Rega Planar 10 Turntable

My love for Rega turntables goes back a long way. In 1980, when I was looking to upgrade my Thorens TD160 turntable, a good friend and audio buddy provided me with a recommendation: “You should check out this new company, Rega. I hear it is doing really good things.” 

Shortly thereafter, I purchased the original Rega Planar 3, and, as low-tracking-force cartridges were then the rage, put the new SME Series III tonearm on it. If memory serves, I used a Frank Van Alstine-modified Sonus Gold cartridge. I took the rig over to another audio buddy, who was then using the Kenwood KD-500 granite turntable and Infinity Black Widow tonearm, which, at the time, comprised one of the “hot” turntable setups recommended by TAS’ founder, Harry Pearson. 

Much to our mutual surprise, the Rega Planar 3 blew the Kenwood into the weeds. We did multiple comparisons that evening, back and forth, with our best reference LPs played on both decks. Every single time, the Rega sounded better, hands down. My friend went out the next week and bought a Linn Sondek LP12, which he owns to this day. And I kept my Planar 3 for the next 30 years, using it exclusively as my music source during the years when my involvement with high-end audio waxed and waned. In 1987, I put a Grace Ruby on the SME, and then in 2009, Peter Ledermann of Soundsmith re-tipped the Grace with one of his ruby-cantilevered styli, which took the cartridge to another level. Eventually, I passed my Planar 3 on to my brother-in-law as a Christmas gift when his ’table died.

When I got seriously back into high-end audio in 2010, and was looking for a newer turntable, my Linn-owning friend offered me his like-new SME V tonearm for a great price (the SME wasn’t a good match for his Linn), and I bought a Michell Gyro SE turntable for it. About a year later, I snagged a very lightly used Koetsu Urushi Vermilion moving-coil cartridge. This setup became my reference (the Vermilion has since been re-tipped and fully re-built by Koetsu), but I never forgot how much I enjoyed Rega turntables, and in 2012, bought a lightly used Rega P5 with external power supply from a friend. I put a Sumiko Pearwood Celebration II cartridge on it, and was surprised at how good it sounded, performing way above its price point. The P5 had excellent detail and resolution, and had a punchy, energetic quality with real drive. It really “kicked out the jams,” great for rock, 80s New Wave, and blues. For 20% of the cost, I estimate the P5 performed at 80% of the level of my reference setup. That’s an excellent value proposition and, in my opinion, the P5 is still a great ’table, even today. 

Cut to the present. The better part of a decade has passed, and time and turntable development have not stood still. While Rega still advocates using light, stiff, low-mass plinths coupled to tonearms of superior engineering, since the legendary P9 it has been extending the classic Rega ethos with new designs that utilize innovative materials and manufacturing technologies. 

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