Like I said, flawless.

Don't know how long the belts last - but easy to replace. I've heard a better cartridge would improve things.

I am fascinated at the trouble people have had listed in the recent reviews. I bought this thing used with the standard cartridge from my favorite audio shop per their recommendation. It has performed absolutely flawlessly for three years. It has been absolutely stable with no (audible at least) wow, absolutely quiet, wonderful tone - certainly compared to the Garrard I had before as well as a decent Technics that I hooked up to a/b with. Oh yeah - not a scratch or a finish problem anywhere, except for a few on the cover from being 'pre-owned.'

Customer Service

Audio Alternative, Lilburn, Georgia USA the best a/v shop I've known in my 40+ years of listening. If there ever were a problem with the thing, it wouldn't be for long.

Similar Products Used:

Garrard, Technics, Philips

-Build quality,
-Legendary tonearm,
-Performance, (punch)
-Soundstage,
-Value-for-money.

I bought this TT in the early nineties as an cheaper alternative to a Linn (which in my opinion are quite overpriced). Price in Dutch Guilders in early nineties.

In the last fifteen years, my system has been upgraded, quite substantially, from tube-orientated to what it consists of today.
To be more specific; the Planar 3 is now part of a system of components comprising such as; Krell Class A pre- and power- combo, Sonus Faber monitors, Cardas Cables etc.; most of these components costing many times the P3's price.

However, I still regard the Planar 3 of very good quality with depth, attack, soundstage & clarity. I suspect this TT to perform well above and possibly to multiple times it's price. (indeed the RB300 is mounted to many such TT's)
I own a very respectable Naim CD-player/FlatCap combo, but this TT competes more than favourably with it... (and that is understated)
But getting into a "CD-player vs. TT" discussion is not the reason for this review.

Possibly, just this combination of RB300 with the "budget" Elys cartridge by Rega performs to a level "more than the sum of it's parts", due to the 3 way mounting to the one-piece arm/headshell construction?
I also suspect this rigid one-piece construction to be the strength of the RB300. To me, a dismountable headshell should always be of a lesser construction than this? But then, I'm not a mechanical engineer.

I simply can not relate to the less-favourable reviews below, having owned this deck for over 15 years; A damaged deck should not be accepted and I suspect the Planar 3 not to respond as it should on so called "tweaks". I do not see the need for such "tweaks" anyhow; just play the darn thing!
Realistically tweaking the Planar 3 will quickly amount to prices which can better be spent on a Michell or Transrotor TT IMHO.

I am now contemplating on a Gyro SE by Michell; with my OWN RB300 to be mounted on it. I hope this TT to be of the same level of value-for-money as my Planar 3...

Best Regards, Jilles.

-Signal cable is somewhat "cheapish" and not to be switched-sensibly.
-Drive belt can feel a little "loose", with the need for assisting the platter in starting up. (has never needed to be changed up to this date)
-Dust cover hinges look quite weak as they do not hinge, but fold. Have been performing flawlessly for almost 15 years, though.....

Functionalist belt-drive TT with basic features and timeless "elegance".

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Multiple TTs, multiple price ranges.

Excellent tonearm, reminiscent of a Rek-O-Kut but without a removable headshell, that makes all my cartridges sound wonderful!

Audible flutter and wow because of underpowered drive mechanism ruins the sound of the wonderful tonearm, flimsy construction overall despite solid appearance, changing speeds is too cumbersome to be practical, glass platter rings, and the tonearm needed an improvised ground wire to reduce hum. Yes -- this turntable hums badly and needs a ground wire! No VTA adjustment. Cartridge clips break easily during installation.

Very minimalist belt drive turntable with manual tonearm and nice styling.

Customer Service

Wretched. Rega offers no customer servie relying on dealers instead.; inmadequate one-page photocopied sheet is supposed to be the "owner's manual."

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RCA 70D, Yamaha YP-D3, Dual 1249, 1225, 1218, 1214 and 1009-SK. Revox B795. Bang & Olufsen Beogram 4004. Even the RCA 70D blows it away -- and the RCA was made in 1940 and is driven by a worm gear! The only turntables I've owned that the Rega beats is the Dual 1214 and 1009-SK! All the others beat the Rega easily!

I had the intention to go back to my vinyl collection after years of building a decent CDs collection (classical mostly and Jazz). I had this turntable paired with an Exact cartridge. The best thing about this turntable is the arm. I must say that it doesn’t get any better especially at this price range.

The first day was heaven on earth. No CD could have reproduced a voice like Pavarotti’s so cleanly and naturally, and that’s one of the reasons I wanted to go back to vinyl. The list goes on: Domingo, schwarzkopf, Sutherland… plus an endless number of Mozart and Beethoven’s quartets, concertos and symphonies.

I have to stop the positive comments here. The rest will not be flattering, so if you are a Rega fanatic, feel free to rate this review badly. I will not take it personally. In fact I couldn’t care less. I am just given my honest opinion about my experience with this turntable.

What happened after is representative of a lot of “crafted with precision in Britain” products, just like the $10000 Tannoy Dimension series speakers that a friend of mine bought to discover that their finish is not worthy of $500 speakers, no kidding.

I am a picky guy but for the sake of excellent sound I can put up with anything. The very badly finished dust cover (with 3mm crack on the bottom front, out of the box!) the scratched base corner that I had to consider repainting with a black pen, the 1 inch scratch on top of the table and more, are all what I expected and more from an item “crafted with precision in Britain”. I mean the $150, made in China, sony turntable has a way better finish.

However, I cannot put with a sound that, suddenly, on the third day, becomes worse and worse with left and right channels competing on loosing signal. I was playing a never played before record (Beethoven’s 5th /Bernstein / Vienna / DG) when this happened. I tried other records: new, almost new ad old. The result was the same: at the turntable pleasure, a right and/or left channel will decide to stop sending the signal to the phono preamp.

I tried everything. All the adjustments, connections and cords that you can think of were verified and revivified to try and find a solution (I even played the Exact at 1.5g and 2.0 g instead of 1.75 g.) Nothing would do it.

To make sure it's not the phono preamp that is faulty, I tried another turntable supplied by a friend and it worked fine for next 2 days.

The table was returned on the 5th day. Gracefully, the audio store took it back without a question for a full refund.

Conclusion: In the 21st century, when you are supposed to pay $1250 American for any item ($800 for the the turntable and $550 for the cartridge), you should not care about how to fix that product when it shows so many problems out of the box. I mean this is not a Jaguar and we are not in the 80s.

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Pro-ject, Linn, B&O

Looks cool, and can double as a Lazy Susan for hors d'ouvres at parties.

Uh, the AC motor is unshielded and emits an audible hum when the tonearm is near center. Also, there are pitch inaccuracies during normal play.

The Rega P3 (previously known as the Planar 3) is overrated. I've had mine for a while now, and it's never performed to my satisfaction. I am a professional musician and consider myself pretty adept at hearing the nuances of recorded music. The Rega doesn't do vinyl justice -- I think it's way over-hyped. Sure, it looks cool, in a minimalist sort-of-way, but the basics behind the design are flawed.

Beef #1: I can hear audible changes in pitch during normal play. I've had the Rega looked at and had the belt replaced, but the motor inaccuracies are still there.

Beef #2: My biggest beef is the audible hum from the EM field emitted by the motor. I've used 2 different cartidges (Grado and AT) and they both pick up the motor hum when the tonearm is near center. This is totally inexcusable and shouldn't be happening in an "audiophile" record player.

Reading about other so-called "audiophile" players, it turns out that this problem is not isolated to the Rega line -- other belt drive / AC motor turntables exhibit it as well.

I have come to believe the most of what people read/hear/say/experience in terms of high-end audio is mostly subjective pipe dreams. Oh, so there's an "open soundstage", is there? And "presence" to the acoustic bass in the low range? Well, how about that GIGANTIC elephant-sized HUMMMM when the needle reaches the end of the record???

This overpriced slab of MDF fiber-board with a discount unshielded AC motor has a sterling rep -- and that is completely beyond me.

Looks nice in a candy-colored Macintosh kind of way.

From your own descriptions, it sounds like this thing is a piece of garbage. Belt-driven, straight tonearm, non-adjustable...why does it cost more than $175?

I love how you guys are using phrases like "cheap," "flimsy," "belt squeaks," "speed is unstable," "no ground wire," "needs adjustment," "my first belt" to describe a turntable that you ALL give 4 to 5 stars.

Has it ever occurred to you that a $700 turntable should not have ANY of these problems?

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Technics mk2, mk3, and Stanton deejay decks.

One star for Overall Rating on the Rega 3 is my honest opinion because to get 2 stars it has to be direct drive. Stanton=3 Tech mk2=4 Tech mk3=5

amazing quality sound for the price, very easy to operate. many dealers service rega. good phono leads.

sindle/turntable support is plastic, weak drive belt is rather thin. turntable needs a push when starting up, stand on a wall shelf as very susceptible to floor vibrations. poor mains lead, no bias adjustment.

the sound quality from the amazing little budget deck is breathtaking. i guess the best words to describe the sound would be lively, punchy, musical and engaging. the rega 250 arm is matched perfectly to it, my model has an audio technica 440 carttridge fitted to it. the deck will sound best on a wall shelf.

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linn sondek/ittok.

musical involving

sound is addictive

In have made in august in the year 2000 a review about the Rega 3 but after five years of experiments with several gadgets i finaly got the right sound. The furniture has changed from all glass to MDF made by Hutter.The overall sound is now more coherent. The spikes remains but I put some rubber underneath it and I got rid off the isolation platform. Without the rubber feet the sound is to harsh and the spikes are easy to level the tuntable. The rega Exact is replaced by a Benz H2 MC .(without spacers) . The sound is now more open and fast. I also removed the bitumen on the Rega itself but installed mping disc on it. Because the bitmunen will give you a closed in sound especially in the mid/bass range. The motor is also replaced which improves the pitch stability. The original mat has replaced the ringmat bcause of the sound becomes to harsh. There is no album anymore which sounds bad. But if you want to improve your overall sound the just put some Supertweeters on top of your speakers.

Check it out and you'll see it's EVERYTHING.

...well, except for the plastic cover. Or more precisely the cheap hinges. But who cares.

This review is for the P3. I purchased the P3 online with a Michell Counterweight and a Dynavector 10X5 MC cartridge. As a vingyl newbie I was pleasantly suprised at how easy the Rega is to use. Unpack the glass platter, put it on, place the felt mat on, flip the switch (helps to give the table a little nudge to lessen the strain of startup), place the record on, cue the tonearm, lower the cartridge and presto. Audio bliss. I am so impressed with vinyl that I've decided where ever possible I will now buy lps as apposed to cds. A lot of this credit goes to the Rega, which really does a bang up job. The unification of the left and right channels is much better...meaning the music comes together better as a whole. Good detail, bass slam, richness of notes. You name it, it's there.

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For TT's, this is the best I've heard.

It's the sound, Stupid!

None worth mentioning.

I'll preface my comments with a promise not to throw flowery comments of "sing", "air", "rock", "black", etc that Sam Tellig and Michael Fremer are so fond of throwing out. I don't know what they mean, and even if I did, YOU, dear reader, would have no experience with the concepts as they relate to my personal experiences, regardless. 'Nuff said. I bought my Rega Planar 3 in 1996 just before I retired. I paired it with a Shure V15 Type V-MR (not the newer "x" version that came out a year later). For anyone who says the Shure sounds thin on the Rega, BREAK IT IN! My experience was that the Shure takes a good 70 hours to loosen up. And if it's allowed to sit idle several months, expect to have to break it in again. My Rega is absolutely stock - still have the same motor it came with. It ran fast initially. I wasn't surprised when I yanked the spindle axle out of the bearing well - it was nearly dry. I'm suspicious of the claims that it's possible to ruin the bearing inadvertently. Maybe so, but that's a solid brass well housing a stainless steel axle-spindle which in turn sits on a hardened ball bearing in the bottom. I believe it's both fairly sturdy and sufficiently deep to maintain alignment. Rega uses a very viscous lubricant that smells strangely of hypoid gear oil. First thing I did was drain it, flush the bearing well with mineral spirits, and replace whatever it was with 75W-90 synthetic GL-5 gear oil. Didn't take much, and I caught the excess with paper towels strategically placed where the spindle shaft exits the top of the bearing (after the shaft eventually bottomed once the air lock worked its way out - had an "air" bearing for nearly an hour! (Rega goes to obvious lengths to machine "tight" clearances into their main bearing pieces!) My platter has spun dead on ever since. I also put a "damper" between the platter and the sub-platter of 1/32" card stock - stopped the slight "tinkling" sound through the rotating platter I'd noticed with ear nearly touching the platter. Easy tweak that's just as easily removed. Cheap, too. I'm still on my original belt - yeah they squeak initially when power is applied as the motor pulley "peels out" against the belt. Oh, for the reviewer who indicated the Rega Planar 3's motor is unsuspended, that's not correct. The motor on these older models are, indeed suspended, - by a looped spare belt. Ray Gandy's clever if he's anything. (In that vein, has anyone else noticed how similar the "feet" are to walking cane tips? That's gotta be more than coincidental...) I'm not ordinarily a tweaker, but I do plan to install the Express Machining adjustable VTA collar. My Shure cartridge already had the arm butt-end down ever-so-slightly slightly. The card stock "damper" I put between the platter and the sub-platter didn't help matters there. Neverthless, the combination of the RB-300 arm and the Shure has consistently impressed me (and friends) with it's tight, extended bass and shimmering highs. No grain, no mud, no listening fatigue regardless of venue - Bach, Beatles, or Beethoven.

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Had an old Techniqes direct drive with an "S" "tone"-arm. Ugh...