Rega Planar 3 Reloaded - Stage 3

by James Leahy

Why is life so tough, the decisions we all have to make each and everyday. Blondes or Brunettes, BMW's or Merc's, Scotch or Cognac; but at Dr Hi-Fi life gets easier but only slightly.

The decision between going for a new P3-24 or getting the old Planar 3 fully worked was a tough one indeed. Both options are of similar cost. On one hand you have the P3-24 with the new RB301 tonearm and up-gradable TT-PSU option. On the other hand with the Planar 3 we planned on fitting the awesome RB700 tonearm, P3 Motor Kit and 6mm Rubber Mat. In the end we agreed that the Planar 3 with a full house up-grade package would be the way to go because of the tonearm.

The worked Planar 3 proved to be the far superior option with a level of performance the P3-24 could not match even with the TT-PSU up-grade. The tonearm makes for that much of a performance difference, the RB700 cannot be overlooked as a formidable advantage over lesser tonearms.

In my testing of all the Rega tables as well as other brands the quality and performance level of the tonearm is the biggest limitation of any turntable, so when you are starting out with the RB700 on your deck the room for improving your cartridge and phono stage are further and above anything else of lesser quality you compare it to and that is quite a lot. You could put an Ortofon Jubilee on the RB700 with total confidence and I have may times, but I would feel less at ease doing this with the RB301 and expecting to get maximum performance from such a ball tearing cartridge. In fact I used the Ortofon Jubilee on a Rega P7 that comes stock with the RB700 and just added a 6mm Rubber Mat for years with lot of fond memories, no reason you couldn't put one on this deck too and get all the benefits.

The bearing tolerances in the RB700 are less than half of that in the RB301 which are already very good to start with. This higher accuracy accounts for the RB700's development and manufacturing complexity. Just from replacing the tonearm with something as good as the RB700 this was sure to be a huge step up on a table like the Planar 3 which lends itself very well to serious modifications like this. Read on to see how this project turned out.

Ok lets play, 'What's wrong with this picture'. There are two very obvious things that should stand out to you all. Firstly, the horrid standard felt Rega mat is less than acceptable by anyone past the age of 5 years old. Unless you like your mat sticking to your record every time you go to change sides or leave dust and fluff all over the record's surface, change it now. Secondly, the outdated Rega RB-200 tonearm that was never anything special has to make way for something with a bit more class and performance.

What cannot be seen from the top view is the old suspended Planar 3 motor assembly. Roy Gandy must be brought to justice and held responsible by NATO for inflicting such unhuman suffering on Rega customers for years with this set-up. Total rubbish. There is now however available a retro fittable Rega P3 Motor Kit for both the Planar 2 and Planar 3 tables that offer a much higher level of performance than the original.

As surprising as finding a honest thief, one of the good things on this old table is the Ortofon Rondo Red MC cartridge that it came through my front door loaded with. I think we'll keep that! See my review HERE. For the price it does nearly everything right and will complement any good tonearm & table combination.

The Rega Planar 3 > P3 Motor Up-Grade Kit

The backend of the RB700 showing the 4-way Spacer System developed by Rega to help adjust V.T.A.

The Ortofon Rondo Red MC cartridge mounted on the snout of the awesome Rega RB700

You can see the RB700 with a 6mm Rubber Mat installed and the Rondo Red mounted to the tonearm.

This combo will exceed the performance of the Rega P3-24 and stock P5 and cost the owner far less.

It is also a unique match where retro styling meets cutting edge design.

The RB700 looks way cool on the old Planar 3.

The End.