Looks are first class, reliability (with this kind of performance you don't really need that arm height adjustment), great cabling and connectors and of course the arm is something special for the price.

Mmm... let me think about it... nah, probably its instruction sheet...

After 2 years with my first deck in years (Music Hall's 2.1 and Sumiko's Blue Point MC cartridge, same turntables as Pro-jekt in Europe)I've become a firm believer about vinyl's being state of the art in musical reproduction (Cheers Mickey Fremer again!), so took the next logical step and get a better deck, so after reading endless reviews, my first option was the P25, I gotta admit that it looks helped a lot, but I don't know anyone that buys a Mercedes just for its performance alone..., when you are spending more than 500 bucks you expect a nice design too. Well, the leap from my former deck is unbelievable, I'm using the same cartridge for a while, but now it sounds like if it was a brand new and more expensive one. Don't want to use many words, just audition if possible and if not, buy it, you won't regret it never, believe me. Lots of detail and classy sound even with old and scratched records and that space and dimensionality... my god!

Similar Products Used:

Music Hall's 2.1 with Blue Point cartridge... used to love it... how wrong I was...

Better than the Rega3,but not by much.The Rega 3 is still the best bang for the buck.

Just not as good as other tables now in this price range.

Thought this was the best of the best for under 1500.00 dollars. Al the reviews, Stereophile,and others.But when I listen to the new VPI Scout, I was blown away. Much more refined

Similar Products Used:

Music Hall,Rega, Basis,VPI.

Price. Performance.

Not include VTA adjustment.

First I buy the planar 3, I use the Clearaudio Arum Beta and after a Benz Glider, and I think the my LPs sound great. Then I buy the Planar 25, first I use with the Benz Glider cartridge and after this the Benz L1, in both cases with great results. Then I think "I gona be difficult to get better sound from my LPs. In the past day arraive my latest turntable buy, the Clearaudio Solution (1600USD without tonearm). And something magic happends (using the Rega RB300 arm and the Glider cartridge, from my planar 3 turntable), the air, space, soundstage, bass extension, focus and image improved in a great extent. I think both the Planar 3 and Planar 25 are great bergains in audio hardware, and only will be surpassed by a really more superior item (like the Solution table). You must hear these tables, all are great in all ways and have a good price, however the sound is better according to the price of each table. Now my refference is the Solution table. If Stereophile thenks the Rega Polanar 25 is a very good for include in "C" recomended components, the Solution is "B" may be near to "A" clasification. The difference is very noticeable. But all three turntables are vary good.

Similar Products Used:

Rega Planar 3 Clearaudio Solution table with Rega RB300 tonearm and Benz Glider Cartridge.

Stable, quiet mechanically and sonically, attractive, excellent build quality,killer sound and hassle-free.

none

When people ask why I have a turntable in the era of digital music I put Patricia Barber''s "Modern Cool" on the Rega and they stop asking. I could not be more pleased with this setup. Price includes Exact cartridge and Eos phono stage. Upgraded counterweight to Express Machining unit last year. I will keep these Rega analog products until I''m worm food.

Similar Products Used:

Thorens TD-160 with Sumiko Blue Point

Have to agree with Mark below. The REGA runs fast. All REGA'S that I've had do the same. However, the solution noted below is actually great. The VPI speed controler does more than adjust the REGA's speed--it makes the table sound much much better. Get's rid of the thin sound referenced below plus makes everything else sound significantly better. Despite it's price, The VPI line conditioner, for me, was more than worth the expense.

Steady, clean sound, reliable

No VTA

Wonderful table. Great with rock music (not many tables excel in this area). Just set it up and let it go. The Clearaudio Beta S is a good budget match since it is also a hard rocking unit. Not as svelte as the Gyro SE I once owned but still great.

Similar Products Used:

Gyro SE, Clearaudio Beta S

Unfailingly musical sound combining deep, tightly focused bass and rich, smooth and etch-free / grain-free highs... liquid, smooth and tangible sonics.

Sometimes accentuates surface noise on really old/ frequently played or abused records.

I was all ready to buy a Music Hall MMF-2 just to play my old records back from the college days when my dealer prevailed upon me to be patient and listen to a Rega 25 instead. One listen, and I immediately understood why a lot of folks still love vinyl after all these years. I myself had forgotten how good they sounded ! The sound was fuller, rounder and more dynamic... the bass was deeper and richer, vocals were projected with such clarity and ease... highs were smooth and natural. Soundstage deepened and overall coherence seamlessly maintained.... I found myself ignoring my CD player altogether, and started colecting LPs anew. This record player has opened up a musical window I have forgotten... but now embracing back with passion ! Long live Vinyl !!

Rest of my system:

Rega Planar 25 with RB600 arm, Rega Super Elys Cartridge
Theta Miles CD Player
Byston BP-25P Pre-Amp
Bryston 7B-ST Monos (x 2) Amp
B & W Nautilus 805 speakers, REL Strata III Subwoofer
Shunyata Research Powersnakes 'Black Mamba', 'Mamba'
Tice Power Conditioners, Q-Dampers, Yamamura SP-Qs, Vibrapods, Wireworld Aurora III cords, Lovans

Similar Products Used:

Musical Hall MMF-2, Sansui

pretty

runs fast, fast, fast (as do all regas), sounds thin

Can only listen to it with VPI Power line conditioner, or similar. What ever happened to 33 1/3 rpm. Both Regas I have owned run at 34/ 14. Fast enough to make the tone centers all sharp. I think it's the 60 vs. 50 cycle problem in the US. Hey Ray Gandy, please address this problem.

Similar Products Used:

Rega 3 since 1989 (also ran fast)

Capable of revealing very detailed harmonic passages, excellent dynamics, warmth and smooth high, very transparant midrange, tight bass.

Not very convience. Need a lot of work "preparing" for every LP for that perfect sound, too much work dusting, etc. in other words, high mentainance.

Well, just got this baby brand new out of the box yesterday and cannot be more pleased with its performance. I paid $2000 cdn including tax for the table, RB600 tonearm and the Rega Elys cartridge all-inclusive. Straight out of the box, the unit sounded thin and somewhat lacking in soundstage, although it was obviously very detailed and very revealing. However, after about 2 hours of playing, the soundstage started to improve. I must admit that at first I was a little bit concern, given the fact that the last 2 reviewers mentioned this unit plays slightly too fast at about 34 rpm instead of 33 1/3 rpm. Well, I never actually "clock" this player to see how fast it actually run, but I did compared the speed of the Rega Planer 25 against my $3000 US sony cdp xa7es cd player via a/b test using an identical Jazz album in both the cd format and the vinyl format, and found the speeds of both player to be identical. That means if the Rega Planar 25 spins too fast then my Sony cdp xa7es also spins too fast as well.

By the way, the Rega Planar 25 will give you cd quality sound without the digital harshness, grains, powders etc. All you get is pure analog. When I listen to my Sony cdp xa7es, I go "wow", but when I listen to the Rega Planar 25, I get up and boogie.

Similar Products Used:

Compared to analog domain, none. Compared to digital domain, the Sony cdp XA7es.

Best bookshelf speaker under $1,500

For a bookshelf...none!

I've heard many multi-thousand dollar systems and was always impressed with the clarity and dynamics especially with CD playback. But it wasn't until I heard a high end turntable that I heard the truth! I heard a simple jazz recording that made the walls disappear and the only thing missing was the smell of cigar smoke and liquor! I waited until I was able to afford a nice turntable and was pretty much set on getting a Rega Planar 3. Then they came out with the 25. I went to go hear it at the same time I auditioned the Planet CD player. Both of them blew me away! I had no previous vinyl experience (except for an all-in-one-Fisher back in 1984!) but found the 25 incredibly easy to set up. It didn't take long to build a nice record collection with all of the used lp/cd shops here in Chicago. To put this in perspective I have over 300 CD's. I now have about 80 LP's and maybe a third of those are new music (yep, they still make 'em!) For the past 3 months I found myself listening to the 25 and leaving the CD player virtually untouched! It may seen pricey at almost $1,300 not including the cartridge, but I can't help thinking I made the right choice! It may not be the best turntable out there, but for those that think $1,000 is the limit on componant purchases I would recommend dropping the extra cash on this baby! On most recordings, it's instantly superior to CD! The exception would be LP's in bad condition or some recordings that use a lot of digital mastering/mixing. I was really disappointed by Metallica's latest records. They sound exactly like the CD. But Jewel's latest on LP sounds much better than the CD! *sigh* I LOVE VINYL!!!

Similar Products Used:

Rega Planet CD player
Rega Planar 25
NAD 304 (modified)
All Kimber Kables