplay, and the flute and keyboard parts sparkled in the most organic way.
The Planar 10 was not “enhancing” or producing an artificial sheen on any record we played. One of our favorite obscure early 70’s releases is the self-titled album from Malo, a Santanesque latin jazz rock band that released several superb albums. In fact, the band was fronted by Jorge Santana, brother of Carlos. We have an original green label Warner pressing, and we never thought this pressing was that impressive. It also did not sound great when rendered by the Planar 10. The same flaws we had heard previously were still prevalent, albeit with better flow. This reinforced our impression that, to our ears, the Planar 10 was essentially the most neutral turntable we have heard to date in our system.
Jose Feliciano’s 1968 release, Feliciano!, on the RCA label, is one of the astonishing singer and guitarist’s best early albums. He combines covers of hits of the day, including The Doors’ “LIght My Fire”, the Mamas & The Papas’ “California Dreamin”, with no less than four Beatles songs. Feliciano takes “California Dreamin” and turns it into a mini latin jazz opus, with his voice shining like a beacon, accompanied by his dazzling nylon string guitar. The Planar 10 made the vinyl sound like a master tape, pure and simple. Try not to be dazzled by the vocal on Gerry & The Pacemakers’ golden nugget, “Don’t Let The Sun Catch You Crying”.
Ultimately, we felt the Rega Planar 10 was superb at untangling the layers of the music trapped in the grooves of our records. We felt that we were really hearing what was pressed on these platters so many years ago. In fact, engineers from the golden analog era could not have imagined a turntable as sophisticated and immaculate sounding as the Planar 10.
The Planar 10 redefines the term, “set it and forget it”. Once set up on a stable, safe platform, all we did was keep the cartridge free of dust, and use the interestingly shaped dust cover supplied when not playing records. That was it. A high quality power cable on the power supply / speed control will definitely get you to that last mile. In our case an Audio Art Cable did the trick. Other than that, tweak minded listeners will find themselves thinking more about which record to play next.
Conclusion:
The Rega Planar 10, to our ears, is a masterpiece. We could not imagine it could be so easy to set up, and it is virtually maintenance free. Perhaps every once in a long while checking the speed would be the extent of it. The Planar 10 feels like a precision machine, no extra fat, not overbuilt, and stealthy. More McLaren than Porsche, so to speak. One wonders where Rega will go from here, considering that this is the best Rega product we have heard to date. It is refined and elegant, and will not call attention to itself (other than as a conversation piece!): it simply lets the grooves take centerstage.
The Planar 10 can be ordered with no cartridge, the Apheta 3, or the top of the line Aphelion 2. We believe the Planar 10 and Apheta 3 combination might be one of the best values at the very high end of audio; some spend more on just a cartridge or a tone arm. If shopping for a turntable under ten grand, we would implore you to audition the Planar 10 with a top notch phono preamp and records you are very intimate with. We can’t imagine not getting lost in the music. If we could afford the Planar 10, we would purchase one immediately, and not look back.
Rega Planar 10 Turntable with Apheta 3 Cartridge: $7895
Product Page:
https://www.rega.co.uk/products/planar-10
US Importer: SOUNDORG
Audio Art Cable
San Diego CA
+1 619-417-3035
https://www.audioartcable.com/
