Want to see what's inside a Rega Planet CDP? Just repaired mine, and took pictures:

Mr. Lin

Lunatic Member
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^^^
I can't tell you how elated I was to see that glowing indicator of proper operation today - and to see it stay on for more than two minutes (I'll explain in a moment).

About four and a half to five years ago, I was all about vinyl, all the time. CDs were a necessary evil in my view, and couldn't possibly compare to the sound I was getting from my analog rig, as far as I was concerned. But I figured it would be prudent to have a respectable standalone CD player aside from a DVD player, and thus I purchased a used, original, Rega Planet CD player from a nice guy on ebay.

I have a sentimental attachment to the Planet because it was the first CD player to show me the sonic potential of well-recorded CDs, which was beyond what I had anticipated hearing at the time. So I happily lived with the Planet, still listening primarily to vinyl, but nonetheless seduced by the warm, natural, anti-stereotypical-CD sound it produced. It worked flawlessly for a couple years, and then a strange problem developed.

In the middle of playing a CD, the Planet would suddenly shut down - as in, the power completely shut off - then turned back on, but reset as if I'd just put a CD in the transport and had yet to press the play button. This issue grew worse and worse, until I could no longer get through more than about 2 minutes of playing a CD at most before it would restart itself.

I immediately took advantage of the situation and saved up for a new CD player. :D This turned out to be the popular Jolida 100, which is "tubed." The Jolida offered a more exciting, detailed, and spacious presentation than the Planet, from what my aural memory could conjure up.

A year or so later I invested in a used Musical Fidelity A3.5, and then finally one of my dream CD players, the Naim CD5i-2. Both of these retailed at double the original prices of the Jolida and Rega players, and both, IMO, are clearly superior in nearly all areas.

But it seemed to me a shame that the Planet was going to waste, regardless of its status at the bottom of the CD player food chain in my house. I posted a thread in AK's DIY forum asking what the problem could be, and whether I could fix it. Some offered help, but nothing came of it, aside from the affirmation of what I'd already suspected: the problem with the Planet was in the power supply. That was back in March of 2010.

I don't know what inspired me to suddenly just Google the issue a couple days ago (which I should have done in the first place), but it didn't take long to find information about a known issue with the original Planet that causes the very same problem mine was having. Whether sloppy soldering, or a bad batch of parts, apparently the four bridge rectifier diodes in the power supply were to blame. An easy fix. I was overjoyed.

But it gets better! Not only was this a simple thing to fix myself, it turned out the packet of special Vishay glass diodes I'd won on ebay years ago would be compatible. Finally something I could use them for! So let's get down to the specifics, and the pictures, which will begin in my next post...
 
I'll just mention briefly that I tested the CD player before opening it up, and was highly aggravated to discover that now the transport no longer seemed to work. :sigh: Luckily, as soon as I opened it up I noticed the main ribbon cable connecting the transport to the rest of the circuitry had come loose, probably when I opened it up back in March '10 to prod around before starting the AK thread. What a relief.

So, let's have a look at the offending components, those little bastards. Just four plain old 1n4003 diodes:

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See, I thought this was going to be an in-and-out job, just snip out the old diodes from above, and solder in the new ones on top, no need to remove the PCB from the chassis. No. See the circles around the ends of the diode leads? Those are not pads, even though that's what they look like. In order to access the bottom of the main PCB I had to disconnect three ribbon cables, remove about six screws, and, worst of all, use a razor blade and X-acto knife to cut through the points where Rega saw fit to glue the front panel PCB to the main PCB. :grumpy:

Part of this involved removing a plastic cover from the point where the hard-wired power cord enters the chassis and is wired to the fuse and transformer. And guess what was waiting for me underneath that plastic cover? One of those damn Japanese beetles we so elegantly refer to as "stink bugs" around here, and which have invaded the state of NJ in recent years. There it was, sitting on top of a capacitor. And, it was still alive. For the life of me, I simply cannot figure out how in the world that thing got in there...

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Back to the diodes - once I got underneath the PCB (which is purple, as you can see - how cool is that?) I examined the soldered joints and didn't see anything glaringly shoddy, although I've seen better work too. A few minutes later I'd de-soldered and removed all four diodes. I used a digital multi-meter to check each one for shorts, just out of curiosity, but they all seemed ok.

I then proceeded to install the new diodes, using the only solder I'll use these days where audio equipment is involved: Cardas Quadeutectic. Here's a couple shots of the new diodes in place:

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This continues in the next post due to limitations on how many images I can have per message.
 
As promised in the thread title, here are some pictures of what's inside the Rega Planet. As far as I know, this is the original version. I've seen pictures on the internet that had red PCBs instead of purple, I don't know what the deal is with that.

An all-encompassing shot here:

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Then we have the DAC portion:

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And another picture somewhere between the two:

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For those who don't know, the ergonomics of the Planet are a bit unusual. I happen to like the somewhat quirky aesthetic, but some feel otherwise:

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One of my favorite things about it is the red display:

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And - also for those who don't know - this CD player is a top-loader with a "clam shell"-style lid, and magnetic puck. Rega was to improve upon this design considerably in years to come, as I understand it, and indeed the puck assembly - which can be pulled apart by hand - is a little clunky, and it's difficult to get it perfectly level so that the top of the plastic spindle doesn't wobble while a CD is playing. Still, it's a neat concept, and fun to look at.

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And, even though this is no surprise ending, the new diodes did the trick. I left the Planet playing Janacek's Katya Kabanova on repeat for about four hours earlier to get those juices flowing again, since this thing has been dormant for a few years.

Now, you're probably wondering how it sounds to me today, after I've had more than a little time to get used to my Jolida, Musical Fidelity, and Naim CD players. Just as I've done with those latter three for well over a year, I have the Planet connected to my headphone setup, which currently comprises a slightly modified Bottlehead Foreplay III tube preamp, a modified Pro-Ject Head Box SE headphone amp, Grado 325i headphones, interconnects that I designed and made myself, and a PS Audio Juice Bar II power strip (no surge protection, filtering, etc.).

It's difficult to put my finger on exactly what's missing, compared to my other CD players, but I think the word "squished" might be one way to put it. :) Everything sounds smaller and more condensed through the Planet. There's less detail, and much less of the spaciousness I've grown accustomed to from my other three CD players. Sounds terrible, huh? :D Well, this is a famous and popular CD player for a reason, outdated though it may now be. It does indeed have something of a warm, analog, sound which Rega originally touted upon the Planets original release as being the sonic presentation for vinyl lovers who "have to or want to" play CDs. It's interesting to note that, according to AK member Art K. and other online comments I've read, Rega has moved decisively away from that type of sound with their newer models, and towards a cleaner, more neutral and resolving presentation. And frankly, that appeals to me more. But the Planet has something in common with the Jolida 100: It's fun to listen to. For critical listening it gets its rear-end kicked in all categories by the MF A3.5 and Naim players, but I foresee it making a great CD player to use when entertaining guests, or listening to poorly-recorded CDs (like almost all pop music :D). Plus it's unusual appearance and functions are conversation starters, or stoppers, depending on how dumbfounded a non-audiophile person would be when they see it, which could only get worse when they learn this CD player originally cost nearly $800. :yikes:

I think that's about all I have to say on this for now. Perhaps after I've had more time to get used to the Planet again in my current setup I'll update my CD player comparison thread. In summary, the Planet has a warm, delicate, fairly-natural, and all around pleasant sound, but compared to better CD players it sounds closed-in, somewhat dark, less resolving, a bit soft on dynamics, and not particularly impressive when it comes to imaging.

Analysis aside, I'm so glad to have it back. As a CD player junkie, and one who's sick enough to actually "CD player roll" the way others tube roll, having four great CD players is better than three. :music:

...
 
The pictures pls?

Patience my friend. ;) I had to type it all up just now, that's why it took so long.

Oh and I forgot to mention: Not long after I got the Planet working again, I found the remote, which I'd thought was totally lost during a move a year and a half ago! I should have taken a picture of the remote, it's such a weird design.
 
Enjoyed reading and staring at your post Mr. Lin. I'm glad the rega is up and running. Did you put the beetle back where it was? I just saw the schematics and she is there to fix jitter apparently and improve sound while playing The Beatles CD's. Go figure. :nerd:
 
Enjoyed reading and staring at your post Mr. Lin. I'm glad the rega is up and running. Did you put the beetle back where it was? I just saw the schematics and she is there to fix jitter apparently and improve sound while playing The Beatles CD's. Go figure. :nerd:

Haha! That's not one I was expecting someone to come up with. :) No, I removed the beetle, since I prefer NOT to have a horrendous smell coming from my CD player. Actually, it's lucky it wasn't fried when I turned on the CD player before taking it apart, since that's one point inside the CD player where that could theoretically have happened - hence the plastic cover Rega put in there (not pictured). :scratch2:

EDIT: Speaking of things that are not pictured, please bear in mind I did not take any pictures of the transport mechanism or circuitry, which all had to be moved out of the way in order to work on the CDP. That big white ribbon cable that's close to the toroidal transformer connects the transport to the rest of the circuitry - something I mentioned earlier I think.
 
Thank you very much Art! If you still had your Saturn I'd ask you to open it up now so we could compare. :thmbsp:
 
I am so very glad to see this legendary player fixed and running again. A job very well done, sir. Congrats. :thmbsp:
Tom
 
Thank you Tom. It was depressing every time I walked by it in the last few years. I came so close to selling it for parts...
 
Great posts. Thanks for taking the time to post your experience.

And thanks for the great pictures.
 
As always Dave, your write ups are detailed as ever :thmbsp: . I noticed the DAC section PCB. It looks like you may be able to perform some mods there - maybe replacing that IC? Possibly add a nice and fat tube stage? :music: The cool thing about the Rega is that it seems the major points are sectioned off, and thus may allow you to perform some mods. What do you think? :scratch2: I do feel bad about you displacing that stink bug from his home. :nono: Did you check to see if he had a significant other with a budding family that you just tossed out onto the streets to fend for themselves? :D

Jimmy
 
Great posts. Thanks for taking the time to post your experience.

And thanks for the great pictures.

As always Dave, your write ups are detailed as ever :thmbsp: . I noticed the DAC section PCB. It looks like you may be able to perform some mods there - maybe replacing that IC? Possibly add a nice and fat tube stage? :music: The cool thing about the Rega is that it seems the major points are sectioned off, and thus may allow you to perform some mods. What do you think? :scratch2: I do feel bad about you displacing that stink bug from his home. :nono: Did you check to see if he had a significant other with a budding family that you just tossed out onto the streets to fend for themselves? :D

Jimmy

You guys are too kind. :)

Jimmy: You bring up a very interesting subject, I was waiting for someone to mention this. In fact there are numerous mods described on the internet, I ran across them while trying to diagnose my problem with the Planet. It seems the most popular ones are replacing the filter and bypass caps in the power supply, some caps in the DAC section, and some resistors near the output. Allegedly the most effective mod for the Planet is to actually replace the clock with a better one, but that might be a bit tricky. Replacing the DAC IC is another option.

I wouldn't want to add any tubes to this CD player as its sonic presentation is already heavily on the warm side, so that could potentially muddle things up even more.

Honestly the first thing that comes to mind for me is the power cord. I don't like that lamp cord being hard-wired to the CDP, and Rega changed this starting with the Planet 2000 model, so one could select a better power cable if one so desired. This would involve cutting out a section of the chassis to make room for a 15 IEC inlet, which would then have to be hard-wired to the PCB inside the Planet. Not sure how difficult that might be, but it's an intriguing option.

There's also that fuse... Before anyone scoffs, I've tried the fuse thing in four different components and almost always heard an improvement. Why, I haven't a clue, but there it was.

But in contemplating all this it occurs to me that I'd be throwing money at something that, regardless of what I do, is still going to be totally out-classed by the Naim and Musical Fidelity CD players I own. Is it worth the trouble, or should I just enjoy the Planet for what it is? If personal history is any indicator, you might want to bet that I will ultimately not be able to leave well enough alone. It's a problem I have.

EDIT: Regarding the bug: I'm one of those people who never kills anything. I pick up spiders with my hands and put them outside (although I'm a self-confessed arachnophile), and try to avoid harming or killing even small insects. But I despise stink bugs, and show them no mercy. The smell is so offensive to me, and they dive right into my face sometimes, they're everywhere!!! I just don't understand how they've survived natural selection. Ever seen one fly? They seem to have no control whatsoever, regularly crashing into walls, furniture, and people. And once you catch them, and they feel threatened, they really release the noxious oil... In fact, two have hit the wall next to me and landed on my leg in the last 24 hours, as I was on my laptop.
 
Dave, hot-rodding our gear is a hobby. Is it worth it? To who? I say do it :D . About that power cord. An inlet runs about $10.00? And I'm sure you've got a few monsters laying around your home you could use - even an older type that may have sounded bad on other gear may be an upgrade from that lamp cord wire in the Rega. As for the fuse sounding better? Well yea, the filament is the bottle neck after that heavy guage power cable. Give it a nice audio grade fuse and let her open up. Also, looking at your pics on the DAC board. It seems a service manual could tell you the specifics, but the ribbon cable going to the DAC board - how many actual cables could be used? Maybe 2 for power, 4 for signal? 6 maybe? The reason is you could just drop in another DAC stage altogether, or even bypass the OEM one althogether.

Jimmy
 
You guys are too kind. :)

EDIT: Regarding the bug: I'm one of those people who never kills anything. I pick up spiders with my hands and put them outside (although I'm a self-confessed arachnophile), and try to avoid harming or killing even small insects. But I despise stink bugs, and show them no mercy. The smell is so offensive to me, and they dive right into my face sometimes, they're everywhere!!! I just don't understand how they've survived natural selection. Ever seen one fly? They seem to have no control whatsoever, regularly crashing into walls, furniture, and people. And once you catch them, and they feel threatened, they really release the noxious oil... In fact, two have hit the wall next to me and landed on my leg in the last 24 hours, as I was on my laptop.

Ya killed him didn't ya, Dave. Just say it...it's ok we're all human here..lol!
 
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