Rega Planar 2 Review: The Last Turntable You’ll Ever Need?

INTRODUCTION

WITH the advent of DVD-A and SACD, some are saying the end of vinyl as we know it will finally happen in the next few years. Of course those people said the same thing back in 1982 when the original CD came out. Yet, vinyl and turntables are selling, and selling well. To me it’s no surprise; vinyl LP’s sound superior to most, if not all digital formats, including the newest hi-res formats. Of course, digital discs haven’t been around twenty years, whereas manufacturers have had fifty years to get the turntable/record combination right.

Rega Research is known for their turntables and cartridges. Their two budget turntables, the Planar 2 and Planar 3, have been staples of the audio world for 25 years. Both give excellent bang-for-the-buck and a battleship build –unlike those pesky Linn LP12’s we usually hear so much about. (Hey, that’s a well built table, my friend.—DH) So how often does one usually have to make adjustments to a Rega turntable? Not often at all –I’ve had the P2 going on three months now and nothing has changed since when I first set it up. Rega turntables don’t even have VTA adjustment, so right there is one thing that can’t go wrong.

Over the years, the two Rega turntables have remained much the same as when they were first introduced. So why am I writing a review for a turntable that’s been around forever? Well, Rega has just changed the Planar 2 and Planar 3 for the first time since the 1980’s.

Most manufacturers trickle their engineering down. Look at B&W’s line of loudspeakers and notice that the now famous enclosed tweeter, from the Nautilus series, was introduced into both the 600 series and the CDM series. Well, with Rega the same holds true. After introducing the Planar 25 turntable Rega decided to rollover some of the improvements to its lower models. At the heart of the shared improvements is a new motor that is mounted directly onto the plinth. The older models, as I understand it, had rubber in-between the motor and the plinth to prevent the motor’s vibrations from traveling to the rest of the turntable. The new motor vibrates less, and so doesn’t need the extra dampening. The P2 and P3 share the same motor. However, the more expensive P3 uses the RB300 tonearm, a denser platter, and a denser plinth.

SETUP

There is a feeling both exciting and scary when you open a box and find a turntable perfectly packed, with some assembly required, and you see that the entire instruction manual is one piece of paper, the second side of which contains “Hints and Tips.” This second side contains about twice the information as the actual use and set-up instructions side. The instructions explain everything, but not in any great detail. Though I am mechanically inclined this was a daunting, time-consuming task. If you are buying a turntable and not experienced at set-up, try to get someone who is experienced–your dealer, perhaps–to set it up for you. Proper set-up can make the difference between mediocre and outstanding performance. Rega, for instance, recommends using a special torque wrench for mounting the cartridge, rather than simply relying on feel.

Though I found it challenging, setting up the turntable was straightforward. The arm comes attached to the plinth, so all one needs to do is attach a cartridge, balance the arm, and adjust the bias–also known as anti-skating. (Of course, the very first thing you want to do is to make sure that the turntable is level.) I chose the Rega Elys cartridge. While some might object to using a cartridge that costs almost half the price of the turntable, I wanted to be sure I could discern the turntable’s strengths and weaknesses. Also, one should never skimp on the cartridge; it can make a larger positive sonic difference than a cheap cartridge on a more expensive turntable. The P2’s interconnects are fixed to the table. I attached their free ends to the moving magnet phono stage on my Arcam Alpha 7r integrated amplifier. The P2 has no ground wire, and instead grounds the table through the sheathing of an interconnect.

To see how well the table deals with external vibration I wrapped the plinth and the supporting rack, and I jumped up and down. (Some non-audiophile friends were present; I can only guess what they were thinking.) To my surprise, jumping up and down and walking around didn’t make the P2 skip a beat. Even knocking on the rack where the P2 sat didn’t cause any disturbances. Other than the rack itself, I attribute the P2’s terrific isolation to its three strategically located rubber feet. However, wrapping the plinth was a different story! The needle skipped. I expected as much, however, since unlike the Linn LP12, the platter is not independently suspended from the plinth. Still, I’m more concerned with my being able to walk around the turntable then I am about being able to hit it.

IMPRESSIONS

The P2 turned out to be quite a showstopper, as I had hoped. Compared to my twenty plus year old JVC fully automatic direct-drive turntable decked out with its all chrome tonearm and accents, the P2 is an understated breakthrough. With its totally manual operation, belt driven motor, and all flat black appearance, the turntables looked as far a part as any two pieces of hi-fi gear can look. The Rega is so manual that if you want to play 45’s you have to lift off the platter and adjust the drive belt. It takes only 30 seconds but it’s bothersome. Thankfully, I own only one 45, and there are only so many times one can listen to They Might Be Giants’ “Why Does the Sun Shine?” (This song is a remake of a song that appears on a 1959 educational record entitled, Space Songs. The Giant’s version features heavy use of a glockenspiel.)

What came through best with the P2 was music’s rhythm and pace. On The Dave Brubeck Quartet’s Jazz at Oberlin (Fantasy 3245) the rhythm of Dave’s playing was wonderfully present. Weather Report’s “Birdland,” off of their album Heavy Weather (Columbia 34418), is fast-paced and contains a wide variety of instruments playing together in harmony. Via the P2 one can’t help but tap a foot and get involved in the performers’ energy. Going back to the Brubeck album, “Peridido,” the commanding piano was well defined and the actual timbre of all the notes was well conveyed.

A more modern album, Whip Smart by Liz Phair (Matador ole 107-1), is a difficult album for some turntables to reproduce accurately. The audio is a mix of Liz’s trademark vocals but with such heavy bass beats and instrumentation that a turntable can easily get lost in all the layers. My old player, for example, has a terrible time with it. It can reproduce it, but it comes out flat and two-dimensional and the pace of the songs is lost. The P2 handled it with ease and confidence.

This turntable was an all round great performer. It didn’t excel at any one thing, but was competent at everything. Bass was well defined and not at all sluggish. The sound staging, which I usually believe to be speaker dependent, was quite wide. Meaning, the P2 didn’t get in the way of the speaker’s job and the music. This is really quite an accomplishment given its price and considering what one might wind up with from competitive models.

CONCLUSIONS

Lets start with what I don’t like about the Rega P2. Since the interconnects are attached, if you need more than the supplied two meters you’ll have to use extensions which may degrade sound quality. I don’t like my turntable being so close to my amplifiers or speakers. Of course, fixed interconnects also prevent one from experimenting with better interconnects.

Also, I prefer to have a separate ground wire. When I had an LP playing with the dustcover down, there was a strong electrical charge on the table which attracted a lot of dust. And, since most of this audition started in the summer, where humidity is fairly high in my area, the P2 attracted even more dust.

The only other squabble I have about the P2 is about the dustcover, in particular. I can’t tell you how many times while changing a record that the dustcover would spontaneously close on my hands. Since it only goes up to a 90º angle, it seems to fall down more times than not. The base that the tables sits on was perfectly level, so you Rega engineers take note. Make the dustcover open past the vertical horizon, please.

Given these negatives, I still consider the Rega P2 a great performer overall and worth the occasional hassle. The P2 portrayed the music so well that overlooking its faults is like overlooking one hair out of place on a promising first date–easy to do. For someone like myself whose record collection is less than 1/3 his CD collection, the P2 makes a compelling argument. I enjoy hunting around the flea markets and garage sales for records, but that said, probably nine times out of ten I listen to CD’s instead of LP’s.

Thus, I’m more concerned about my CD playback then I am about my LP playback. The P2, however, made me pull out all my old Dave Brubeck records and listen to them all over again. I even enjoyed Stan Kenton more then I ever have in the past. It’s a joy when a piece of audio equipment can make you rediscover albums and songs in a way that puts you closer to the music, enabling you to better understand the artists and their visions.

Can I personally justify a $700+ setup for music that I listen to only 10% of the time? I’d like to think so. While I’ve had the P2 my record playing has easily risen to one-quarter to one-third of my overall listening, and not simply because I was reviewing it. Listening to LP’s became a more engaging and enjoyable experience for me. I can’t think of a higher calling for a piece of hi-fi gear.

Who knows when and if SACD and DVD-A will ever come out of the musical fringe? If you want to listen to true hi-fidelity today I whole-heartedly recommend the Rega P2 turntable as an outlet. I can’t think of a better turntable I’ve auditioned near this price point.

TROY’s SYSTEM:

Rega P2 >> Arcam Alpha 7r Int. Amplifier >> Arcam Alpha 8P Power Amplifier >> QED Genesis Silver Spiral >> Norwex Nisse B-2 loudspeakers

Other Sources:

Arcam Alpha 8 tuner Arcam Alpha 7 CD player Pioneer 606-D DVD player JVC JL-A40 turntable w/ Grado prestige green cartridge

Other Equipment:

B&W 601 series I loudspeakers Sanus Systems Basic Foundations III 24” speaker stands Lovan Affiniti 29” speaker stands filled with sand Salamander Design Archetype System equipment rack

Cables used:

Chord Co. Rumour 2 speaker cable AudioQuest Ruby x3 interconnect QED Silver Spiral interconnect StraightWire Chorus interconnect

Accessories

AudioQuest Little Feet Shure Stylus Force Gauge SFG-2 AudioQuest anti-static record brush Last #4 Stylus Cleaner Cardas Frequency Sweep and Burn-In Record

The questions surrounding vinyl setup and amplification also appear in the September–October 1999 Audio Doctor column.