Thinking of trying a Planar 3 / RP3 / P3 in the office as I enjoy my daughter’s old Planar 2.
A Hi-Fi friend finds the older decks more enjoyable. Does anyone else feel that way or are the latest decks the greatest decks?
I bought one last week, not disappointed by the result, the sound is really good!
By cons compared to a vintage turntable I do not know.
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It is hard to tell. I have not recently heard an older Rega P3 or any other kind
. A friend in the 80s had a Planar 3 it sounded very good and from memory a different tone to a new one. The new ones are great though especially with the new Rega cartridges like ND5.
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The older ones get a lot of love because at the time their performance was outstanding for the price compared to the competition & the usual nostalgia but objectively, the newer ones have had continuous development (despite looking the same) so perform very well.
If you can live with the brushed aluminium finish, the RS model is a great deal with the nd5 & upgraded PSU for not much more money than the standard one.
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I had an early 80s 3 until replaced with a 6 a few years back. Kept the same cartridge (2M Black)
I loved the look of the old one and upgraded many parts, but in the end the 6 was better because of -
Less background noise
Better speed stability
Better tracking on my HFS 75 test record
Clearer soundstage, maybe due to different plinth material
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I have retained my 40 year old Planar 3 with the RB300 tone arm and Linn K9.
In its life I’ve oiled the bearing, replaced the capacitor, the drive belt and adjusted the bias by ear, not by reference to the markings.
I love the sound. I only play records occasionally now but I don’t find the rest of the system embarrasses the turntable. Some records sound better than others, some records sound nowhere near as good as the remastered files through the NDX2/555 and others I would ONLY listen to as vinyl.
I’m quite sure a modern Rega is objectively better after 40 years of relentless improvement but I am used to, and love, the sound of mine. You have to listen to be sure what’s best for you.
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Just look out, the QC can be hit or miss
Martin
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Back in the 1980s not long after the launch of CD, I went to a demo in a North London dealer.
On open display was a top end Sony ESCD player through an Arcam amp, forget the speakers, and behind the screen a turntable.
We listened to Ricky Lee Jones on the CD, and then the dealer played the same track on the turntable. All agreed the turntable was better and a couple said but that’s a LP12 you’ve got behind the screen, at which point the dealer took the screen away to reveal a Rega Planar 2. They’ve always been giant killers those Essex decks!
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They don’t empty your wallet with “upgrades” either
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Thanks everyone for your help!
Thanks Mikee - that’s encouraging ref newer decks.
Hey Murmur, I owned a full Rega entry-level system, including a P3 before LP12 and Naim.
The glass platter+acrylic plinth sounds neutral if not lean, warmer MM carts definitely helps the balance. I had good result with Nagaoka MP-110, MP-200 and Rega Exact, or MP-100 if you like conical stylus. They all sounds great with RB330 without VTA adjustment. I think the RB330 tend to tame the records like CDs, maybe a vintage P3 with vintage Rega arm would be better in this departmentzz
You would need a warmer sounding amp to flesh out the sound as well. Like Rega Brio is the go-to amp for a P3, whilst an Elex-R a bit lean for my taste.
Throughout the 6 months of ownership I constantly found myself finding warmer sounding cart, also accessories chopped down by Mr Gandy (e.g. a solid isolated base for better imaging), and left myself wanting the real records sound. So I eventually moved onto LP12 for the real thing.
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While I think the older Regas are fun, the newer ones are more refined and all round better…better to start with, and also newer/less worn. This notion that somehow older stuff is better is a bit thin (my Naim CB setup is an exception 
).
I think if you can stretch to the P6 it is definitely worth it, it’s an outstanding deck - the synergy with the Exact is excellent. I happily listen to it all day, and also have a mid/upper spec LP12.
The book A Vibration Measuring Machine, about Rega’s evolution through the years (up to several years ago so doesn’t capture some of the latest) is a great read - just finishing it for the 2nd time - and really speaks to the continuous evolution of their components, the turntables in particular. They had a pretty big surge of advancement in the 00s and 10s…
I do agree QC can be an issue - if you are buying one, give the specific deck a good once over and make sure everything is ship shape…
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Thanks for your help. The rest of the system will already be quite warm sounding so no worries there.
Thanks for responding. That’s good to know. I would love to try a P6 as I was told it’s the best bang for buck but let’s see.
I had not heard of these QC issues so that’s something new to watch out for. I assume that warning applies to current production.
The P6 is a great Turntable for sure and the best of that style from Rega but in my view the biggest bang for the buck in terms of the Rega range is the Planar 8. It is of course a good slug more expensive than the 6 but the range takes quite a leap at the Planar 8 from the 6.
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When I bought my P6 the issues were:
Plinth fascia a bit off
Glass platter with edge flaws/gaps
Ticking sound from bearing (remedied with a drop of oil)
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When I bought my P6 I just couldn’t get on with the skeletal thing, but somehow it’s grown on me. I may be checking out a P8 at some point…
Can anyone tell me the dimensions of the Neo PSU?