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In Reply to: No seriously, why does my Rega SUCK? posted by Sylvian on September 10, 2006 at 12:36:54:
At the risk of offending every Rega owner in both Hemispheres, except for us, I believe it is the nature of the beast. A Rega simply doesn't have the stuff to beat the other turntables that you mentioned. It just doesn't, and no amount of tweaking is going to change that.
Follow Ups:
The Rega is an engineering nightmare for anyone trying to get the most out of their recordings. No azimuth correction, lousy VTA adjustments, and the utter chaos of not configuring a tone arm board so you can try other options.The Rega is built like a Yugo. You buy it...you own it....forget about trying to improve or correct the issues....it is a Yugo.
Sorry, but engineering is engineering and the Rega is a nightmare.
That said, there are a great deal of people that like to buy something plug it in and enjoy it....regardless of how it actually sounds....and that is perfect marketing 101. Plug and play for vinyl.
No oil changes, spark plug replacement or air filters to replace....just drop the stylus and enjoy the noise.
and formed views based only upon the ancient "Planar 3."Complete with rubberband-suspended motor I suppose.
Might want to check out a modern Rega.
was...............double-sided sticky tape!! My only Rega experience is my RB-250, one of the RCA's of which I broke upon initial installation. It was much later that I realized that the headshell is not parallel to the platter. Since there is no azimuth adjustment, I have to shim one side of any cartridge mounted on it. PITA!! I realize the thing's cheap but Geez!!
Been there, done that.
Imo the P2/RB250 is not a great table, but I haven't found any new production tables that beat it for the price, either. Vintage/used tables for the same price will crush it, but some buyers aren't comfortable going down that road.The P3/RB300 is another story. Not a great table, but decent, and a great arm. Again, used/vintage can crush it for the budget, but the P3 is a reliable rock, whether you buy new or used. The P3 is a table that can really make music. I'm using mine with a DV20xl into a Dynavector P75 phono stage, no tweaks except for Herbie's mat, and it crushes my Jolida cd player (which, imo, is a damn fine cd player).
I've helped two friends get Rega Planar 3's -- one new, one used. AFAIC they're very hard to beat for the $$, and an excellent choice for people with short bread who are either vinyl newbies or set-it-forget types. Like any tt I know anything about, Rega's need somewhat careful setup, but nothing particularly unusual. I did jumping jacks on the floor right in front of both Rega's I set up for my friends and it had no effect. I gave one friend a Rega Elys in good shape and I sold the other my old Grado TLZ (his arm has some tweaks and the Grado tracks pretty well w/no hum). To my ears their vinyl setups sound damn good for the money. My non-audiophile friends don't have to worry about tweaking, and they're thrilled with their vinyl sound. I dunno about the P2, and of course some may prefer Thorens models over a Planar 3. But IMO it'd be ridiculous to say nothing can be done to get a Rega P3 or Planar 3 to sound good.
BTW I didn't mean to savage Rega enthusiasts, as there is no absolutely no doubt whatsoever that human perceptual abilities (mine included) are so easily skewed /warped / embellished, that eye witness testimony is increasingly being seen or recognized as seriously fallible, much less relevant, credible or trustworthy than even solid circumstantial evidence, regardless of the established high ethical and moral standards of the witnesses.Like the Simon and Garfunkel Lyric "A man See's what he wants to see and disregards the rest "
To my mind, the main claim to fame from Rega is in the arm. Remember, when CD was supposedly crushing LP's, Rega's Roy? Gandy invested in a high tech casting from which every Rega arm since has been made. Its a remarkable piece of engineering no small company today can afford. My Origin Live tweaked Rega arm rivals those that cost many times more.Rega turntables, on the other hand, depend on more questionable technology. Platters are light weight and made from MDF or Glass. You don't get the flywheel effect of a heavy metal platter or the "same as the record" effect of an acrylic platter. The newer ones use a DC motor, which the folks at VPI says will deaden the music when compared to an AC motor.
I say all this without having listened much to a Rega turntable in 15 years. But if I was trying to make one sound better, I'd start with a Ringmat mat, to decouple the record from the lousy sounding platter. Next I'd improve the back end of the arm. The Origin live method is great but costly. I think expressimo Audio will sell you a new end stub and counter weight that will make the arm sound 80% better. If you rewire it as well, you'll have an arm to keep as you move up in turntable class. Then I'd look for a good used VPI or Sota to move the arm to.
Another way to make them sound better would be to put them in the shower. I know for a fact that I sing better when in the shower. Hey, it's just a thought, but...
...someone should try it. Not me, though. Electricity scares the bejesus outta me!
mosin wrote:> Another way to make them sound better would be to put them in the > shower. I know for a fact that I sing better when in the shower. > Hey, it's just a thought, but...
> ...someone should try it. Not me, though. Electricity scares the > bejesus outta me!Now that's a really silly idea, to put your turntable in the shower. I hope no one's nutty enough to do that! Me however, I'll be putting my Rega in the freezer. I'm hoping that will give it the musicality it is lacking.
But then again we might have a few dozen inmates to bury in the next few weeks......
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