Hi I just bought a record player Rega P1. I connect it with the RCA analogue input on my Naim Uniti2. It sounds terrible. It really sounds like the music is getting trough a pile of cotton balls.
If you have tips please let me know.
Thanks Pieter-Jan
Hi Pieter-Jan, I assume your P1 has the basic Rega Carbon cartridge onboard? Which phono stage are you using with the P1? How have you set it?
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Hi Richard
It is the Rega P1 plus. And the plus has a build in phono stage.
I had a Planar 1 Plus that I used with my then 272/300 and it was most enjoyable. It sounded clear and lively so I’d suggest speaking to your dealer as it may well be faulty.
Thanks. I just wonder if the uniti 2 is capable of connecting the Planar 1. Are they real analogue inputs?
The P1 is supposed to be a cracking turntable despite the low price and also plug and play.
I wonder if it’s not been set up at the factory properly or there’s something odd with the unbuilt phono stage.
An improperly set up turntable will sound awful. I demo’d a Project Debut Carbon Evo and it sounded terrible. Such a disappointment until the dealer sorted it out and bam. Lovely sounding deck.
It’s also worth checking if the stylus is attached to the cartridge properly.
The Uniti should be fine. Perhaps try another input but check the turntable first.
Thanks. Because of its excellent reviews ( in this price class ) I purchased the Planar 1. I will ask the dealer to check the player. And will try to play an other analogue device on the unti 2 just tobbe sure it is not the input.
It should be a simple plug and play. Red cable for right channel, white or black for the left channel. It looks like their would be two wall warts one for the phono pre-amp and one for the tt motor (?) any chance they can be switched. Otherwise double check that the tonearm weight is in it’s proper place. Should be everything to get it up and running. Cardboard removed from around the bearing?
Fwiw, I just ordered an open box p1 for my brother. He’s too cheap to buy a real tt (once he heard what a decent one will cost) and I can’t stand the idea of his having something like a crosley for all old record collection) and the open box made the $ more palatable. He has an old technics receiver, so no pre-amp or riaa equalisation is needed. Good luck and hope you get it sorted soon.
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One more last suggestion is to plug the rca jacks into a different input on the uniti 2. Would (possibly) tell you if there is a problem with the actual input. Also, I see (I think) that the inputs can be pre-set for analog or digital or automatic where it will sense which is correct. Any chance you have it set to digital rather than either analog or automatic? let us know how it works out.
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A couple of red herrings here. The P1 plus has a single power supply for both motor and phono preamp, so they cannot be confused. The U2 has three analogue inputs on phono sockets, all you need to do is to check they are enabled and that the input trim is adjusted if required. The only socket that accepts both digital and analogue is the little jack socket on the front.
The Uniti 2 will accept the signal from the the P1 plus into any of the three analogue sockets on the back. Like I said, it should sound great straight out of the box. All you need to do to set up the P1 is to push the counterweight on until it stops, remove the bit of cardboard from below the sub platter, attach the main platter, plug it in and off you go.
If it sounds as crap as you say, and the Uniti has been working fine, it’s 99% likely that the fault is with the P1. Just get your dealer to give you another one.
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It’s worth double checking the Uniti 2 input trim. However, if just the P1 sounds like it’s playing “through cotton balls” then it may well be a fault with the deck itself, whether cartridge or integrated phono stage.
Of course, all may be relative; good as the Planar 1 is for the money, it’s not a high end deck and the Carbon cart is definitely entry-level, albeit surprisingly enjoyable considering. High frequency performance in particular is not as extended or revealing as you would get with a higher performance cartridge. However, it should still make music and be enjoyable. So it may well depend on expectations…
Thanks! I compared a brand new record with the same on Spotify And Spotify sounds much more vibrant. And that is not what I expect. There is almost no dynamic with the P1
The analogue input is activate on the U2 and the change of input just has influence on the extra gain to my opinion.
It’s definitely a back to the dealer job , please remember that this is at the lowest price point on the Rega range
I went through a Rega Fono, ProJect Tube Box 2 before I settled on a Graham Slee phono stage for my Clearaudio
If it sounds rubbish in comparison to Spotify -just consider the price points , my expectation would be a normal Rega 1 would have that “vinyl warmth” but not the clarity of a streamed service through a Naim product
I hope you get it sorted out
Best wishes
Also bear in mind that just because a record is pressed on vinyl doesn’t automatically make it sound brilliant. In fact, quite a number of vinyl pressings, both past and especially present, are really flat sounding and lacking the life and dynamics that the best vinyl cuts and presses are capable of giving.
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Just connected a laptop (headphone output) to all the analogue inputs of U2 and the same flat sound. So unfortunate it’s the U2 itself I am afraid.
Oh dear, that doesn’t sound good, but well done for diagnosing the issue. Looks like a service is probably due. Perhaps @NeilS has an idea what may be up here…?
Although personally, not knocking the P1 but I’d expect it not to be at the same calibre as the streamer or CD.
From what you’ve said there’s clearly an issue but think you’d need a higher quality source to match what the Uniti can offer. Just my opinion of course.
You are absolutely right but for me this was a test to see if I still like to play records. If this is the case I will buy a Takumi record player later on.
I’d not heard of these before. Looks interesting!