eBay Rega plinth, any thoughts?

[Jeff Egg]

Has anyone tried one of these. I'm cautiously considering one.

 

[Panamafred]

I quite like the looks but know that a big part of their design philosophy rests on the plinth.

Maybe it's better left how it is? I'd be more keen to try this on a P1 but I think quite a bit of thought has gone into the plinths of the tables further up the chain.

 

[ripblade]

Hard to tell from here, but it looks like the same MDF core but with veneer instead of HP laminate. I see no harm in it if you dig the looks.

 

[Jeff Egg]

Actually, listing states "Ebony veneer over high quality birch plywood ".

 

[ripblade]

Birch ply is stiffer than MDF, given equal thicknesses. On the other hand hp laminate is stiffer than veneer. MDF is more stable and presumably flatter, but the birch ply may be selected for flatness by the plinth maker. Who knows?

 

[peguinpower]

Not all MDF are the same. Same goes for birch plywood.

Given that the plinth is an unknown quantity, I wouldnt unless I had an idea of what it might sound like.

Secondly, if it has predrilled holes, how accurate are they?

My 2 cents.

 

[Montycat]

I have been thinking of those plinths for some time. I think they look great and the feedback on eBay is very good.

With modern tools and the simplicity of a Rega plinth it would be very easy to replicate it accurately.

 

[Oerets]

I also considered getting new plinth in a cherry veneer. Almost pulled the trigger.
Ended up remembering why I dislike a manual table and moved the table to another much happier with it.

I was thinking the new would be as good or better then the OEM.

 

[maxhifi]

Plywood is lighter and more resonant than MDF, and resonance is the enemy of turntables. Also, this isn't just a plinth in the traditional sense, more like the wooden chassis of the Rega. I would take a hard pass on it, unless it was the easiest way to resurrect a badly damaged Rega. Love or hate Rega turntables I would think changing the entire chassis with something from eBay makes it not really a Rega anymore, and that alone is enough for me to avoid it..

 

[Greenie]

I bought one of these a year or two ago for a Goldring GR2 (Rega clone).
Ok quality, I could not notice any real audible differences from the original plinth, looked a lot better.
Took 3 weeks to arrive over here in the uk.

 

[Montycat]

Plywood is lighter and more resonant than MDF, and resonance is the enemy of turntables. Also, this isn't just a plinth in the traditional sense, more like the wooden chassis of the Rega. I would take a hard pass on it, unless it was the easiest way to resurrect a badly damaged Rega. Love or hate Rega turntables I would think changing the entire chassis with something from eBay makes it not really a Rega anymore, and that alone is enough for me to avoid it..

Every single part of Rega turntables has been subject to aftermarket replacements, tweaks, upgrades etc. I don't know why the MDF part is any different but of course it's a personal preference to change it or not.

 

[Jeff Egg]

My Current Rega P3 is pretty heavily modded as it sits. I might just buy one and see how it goes. I've considered building a plinth from a piece of solid Santos Mahagony. I don't have a drill press and would be afraid of messing up the hole for the bering well, or whatever you call the thing the sub platter goes in. Lord knows I've wasted more money on worse ideas than this one.

 

[Nat]

If you don't have a drill press, trying to do it by hand with an expensive piece of wood (I assume Santos Mahogony is expensive) might cost as much or more, and not be satisfactory when you were done. I have my doubts as to whether the sound will be much different, but if you like the looks, it might be worth it.

 

[Montycat]

^ And a router.

 

[Jeff Egg]

Took four weeks to get to me in LA. I'm not disappointed. I like the way it looks. I used height adjustable feet, four of them. Sonically, it's not any worse, it might even be better. Hard to tell. I'm always tweeking my system. I needed to add the 2mm spacer to the arm. Setup was easy. Overall, to me, it was worth the expense.

 

[Montycat]

I like it!