HIFI turntable question-Rega Planar 3
21 December 2003, 07:56 PM
#1
Scooby Regular
Thread Starter
Join Date: May 2001
Posts: 2,214
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
how often do you need them serviced? if ever? and does anyone know a good service in London/Surrey? I am assuming that these things cant be touched by my ham fisted fat fingers
21 December 2003, 08:01 PM
#2
BANNED
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: Your home is worthless.You can't afford to run your car.Your job is on the line.Schadenfreude rules.
Posts: 4,787
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
You should have it serviced, have one myself but don't know the intervals I'm afraid. I think it's amazing how good these budget decks sound.
21 December 2003, 08:09 PM
#3
Scooby Regular
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 757
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I've got the original Planar, bought it 15 years ago and took it home strapped to the pillion seat of me bike 
I'd say there's nothing to service unless the motor is noisy or the speed is erratic. Mines never been touched.
I'd say there's nothing to service unless the motor is noisy or the speed is erratic. Mines never been touched.
21 December 2003, 08:11 PM
#4
Scooby Regular
Thread Starter
Join Date: May 2001
Posts: 2,214
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I think the belts need replacing regularly and the oil topping up,but i dont know how often,plus it helps to have them balanced,particularly if they are er,taken home on a motorbike 
21 December 2003, 10:34 PM
#6
Scooby Regular
Join Date: Aug 2000
Location: God's promised land
Posts: 80,907
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Last time i asked Rega (when i needed a new belt for mine) many years ago, they advised that no servicing was necessary unless a fault developed. And let's face it, there's little on them to go wrong, really.
Great decks, i agree, but the lack of any automation whatsoever ground me down in the end. Maybe i'm just too lazy sometimes!
Great decks, i agree, but the lack of any automation whatsoever ground me down in the end. Maybe i'm just too lazy sometimes!
Trending Topics
21 December 2003, 10:55 PM
#9
Scooby Regular
Join Date: Mar 1999
Location: Dumbartonshire
Posts: 5,896
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
BTW if anyone is still interested in turntables I have a Linn Axis and Ariston RD40SL in mint condition. Email me in profile if your interested in buying any of them.
The Ariston (similar to the Linn Sondek LP12), in fact I think Ivor Tiefenbrum nabbed the design from when he worked with Ariston, well anyway it comes with an RB250 and audio technica AT-OC5, probably less that 50 hours use on the AT even though its an old design now.
[Edited by Jye - 12/21/2003 10:57:22 PM]
The Ariston (similar to the Linn Sondek LP12), in fact I think Ivor Tiefenbrum nabbed the design from when he worked with Ariston, well anyway it comes with an RB250 and audio technica AT-OC5, probably less that 50 hours use on the AT even though its an old design now.
[Edited by Jye - 12/21/2003 10:57:22 PM]
22 December 2003, 09:13 AM
#10
Scooby Regular
Join Date: Jun 2000
Posts: 2,965
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I still can't believe I managed to get a Planar 3 (with Goldring cartridge) from a 2nd-hand electrical goods shop for £25!!! OK, it's 15 years old but works a treat.
As long as the motor is quiet and the bearing is free (easy to test this, just remove the belt and spin the platter. Does it spin freely? Watch where it stops. Repeat. If it stops in the same place as before, the bearing is on its way out) and the arm is free, just turn it up and enjoy!
As long as the motor is quiet and the bearing is free (easy to test this, just remove the belt and spin the platter. Does it spin freely? Watch where it stops. Repeat. If it stops in the same place as before, the bearing is on its way out) and the arm is free, just turn it up and enjoy!
22 December 2003, 10:18 AM
#11
Scooby Regular
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: Cambridge
Posts: 1,428
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I have a rega also, it has a lifetime warranty i believe, so if anything goes wrong you ship it off to rega and they will repair it and ship it back (they clean it up nicely as well).
This applies to 2nd hand ones as well they have never refused anyone a service.
The rumour is the people who design and build them take it inturns to work the service department, and this embeds a quality assurance in new products and builds so it keeps service department an easy place to work in on your turn.
A truly excellent company who i cant recommend enough.
and good find for £25 congrats
This applies to 2nd hand ones as well they have never refused anyone a service.
The rumour is the people who design and build them take it inturns to work the service department, and this embeds a quality assurance in new products and builds so it keeps service department an easy place to work in on your turn.
A truly excellent company who i cant recommend enough.
and good find for £25 congrats
22 December 2003, 10:23 AM
#12
Scooby Regular
Join Date: Jun 2003
Posts: 720
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
dba,
take it to infidelity in hampton wick. best rega dealer in surrey.
i know you can get a heavier counter balance to replace the standard one, which is a very worthwhile mod!
take it to infidelity in hampton wick. best rega dealer in surrey.
i know you can get a heavier counter balance to replace the standard one, which is a very worthwhile mod!
22 December 2003, 10:40 AM
#13
Scooby Regular
Join Date: May 2003
Posts: 2,031
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Surely it should be after every 7.5 k records played. First is a splash & dash, although 30,45 & 60 k are major services.
Get your book stamped by any good authorised dealer...
Get your book stamped by any good authorised dealer...
22 December 2003, 10:11 PM
#15
Scooby Regular
Join Date: May 1999
Posts: 7,901
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
FWIW I used to lust after a Planar 3. They did them in a particularly nice violet colour too. Of course the Rega was the sensible option for not-too-serious money (I was a student at the time) -- what I really wanted was a Roksan Touraj Moghaddan Signature, Alphason Symphony (piano finish) or a PT Anniversary. Never did get the Rega though (still got a Dual CS505-4 kicking around somewhere).
Doesn't seem much point in getting a 2-grand turntable now though
Engineering masterpieces, IMHO. You certainly got a lot of quality for your money, whereas a 2-grand CD player is just a load of ICs in a box
Doesn't seem much point in getting a 2-grand turntable now though
Engineering masterpieces, IMHO. You certainly got a lot of quality for your money, whereas a 2-grand CD player is just a load of ICs in a box
22 December 2003, 10:36 PM
#18
Scooby Regular
Join Date: Aug 2000
Location: God's promised land
Posts: 80,907
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
The RB300 arm is/was as good as you'd ever need. I had mine hard-wired with silver solder, which helped, and ran a Goldring 1020 (that really is a guess, i can't honestly remember if that's the correct model number) cartridge.
The best upgrades, imo, were a decent cartridge alignment and balance set-up, as well as a Ringmat instead of the felt disc.
The best upgrades, imo, were a decent cartridge alignment and balance set-up, as well as a Ringmat instead of the felt disc.
22 December 2003, 10:46 PM
#20
Scooby Regular
Join Date: May 1999
Posts: 7,901
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
OK. I see from a recent copy of What Hi-Fi (and Home Cinema 
) that Krell now do a whole range of amps. When I were a lad, they did just the one and IIRC it was huge (needed >=2 people to lift it) and could drive 0.25 ohm. Transients were apparently effortless...
Personally my faves were the Alchemist Kraken (what a design!), the MF MA65s in chrome and the Audiolab 8000A (coz you could upgrade it and use the 8000A as the pre-amp then add a pair of 8000P monoblocs). I quite liked the idea of some of the valve amps -- IIRC Audio Note did some that were great with female vocals.
Can we have a loudspeaker discussion? In the world of ICs and trannies, the loudspeakers are the last 'mechanical' part with engineering you can see.
PS: whatever happened to that Meridian kit where the DACs (and, I guess, the power amps) were integrated with the speakers, so you ran long optical interconnects from the preamp to the speakers?
) that Krell now do a whole range of amps. When I were a lad, they did just the one and IIRC it was huge (needed >=2 people to lift it) and could drive 0.25 ohm. Transients were apparently effortless...Personally my faves were the Alchemist Kraken (what a design!), the MF MA65s in chrome and the Audiolab 8000A (coz you could upgrade it and use the 8000A as the pre-amp then add a pair of 8000P monoblocs). I quite liked the idea of some of the valve amps -- IIRC Audio Note did some that were great with female vocals.
Can we have a loudspeaker discussion? In the world of ICs and trannies, the loudspeakers are the last 'mechanical' part with engineering you can see.
PS: whatever happened to that Meridian kit where the DACs (and, I guess, the power amps) were integrated with the speakers, so you ran long optical interconnects from the preamp to the speakers?
22 December 2003, 11:00 PM
#21
Scooby Regular
Thread Starter
Join Date: May 2001
Posts: 2,214
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Origin live will mod the Rb300 and Rb250 for huge amounts of dosh.I have the standrad arm with an ortofon 530 mrk II,cost £100
i asked the original question when i saw a home service kit for £50.I always thought these decks were sturdy things and maybe once every ten years you would take it in for checking out
i asked the original question when i saw a home service kit for £50.I always thought these decks were sturdy things and maybe once every ten years you would take it in for checking out
23 December 2003, 10:20 AM
#23
Scooby Regular
Join Date: Oct 2003
Posts: 295
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I'd advise modding your RB by yourself.
Audionote sell some really great silver wire for rewiring the internals of an arm. Not a bad price either but the job is a bit fiddly. I think once you have the internals sorted then the rest is easier to follow through.
In terms of other mods I've been working with a dry film lubricant called WS2 (tungsten disulphide). You can use liquid lubricants with it but as a dry film it has a friction coefficient of 0.03 (teflon is 0.05 - 0.2). I've had the stuff applied to my bearing shaft/housing and it works a treat giving a much quieter background (stands to reason I guess).
Generally I think that not enough emphasis is placed on bearing quality which is a shame as the bearing is pretty fundamental. I'm really toying with the idea of drafting up some designs with some OTT tolerancing/silicon carbide ***** to get the best result I can.
Moving on to speakers my faves are:
Audionote - AN-K, AN-J
Ruark - Templar, Equinox
Martin Logan - Aerius
Mission - 752
ProAc - Studio 125
Best looking
Audionote sell some really great silver wire for rewiring the internals of an arm. Not a bad price either but the job is a bit fiddly. I think once you have the internals sorted then the rest is easier to follow through.
In terms of other mods I've been working with a dry film lubricant called WS2 (tungsten disulphide). You can use liquid lubricants with it but as a dry film it has a friction coefficient of 0.03 (teflon is 0.05 - 0.2). I've had the stuff applied to my bearing shaft/housing and it works a treat giving a much quieter background (stands to reason I guess).
Generally I think that not enough emphasis is placed on bearing quality which is a shame as the bearing is pretty fundamental. I'm really toying with the idea of drafting up some designs with some OTT tolerancing/silicon carbide ***** to get the best result I can.
Moving on to speakers my faves are:
Audionote - AN-K, AN-J
Ruark - Templar, Equinox
Martin Logan - Aerius
Mission - 752
ProAc - Studio 125
Best looking
