Smooth without being boring. Revealing without being harsh

None I can think of

I replaced my Nakamichi OMS-1E with the Planet. It was run in for a few days after which everything snapped into focus.

After upgrading all my major components to Linn, I borrowed an Ikemi as a comparison. The Ikemi was pleasant to listen to, and arguably better than the Planet. However at 4 times the Planet's price, I'd expect it to be, but I'm not sure it is 4 times "better".

After reading the comments by other Planet users, I borrowed an assortment of interconnect cables. The ones that worked best in my system were Chord Chorus - horrendously expensive (over £150 for 50 cm. pair), but gave the sound closest to my LP12.

Similar Products Used:

Nakamichi OMS-1, Linn Ikemi

I have just spent the past 3 months looking for a CD player below $1 000 that will not disgrace my primary source, a 1986 LINN LP12. In the course of the search I have read reviews in both magazines and the web and listened to the Marantz 63, Arcam 7, 8, and 9, Rotel 971, Cambridge Audio 4SE and 6, and the Rega Planet.
My overall impression is that the Arcam 9 is the best of all these players, far better than the Arcam 7 or 8, and the Marantz the least satisfying. But the 9 was $600 too expensive and, like all the Arcam products, costs far more in dollars than it does in pounds sterling. Why, I wonder? I was tempted to buy an Arcam 7 and wait to upgrade it, but the more I listened to this player, the more I realised that I could not live with it. The Rotel 971 is a fine machine: it's reasonably dynamic, wonderfully transparent, and pretty musical. I was about to buy it when it was suggested that I listen to the Cambridge Audio products. The 4SE is wonderful value for money (especially if you order it from Nothampton Audio at under $500) but really not up to the Rotel. It's a bit ragged, a bit underweight, just not coherent enough. The Cambridge Audio CD6 seemed wonderful by comparison: weighty, extremely dynamic, punchy, exciting, with quite a lot of transparency. I was just about to take it (a touch under $600) when the demonstrator suggested I listen to the Rega Planet, which he stocked as well.

I had been avoiding the Planet. Everything I'd heard or read about it suggested that I would not like it: laid back, coloured, artificially "analogue-like". But I agreed to give it a listen. At first I was not impressed. Next to the Cambridge Audio it seemed to be positively asleep. But the more we switched between players the more I realised that it was the Cambridge that was coloured: too punchy, a quality which now revealed an underlying raggedness, an inability to hold different strands of the music together. Again and again I came back to the subtle musicality of the Rega, which revealed the relationships between instruments (we were listening to the DGG recording of the Orpheus Chamber Orchesra playing Stravinsky's Classical Symphony--a wonderfully revealing test disk) violas could be heard in their interplay with other instruments (how often they get lost), and the overall picture began to sound more and more "right", more complete and integrated: inner melodies on "obscure" instruments--viola, bassoon, double bass--were musically part of the whole piece, not just passing smudges. That is not to say that it was more accurate. I'm sure that the Arcam 9 is more accurate, but the Rega is wonderfully beguiling once you've given a chance. It paints a fulfilling and integrated picture. In a word, it is an amazingly coherent player. I bought it, especially once I'd dicovered that the list price of $795 is very flexible. One can get it for $100 less, and there are quite a few going second-hand. Be warned, though. Don't buy one second-hand (even mint) for more than the $685 one can get it from Audio Waves.

At home I've been surprised to find how dynamic and involving the Planet actually is, freed from the false competition of the Cambridge. I'm using Black Diamond Racing cones (the model for tube equipment) under it. If you listen to a lot of music, as I do, it is is entirely unfatiguing and utterly beguiling. Does it sound like a real orchestra or string quartet? I doubt it. But listen to it seriously and without prejudice. At just under $700 it's a real bargain. In absolute terms it's a four-star player; in relative terms for anyone with less than $1 000 to spend it gets five. One thing I have learnt, though: read reviews like this one by all means, even read the "experts", but don't buy anything without listening to it and the competition. And be ready to review what you think you like....

Over the past 5 yrs. I have been tempted many times to abandon the passion of being a vinyl enthusiast and join the diggggital ranks. For variouse reasons, convienece being the most prominent, I made the plunge last week into the digital format. I am still a firm believer that analog sound far surpasses digital therefore my Linn LP-12 will remain my primary front end for some time. I was however compelled to contribute to this page and include my comments.
Because the cd player I purchased would never be my mainstream front end I felt that remaining below the 1K price point was prudent. I do feel there are many great available options for someone willing to spend more than $500.00 and less than 1k. I reduced my must listen to list to basicly three cd players. The Planet, which was most probably the likely candedate, the Marantz CD-67SE, and the Ultec UCD-100.

To keep it short the Ultech now has a postion below my Nakamichi tape deck in my stereo cabinet. The Rega was good but not to my liking. The CD-67SE was not even considered after an audition. I feel the Rega is a high quality affordable unit with a characteristic of lay-backness that wasn't as convincing as the Ultec.

A word of advice to those listening to CD players is this: Make sure the player is completely "burned in" if you truly want to experience the capability it has to offer. My new Ultech sounded grainy, silibant, and compressed out of the box but after the 200+ hour burn in, which was recommended by Ultec, things changed significently for the better.

All in all an enjoyable experience thanks primarily to Rega and Ultec. I hope I enjoy picking out my new pre-amp and speakers as much as i did selecting a CD player. Oh, by the way. It's probably time to retwek my Linn, the Ultec sounds pretty damn good and thats comming from a true vinyl fan.

Just a quick follow-up since post below.
I ended up purchasing the Rega Planet and have been listening to it practically nonstop for the last few days (especially since it's been on endless REPEAT even when ASLEEP). It is a great machine but I must stress that it does indeed take a long time to break in to sound its BEST! People auditioning it should really take notice of this aspect; it just does not sound as open or clear until after letting it burn in for two or three days minimal. The sound really improved after the first 48 hours. I wonder if the Regas at stores have been sufficiently broken in? I doubt it seriously.

That said, it is a GREAT player and people complaining of the "dark sound" and the "too laid back" qualities are just not paring the unit up to the right equipment or are used to overly analytical digital. It IS slightly more laid back than 90% of the players most people are used to but does not obscure too much detail because of this. While the Planet isn't particularly overly sensitive to interconnects, it will reward you with more focused sound from the right match up. Avoid the cheaper MIT cables, which tend to be just too soft and near the dark side of spectrum for this player. I did, however, get positive results with Transparent wire, which also uses a version of the Network system.

The Rega Planet is a VERY dynamic and rich sounding machine, while retaining excellent detail; it is this richness which tend to confuse people at first in comparison to other digital in past. It does tend to congest a bit when played at very loud levels on complicated material but what 16 bit player doesn't! It also does not have the best tracking in the world compared to even mass market Harmon Kardon gear but this is only evident on poor conditioned CDs. It has a wonderful quality with acoustic and electric bass and seems to love jazz. The sax has an amazing richness; I have a few Sonny Rollins and Coltrane CDs and LPs to compare and the Rega was one of the first players I've heard in this price range that isn't killed in a side by side with the LINN LP-12! (Of course, the Linn won out but it was much closer!)

The top loading feature and resulting ergonomics is truly extraordinary! The only negative aspect of this design is the fact that it is vulnerable to contact from stray fingers as the disk spins (the top lid actually has rotating clamp that is exposed). Also, unit has small holes where lid swivels upward and dust can collect in well with laser and assembly. But unit is built like a ROCK and so much more solid than the other players in this range.

The Rega really is a great deal in this price range but is challenged by the Arcam 8 for another $200 (The Arcam 8 sounded just a bit more open and detailed). The Arcam is definitely not built as well in my opinion, however.

All said and done, I believe it is THE BEST player for under a $1000 and will make an EXCELLENT transport when time for an upgrade.

kh

Other Equipment:

Linn LP-12 w/ Basik Plus and K9
Cary Audio SLP-70 Tube Preamp (Modified)
Cary SLA-70 amp
B&K M-200 monoblocks
ProAc Mini Towers
Fried Q5
Transparent, MIT, Audioquest, Kimber Wire

The Rega Planet looks like a lot of fun. But after listening to four different models in five different audio systems, I must say that I came away very disappointed in it.
This is primarily due to two characteristics.

1) It is too laid-back. Instruments are nice and mellow, but lack the bite that is present in real-life. This makes the sound easy to listen to and to relax, but it isn't natural, accurate reproduction. I have a couple of CDs of banjo music that are really well-recorded. On the right system it can sound almost like live banjos. Through the Planet the sound was much mellower and the strings seemed to be robbed of their energy.

2) It induces a bit of warmth around the 50Hz region. I own a couple of CDs with very good recordings of the string bass - I use them to evaluate systems all the time. Through the Planet there was some definite emphasis going on in the lower mid-bass, as the bass player moved down the registers, there were places where the volume increased and became quite forward. This is not present when listening to the same piece on the same speakers through a host of other CD players.

So while the sound is pleasant, I can't recommend this player. Personally I wouldn't buy it for $400, much less $800.

I have just read Bob's review of the Arcam Alpha 7 and Planet and I will definitly agree that the Alpha 7 is a GREAT bargain!!! It's a terrific sounding player and just shows how far digital has come in just a few months time even.
However, I will tend to disagree with his findings concerning the Alpha 7 vs the Rega Planet player. Ironically, I even probably listened to the same player he did in my evaluations. I sat and auditioned the Alpha 7 against the Rega at Audio Advice in Raleigh, NC for over 3 hours! The differences were apparant and Bob touched on many. The Alpha is a more open player on first listen and seems to let go of the notes with ease. Upon further listening however, it became apparent that the Alpha was a bit more harsh then the Rega and was not quite as non fatiquing as the Planet. At first, I thought this was due to the fact that the Planet might be obscuring some information but after further listening, I realized that the Rega had a more laid back performance WITh/out loss of detail and the presentaiton appeared to be more rich in nature. The Arcam was just not as smooth.

Both are excellent players but the ergonomics of the Planet wins hands down as well. It just SEEMS like a damn well built unit. The Alpha had one thing going for it as well. It was ugradable to the Alpha 8 and 9! Now, when listening to the Alpha 8 in comparison to the Planet and the 7, there was no comparison! The Alpha 8 won hands down! But at $1000 that is a heavy price increase. The upgrade can be had for the price difference between the two units but by the time this happens, I believe DVD and the 24bit format will be standard (Alpha 9 is 24bit but also BIG MONEY). I will also disagree with the assessment tht the Alpha 7 is not much worse than the Alpha 8; I heard a MAJOR difference between these two units! The 8 is a GREAT player and probably the best I have heard for under a 1000.

BOth are great players but all in all, the Planet seemed the better of the two if you are willing to spend the extra $$$.

kh

Great to have quality from an all in one box

Not yet

I had only heard of Rega turntables before being told about the Rega Planet CD player. The coax output of my CD52 died thus leaving me with an external Audio Alchemy v1.0. Since I cannot live without music, I needed a good player ... fast. Marantz CD6000OSE was my first option having owned one already. A few other names were thrown at me such as Musical Fidelity, Meridian, Krell etc. Thanks but no thanks, they were too far away from my modest budget. I opted for a listening session, CD6000 OSE v/s Planet 2000 v/s Rotel ??? v/s can't remember.

brought a few test CDs to the dealer's shop. The first CD was in, the 6000OSE sounded great, very crisp, plenty of dynamics better than what I was used to. The CD was transferred to the Planet... then came music. It was not the "in your face" type of music which I was used to, but rather music, harmonies to be enjoyed. I was still not convinced, having a Marantz conditioned pair of ears. I also had a listen to the Musical Fidelity which cost about $600 more than the Planet. The familiarity in the sound was quite noticeable. The Planet was like a "little brother" to the MF.

Tried different styles of music, accapellas, bands, guitar, piano and there was still music. A very enjoyable player it is and I would recommend it to people with a decent setup, the reason, it WILL bring out the hidden deficiencies of your system. Mine tends to promote higher frequencies and that showed straight away.

The unit needs a good "burn in" period. Be patient.

The Rega plays through the following system
Pre/Amp - Meridian 101B (Rewired)
Amp - Quad 405-II (Upgraded Power Supply and rewired)
Front Speakers - B&W DM602-2
Interconnects - Kimber PBJ
Speaker cables - Kimber 4TC

The system is also connected to a HT setup
AV Receiver - Yamaha RX-V590 (Prologic only)
Rear Speakers - B&W DM302
Centre - Jamo centre
Sub - Yamaha YST50
DVD - (cheapie) SAST AEP-803
All speaker units internally rewired with KK 4TC as well as Sub-woofer.

HT is not my priority, and I scored the receiver in a good deal. (Can't wait to upgrade to digital - wallet permits)

Anyway, to come back to the Rega. Very impressive, great detail and presence, musicality, value for money, etc, etc, etc.

In the end one can read 1000s of reviews, but it's really what your ears (1st) and wallets (2nd) tell you, that will determine your choice.

I am enjoying more & more of my Rega Planet, it's great player for its value.

Similar Products Used:

Marantz cd52 transport / Audio Alchemy DAC
Marantz CD 6000OSE

I won't take up your time chatting about my "system". Just the Rega.I auditioned Rotel, Marantz, and Parasound, and some DAC's. And of course,
the Rega Planet. It has a SONY transport. Some discs I get from my local
libraries are pretty hammered. When the Rega has problems tracking, it exhibits
some interesting quirks...I place the same disk on a SONY I have, and it does the EXACT same things. Other players I have react differently.
I don't mind the top loading design. The only thing really bad about it is that
the "top weight" of the unit that clamps the disc down is exposed at the top of the machine, so you have a moving part "exposed". The body is hefty, and the overall build impression is "solid". It uses pneumatic "feet"...it needs them.
Tap the case while playing, and it skips very easily...tap the shelf it's on, no problem.

The front panel is extremely spartan. Not even a "fast forward" or search. All controls are on the remote. The remote allows you to turn off the display, so if you leave it on all the time, the display should "last longer". I like the programming...when you enter a track, it displays total time before you enter the track into the program. Remote is ok. Easy to use.

Many reviews say interconnects make a difference. I would say so. The Rega comes with some which the company says "is adequate". I have found that my Straightwire Chorus 1m interconnects are ok for it. They are about $40. Cheaper connects were audibly inferior to the Chorus. The higher priced Straightwires did not make that big a difference over the Chorus. Use a good interconnect. You get what you pay for.

Soundwise, I am extremely happy with the Rega. Many say it is "laid back" or "dark". Not really so. It is extremely CD dependent. mediocre CD's sound ok.
GOOD CD's sound SPECTACULOR. Many people equate the dirty sound of digital with "up front" and "detailed". This is not the Rega. It is very easy on the ears.
Never nasty. Never. Most CD players are nasty. After listening to the Rega for a while, you can't go back. Anything cheaper or inferior sounds it. The Rega will spoil you. I can listen to the Rega forever...never fatiguing.
My listening room stinks, acoustically. But the Rega sometimes amazes me. The music is alive. It is not the top of CDdom, but good. I thought the Marantz stunk. The Rotel's were ok. I liked the Parasound. I liked the DAC's I heard, but they were all to expensive for me. When I heard the Rega, it was love at first freq. I listen to classical and jazz. It does well with both.

Those who say the Rega is "dull", well, they have the wrong equipment, or they prefer the digital "nasties", which masquerade as detail. You could say the Rotel's are "brighter", but put on a really bad cd, and you will lose your hearing. The Rega is a "lion tamer". The Rega people say they have custom DAC electronics in their box. Sometimes I think that there is almost some DSP going on in the box.

I love my lp's. They sound, like CD's, as good as they are engineered and manufactured. Some LP's stink. Some CD's stink. Like I said, the Rega is very CD dependent. I wish the Rega did HDCD. That would be something!

I am sure there are nicer CD players and DAC's. But not at the price I could afford. About $650. The Parasound, which seemed a bit nicer, was twice as much $$$$. But I really am happy with the Rega.

If you want bright cymbals, lotsa treble, and dirty highs, don't get the Rega.
It's too smooth. It's musical. BUT. As with any good component, listen and audition. The Rega may not be your cup of tea, but it's competitors, to me, di not measure up.

Remember the good interconnects. It's stupid to get something like the Rega and connect it with cheap wire. Do it right.

The Rega should now come with a real warranty card (sales slip was it before).
The warranty is 3 years on electronics, and, I think, 1 year on the transport.

Owning a Rega Planet for about three month's now...I must say it's a very interesting player. The low-end is tight & warm, the mid-range is all there and very pleasing and the highs (all at a flat response of course)are adaquate to very good depending on the interconnects...I agree the Planet is quite senitive to what interconnects one is using. However I disagree that the more expensive the interconnects the better it sounds...I bought a more expensive pair of silver-wire interconnects and the sound was no where as pleasing as a much less expensive pair of interconnects I own, as well as much better than the cheapest interconnects I have...So play around a bit. It can be a subtle change, or a major one depending on your system and interconnects. (But don't let price be the determining factor.)
As far as separtion, space & imaging, I found it to be an excellent player accurate and distinct. The absolute best, of any player I've heard under $1200.00 (and some above.)

I find it amusing when I read a reviewer giving it one star trying to convince us he's a audio "dealer" and selling the product in his store...right with no hidden agenda?

This is a very fine player, built extremely well (not to mention great styling.)
But the sound is why one should truly consider this player, it'll put a smile on your face because the sound is so accurate, tight & warm. (the bass can be a bit disconcerning at times, (not as tight as one might like) but again with the right interconnects, system adjustments and perhaps a bit of EQ the Rega Planet kicks ass.

Overall an excellent player.

Musicality, dynamics, "analogue-like" fullness; fun to use; great looks

None whatsoever

115 reviews, almost all of which enthusiastic, say enough about the Planet's qualities! And I'm not going against the tide. But I'm not surprised to see some criticism on the player's performance, as this isn't exactly a "system-friendly" design. It's very important to realise that the Planet is very demanding about partnering kit, and higher priced amps highlight its performance - as its integration in a 100% Rega system does, too. I find it particularly silly that there are reviews of the Planet matched with A/V receivers and mass-market japanese amps: such material simply can't let you realise the player's potential. Get it wrong and all you'll get is a rather weird, compressed sound.

One year (and some upgrades) after I got my Planet, I can come to the following conclusions:

1. The Planet is a mid-priced player that performs as good as players costing twice;
2. This player is a very dynamic, rhythmic and musical one, excellin at rock and dance but able to play any musical style very well if properly partnered;
3. It takes ages to burn in. My player was an ex-demo, and still it took some weeks to reach its full potential;
4. The Planet demands high quality interconnects and a very rigid support to play at its best.

On 1., I believe most reviewers here will agree with me: this is, as most Rega products are, tremendous value.

About 2., I found a fabulous partner for the Planet: the Primare A20 MkII amp. I believe this swedish brand isn't very well-known in the US, but in Europe it has a solid reputation for making components that sound as good as they look - and they look gorgeous. The A20 MkII costs about 1K, and is a 70 wpc design that's particularly powerful and three-dimensional, but extremely refined. It plays everything from Propellerheads to Prokofiev with equal ease, is the ideal amp for wild impedance speakers and proves ideal to match the Planet's sonic character, as it has very accurate timing, good timbre and excellent presence. I auditioned it A/B with the Rega Mira amp, and chose the Primare for its more refined presentation, but if my speakers were more upfront I'd probably have chosen the Mira. The in-your-face presentation of the Mira didn't please me, but I reckon its synergy with Rega material, and the Planet in particular, is nothing short of breathtaking. But then I'd have to get Rega speakers, Rega speaker cable and Rega interconnects to get real synergy...

On 3. I have to say that it is foolish to judge the Planet's sound "fresh from the box" - all we can hear at such stage is a compressed and lifeless sound that's rather coarse indeed. Give it at least a month before serious auditioning.

Finally the Planet demands good interconnects and decent support. I'm satisfied with Kimber Hero, but thinner-sounding cables such as Nordost might prove very good too - in the right system at least. Anyway, don't expect good synergy from budget cables. As for support, bear in mind that the Planet has those quirky rubber compliant feet, so it will work better on very rigid surfaces such as glass or granite (the latter being my choice).

So, if you fulfill all these conditions, you'll be rewarded with one of the more exciting players under 1K, which is reliable and sturdy as a Panzer and fun to use. The Planet is really fantastic.

Enjoy your music!

Similar Products Used:

No product is similar to the Planet :-)!