Rega plinth foam?
- Thread starter kenpoguy
- Start date
Register to hide this ad
BillWojo
Addicted Member
They have had issues with the plinth sagging, Rega even has a spec as to how much sag is ok before they will replace it.
I don't have much respect for a company who won't publish wow & flutter specs but will publish a spec for how much their plinth can sag.
For the kind of money they charge for one of those things you can be looking at much better tables. Tables that have tonearm height adjustments, etc. They try and lock you into using only a Rega cart, any other cart is a hassle to set up. Screw Rega!
BillWojo
I don't have much respect for a company who won't publish wow & flutter specs but will publish a spec for how much their plinth can sag.
For the kind of money they charge for one of those things you can be looking at much better tables. Tables that have tonearm height adjustments, etc. They try and lock you into using only a Rega cart, any other cart is a hassle to set up. Screw Rega!
BillWojo
CrSens
Super Member
On the other hand, Rega is so refreshing with its lightweight and still good sounding decks (compared to usual high end behemoths), easy to set up, not sensitive to surface you put them on, just plug and play. Anti-thesis to a lot of idiosyncratic and complicated turntable set-ups that are putting many people off, so they just give up to digital. Compared to seting up many other turntables, putting non Rega cartridge on a Rega is pretty easy affair.
BillWojo
Addicted Member
Not so, Rega sells shims to shim up the arm when going to a taller cart. Requires partial disassembly of the tonearm mount. Every arm I own has simple adjustments to change height. Takes just seconds.
They refuse to list basic specs, that tells all. Have they figured out how to get them to run at speed or do they still run fast?
BillWojo
They refuse to list basic specs, that tells all. Have they figured out how to get them to run at speed or do they still run fast?
BillWojo
I don't use a Planar 8 or Planar 10, and even the RP3 I enjoyed for several years was something I gave to a friend before moving to Texas a couple years ago, but you raise an interesting question, not something that would have occurred to me to think about.
One quote about polyurethane foam (not specific to the Tancast 8 used in Rega plinths) said, "PU foams deteriorate rapidly; visible consequences of degradation can appear after 20–30 years of natural degradation. The main visual signs of degradation are discoloration, loss of flexibility, and crumbling, which occur under influence of moisture, heat, and light." With the foam encapsulated with laminate material and used in a home environment, I would think chances for a long life are pretty good. Have you asked Rega if they have any lifespan estimates? The foam material just started being used in Rega turntables about 2017, so not much long-term customer use to be found at this point.
Last edited:
Rega sells shims but don't seem to push them too heavily. In the description of their 2mm spacer they wrote, "The only time a spacer is necessary to raise the arm height is if the rear of a cartridge is hitting the record whilst playing." On Rega turntables, I've experimented with a variety of Ortofon, Stanton, Sumiko, Goldring, Audio Technica, and Shure cartridges, and none even came close to needing an arm height spacer.
Tone Audio mentioned that decades ago Rega had gotten a reputation for running a bit fast, but they also said that they have tested over a dozen Regas since the publication started in 2005, and that "we’ve yet to have a Rega table measure anything but perfect speed." I have seen test reports from other publications where speed was not "perfect," but all were well within the DIN 45-500 standards for speed accuracy.
I, too, am frustrated by Rega's refusal to list basic specifications, but I don't believe that "that tells all." I have purchased Rega turntables both for myself and as gifts because at each price point they consistently sound better to me than the competition, and the Rega dealers I've purchased from have been quite liberal with both in-store demonstration time and allowing me to borrow floor samples to do in-home comparisons, including permission for me to mount up a different cartridge. I still agree with what I heard from Linn decades ago, "Our advice has always been; if it sounds better, it is better."
Before I actually owned a Rega I might have been influenced by the arguments against. Owning a Rega P6 for a couple of years now, I can vouch for them unequivocally. Most of those who troll in Rega threads have never owned Rega equipment.
The arguments against Rega I find to be utterly unconvincing at this point. Having owned a number of turntables, including several very competent models, new and vintage, the P6 is the first turntable I bought that I simply set up and forgot about. Dead simple to use, silent in use, incredibly good sounding, backed by one of the longest-running and reliable manufacturers in the industry, it's a machine that I NEVER feel the urge to replace.
If you believe that the Tancast foam core of your Rega turntable might degrade decades from now, I've got bad news for you regarding motors, circuitry, wiring, bearings, any laminates that may exist on your equipment, buttons, knobs, switches, etc. Avoiding Tancast foam core plinths is, frankly, absurd.
The arguments against Rega I find to be utterly unconvincing at this point. Having owned a number of turntables, including several very competent models, new and vintage, the P6 is the first turntable I bought that I simply set up and forgot about. Dead simple to use, silent in use, incredibly good sounding, backed by one of the longest-running and reliable manufacturers in the industry, it's a machine that I NEVER feel the urge to replace.
If you believe that the Tancast foam core of your Rega turntable might degrade decades from now, I've got bad news for you regarding motors, circuitry, wiring, bearings, any laminates that may exist on your equipment, buttons, knobs, switches, etc. Avoiding Tancast foam core plinths is, frankly, absurd.
BillWojo
Addicted Member
There was a long post over at the Steve Hoffman forum about those plinths and the sag issue.
Your correct though, I've never owned a Rega, I'm not a fan of minimal engineering. They remind me of another English turntable that people constantly need to upgrade. Why not just give the customer the "goods" in the first place. Plastic parts that need to be upgraded to aluminum to get it to perform decently and better power supplys to make the motor run at the correct speed? No thanks.
BillWojo
Your correct though, I've never owned a Rega, I'm not a fan of minimal engineering. They remind me of another English turntable that people constantly need to upgrade. Why not just give the customer the "goods" in the first place. Plastic parts that need to be upgraded to aluminum to get it to perform decently and better power supplys to make the motor run at the correct speed? No thanks.
BillWojo
It's only the obsessives or tweakers who find the 'need' to change out Rega parts like sub-platters and PSUs. Standard, stock Rega turntables are fantastic machines, probably a bit overpriced in the US compared to what they cost in the UK and Europe, but they stand up to any competitive machines and Rega stands by them. I just don't understand the seeming AK bias against Rega.
cafe latte
Addicted Member
This is why they dont publish specs
Attachments
CrSens
Super Member
It's not really a bias against Rega....it's just that most Rega owners are happily listening to music on their systems, and don't feel the need to tell the world how great their turntable is, or engage in subjective (what others call objective) discussions on the forum.
Maybe tweaking is a major part of the fun for some people. I don't recall the thread title, but there's another current thread in which someone mentions owning a Rega RB250 tone arm and all the modifications he made to it to bring it to more satisfactory performance for him. I don't really understand going through all that, and would rather just buy something I liked to begin with.
I've been a Rega customer because comparative auditions proved to me that my ears, anyway, preferred what Rega had to offer at the price. I can understand if someone says they like something else better, like maybe they preferred the presentation offered by a Sota Moonbeam VI over the Planar 6, but I don't understand the animus and abusive language sometimes used to attack Rega and its products.
I don't know which English turntable you're referring to, but most companies regardless of where they're located offer optional upgrades for those who want them. SOTA used to happily tell potential customers that they could start with the SOTA Jewel and, if they wished, have it upgraded over time to Sapphire, Nova, and even Cosmos levels of performance.
I bought a turntable from Scotland that I very much enjoyed. I appreciated that I could buy it with a low-cost tone arm and enjoy great sound right away while saving up more money for their better arm. I also liked what I heard auditioning an improved platter bearing kit that was developed eight years after I bought my 'table, and I decided to upgrade to that, too. In this case, they couldn't offer the upgrade when I bought my turntable because it didn't exist yet. My opinion is that it's nice when a company supports older products with improvements over time that people can buy, or not, as they choose.
With Rega, I've only purchased lower-end models, RP3 and below, with plastic subplatters and without ever buying their outboard power supplies. The motors ran at the right speed and performance was more than decent--if they hadn't sounded better than their competitors, I wouldn't have bought them.
I never bought the outboard power supplies that came out for my Linn preamp and turntable, either; like with my Rega RP3, my ears didn't hear a big enough difference to want to bother.
I don't think you'd have to worry too much about the plinth sagging, I believe the issue with the "sag" was a) with RP6 plinths and b) happened immediately or was evident from the factory. If you did have a "sag" issue, I'm sure Rega would fix it and/or you can buy 3rd party plinths like the acrylic skeletal plinths from Michael Lim.
A few years ago I bought a P6 as a second table for my LR system. I planned to upgrade it and did to the point where only the motor/drive board are original (including an RB2000 arm). It sounded good. One day I made the mistake of doing a side by side with my upgraded Oracle Delphi Mk1/6. No comparison, the Delphi blew it away, as I sorta expected it to.
While I still have the modded P6, I sold the RB2000 and returned the RB330 to it and I use it for crappy records now (I bought a second Delphi and upgraded it to Mk6 for the LR system.)
The 2 things that Imho Rega gets wrong are 1) no adjustments on their arms at all (other than VTF). Even their best arm(s) don't have any kind of VTA or azimuth adjustments. 2) they still insist on mounting the motor on the plinth. Motors make noise and that noise gets amplified thru the phono stage (especially with high gain MC stages). Try running your table with a stethoscope to prove this. Double sided tape or an o ring os not a good way to do this imho. They really need to get the motor off the plinth (one of the best upgrades you can do to a Rega).
If you can find a used P8 or P10 for a good price, it's worth a look if you don't know how to setup or tune a table. They are easy to setup and will give you good sound. But if you're looking new, for the price of a P10 you can find other alternatives that will be better dollar for dollar.
A few years ago I bought a P6 as a second table for my LR system. I planned to upgrade it and did to the point where only the motor/drive board are original (including an RB2000 arm). It sounded good. One day I made the mistake of doing a side by side with my upgraded Oracle Delphi Mk1/6. No comparison, the Delphi blew it away, as I sorta expected it to.
While I still have the modded P6, I sold the RB2000 and returned the RB330 to it and I use it for crappy records now (I bought a second Delphi and upgraded it to Mk6 for the LR system.)
The 2 things that Imho Rega gets wrong are 1) no adjustments on their arms at all (other than VTF). Even their best arm(s) don't have any kind of VTA or azimuth adjustments. 2) they still insist on mounting the motor on the plinth. Motors make noise and that noise gets amplified thru the phono stage (especially with high gain MC stages). Try running your table with a stethoscope to prove this. Double sided tape or an o ring os not a good way to do this imho. They really need to get the motor off the plinth (one of the best upgrades you can do to a Rega).
If you can find a used P8 or P10 for a good price, it's worth a look if you don't know how to setup or tune a table. They are easy to setup and will give you good sound. But if you're looking new, for the price of a P10 you can find other alternatives that will be better dollar for dollar.
I can't recall ever hearing an Oracle turntable. A quick search indicates that an Oracle Delphi MkVI costs $9945 without an arm, so perhaps not surprising that it would sound good. More importantly, your post brings up the point that auditioning options, if possible, is always a good idea. One shop I frequented sold both Linn and VPI turntables. Both great companies with great products, but they were of different designs and had different sonic strengths. My ears greatly preferred Linn, but other people were equally adamant in favor of VPI. Some Rega fans told me they'd rather have a Planar 3 than anything from VPI at any price, but that was before the original VPI Scout came out, which even Linn and Rega fans loved. Anyway, I hope kenpoguy has had an opportunity to hear with his own ears whether or not Rega's models at his price points offer the sound his ears like best.
That's a thing that I find tremendously annoying about AK posters, which is the frequency with which they will 'talk down' a machine by comparing it a machine that costs multiples of the one being compared to.
I'll take the stock Planar 6 and the extra $8,000+ in my checking account, thank you very much.
I'll take the stock Planar 6 and the extra $8,000+ in my checking account, thank you very much.
I love my older planar 3 and have for decades.
My personal experience matches DavidTT's. The rega reputation is well earned in my estimation ( based on years of living with my planar 3). I think it would be foolish for someone to let the opinions of people who really know nothing about the products sway there decision.
kenpoguy
New Member
Thank you for that info. seeing as I want to buy my " last turntable" this Rega is now out of the running due to the possible sagging issue.
kenpoguy
New Member
I do admire the low mass rigidity approach and all the R&D associated with this brand.
CrSens
Super Member
The problem is that you can't rely on other people's opinions in most cases, even famed audio reviewers. I've been to enough audio shows, people's homes and high end dealers to know that less than 10% of exhibited systems have natural or realistic sound, if this is what you are after. The mismatch between tonally neutral and realistic, and colored in midrange, bright or bombastic as is usually being presented is almost tragic. So, most of the opinions on this forum are highly subjective, biased and best not to be taken seriously. With that in mind, reading the lines here (about sound quality comparisons) becomes more lighthearted fun. The main advantage of Rega is more than good enough sound (for the rest of the components which complete the system), and at the some time compactness, lightness and practicality.
