I have a Naim Supernait 2, NDX2 and PMC 20/24 speakers with a Rega Aria phono stage.
I’m interested in a new turntable and wondered if anyone has done a comparison between the Rega Planar 10 and LP12 Majik?
I’ve heard the LP12 with new Karousel bearing however I can’t seem to find a hifi shop with a Rega P10 available to demo.
Any advice would be appreciated.
It may help if you give your country and a rough location.
I found some older posts talking at least a little bit about a comparison (though some with the RP10, but also check the other posts in these threads):
As usual, both choices are good but characters are not the same and you may prefer one or the other. Though most posts seem to prefer the P10 over a Majik-level LP12. The P10 with Apheta-3 is wonderful but I haven’t compared with the Linn.
Thanks for the thread links.
Was hoping someone may have heard the two vs each other and offer their thoughts.
I prefer the look of the lp12 and obviously there is an upgrade path.
However I am conscious of the p10 having multiple awards, good reviews etc but hard to find shops with demo models and many owners own thoughts on them.
I know, but this is all I can offer 
and some people in these posts at least heard the RP10 vs Majik. The P10 by all accounts is like the RP10 but more of it. Maybe someone will chime in, the above posts predate the P10 or it was very new. Where are you located? Here in Germany it is easier to find shops with P10s than Linns, and in the UK it should not be too hard to find both.
I see @frenchrooster is already coming in to help … edit: or not?
If you are in England #Cymbiosis might be a good reference point, if I was making the choice I would probably go down the Linn route, future upgrades will become available, I have a Pink Triangle, and apart from arm/cartridge upgrades little else can be done, but is it worth it, only having a couple of hundred LP’s?
In UK but there is a real shortage of stock vs high demand so as soon as one comes in it’s sold hence very few demo opportunities.
Also waiting lists are increasing.
I once could compare the Rega Rp10/ Lyra Delos with Lp12, Lingo, Ekos and similar price level cart ( Linn Arkiv), on a same Linn phono.
I found the sound relatively on the same level, however the Rp10 sounded quicker and faster to me. The Linn costed twice.
The Lp12 / Lingo/ Ekos is a bigger step vs the Magik, I guess, even if the later has the karoussel.
I had also the Rp10 recently and now the P10. It’s not night and day difference, but the P10 has better bass and is more authoritative.
I had an LP12, above Magik spec, and still preferred the Rega P10. My LP12 was originally a mid 1980’s vintage but had a Kore, Karousel, Radikal, Ittok (then AO PU7 Ti) and Krystal. I was not entirely convinced by it and rather than throw more money at it, asked to hear the P10; which I kept and preferred by some margin. Both decks were playing through a Rega Aura, which may, or may not, have favoured the Rega TT.
Hearing what a TT does in your room and system is far more important than what the paper specs and price say; Rega and Linn both have very different ideas/presentations and it is entirely likely that you might prefer one over the other - or not; which is why listening for yourself is the best option.
For clarity, I am not LP12 bashing. I have heard LP12s sound amazing in other rooms/systems; it’s just that in the context of my own situation, the Rega was preferable.
Cheers,
Ian
Audio T in Portsmouth have a demo Planar 10, or did when I was last there. When I bought my P10 I looked at the Linn but dismissed it because the arm is hideous and it can’t play 45s without removing the platter and attaching a silly 45 RPM adaptor, just like 40 years ago. But of course it’s massively upgradable if that floats your boat and owning a Linn has a kudos that owning a Rega probably doesn’t. If you don’t like the appearance of the Rega there is no point getting one, as you’ve got to look at it every day.
Went through the same Rega p10 vs LP12 comparison and found them pretty evenly matched, although of course the LP12 had more upgrade options and a better long term bet.
Actually ended up with a Vertere DG1 so I would suggest adding that to your list to have a demo.
Naim that tuna - thank you. That’s very helpful.
If they are evenly matched then it lends itself to the lp12 as upgrading over time to improve it further.
The P10 does seem fantastic value though.
Worth mentioning from owning P8, DG1 and now LP12 is that more than maybe performance they connect visually in dramatically different ways. All having their pros and cons.
I recently went to the same Rega vs Linn. I had Linn Majik and P8 in my room at the same…. I went with P10. They sound different. With my system, Linn has a good flow and sweetness. Raga has good rhythm. I don’t have a lot of vinyls and want to get Turntable for a change. So I went with P10 Aphilion 2 … I like it.
I compared the P8 vs the majik and preferred the majik.
I thought it sounded much more realistic in respect to instruments and voices.
Hence me looking at the p10 to compare it with but having the p8 as a reference point.
I had the P8 and the P10 is much better, I hadn’t expected this. Though the P8 had an Ortofon 2M Black and the the P10 has an Apheta-3. @anon4489532 had the P8 and P10 initially with the same Rega Exact, and I think preferred the P10 a lot as well.
Rega exact is a poor cart imho.
Ortofon 2m black is a great cart.
The point was that with the same cart the P10 was considerably better than the P8. HH then also switched to the Apheta. And the 2M Black is fine, but again the P10 with Apheta is running circles around the P8 with 2M Black. What I am trying to say is that just because you preferred the Majik over the P8 doesn’t necessarily mean that you would prefer it over the P10.
I was considering the lp12 Majik with the following upgrades: kore, lingo 4, trampoline 2 and Krystal.
I appreciate that the arm should normally be upgraded before cart but the new krane ‘clear audio’ arm seems to be substantially better than jelco and project predecessors.
I could live with the looks of the more modern p10 provided the sound quality warranted it, which some of you seem to suggest it does.
The p8 sounded to me very detailed but a little bright and not as realistic as the lp12.
I can attest that the P10 sounds magnificent - but I have very little to compare it too, except the P6 I had previously. Interesting comments on the appearance of the P10. When I first saw it, I did wonder what on earth it was. Once the shock subsided I thought it looked minimalist and elegant - and still do. Except the clumsy cover, which I’ve never used.