Rega Planar 3 Turntable - Black, Exact Cartridge

Stereophile "Recommended Component"

Five Stars – What Hi-fi? Magazine

"Look No Further Than This"

Replacing Rega's multi award winning and five-time What Hi-Fi? magazine Product of the Year RP3 turntable was never going to be an easy task. It took a team of designers headed up by Rega's Roy Gandy two years to develop the all-new Planar 3. The result is the biggest redesign of the iconic 'three' model ever seen.

And now you can order the Planar 3 with a factory-fitted Rega phono cartridge that shows off its capabilities to the max. The Exact is Rega's flagship MM moving magnet design, and like all Rega cartridges it is handmade to the highest levels of art, craftsmanship, and science. Specify your Planar 3 with the Exact cartridge for an unparalleled listening experience.

Rega's team has worked tirelessly to improve every aspect of this turntable. The Planar 3 offers improved ergonomics and ease-of-use. First and foremost, however, is an upgrade in sonic performance. The Planar 3 is truly a new turntable, carrying over few components from the previous model while retaining the high quality, value-for-money, and spirit of excellence that made the previous model a consistent Product of the Year.

"Highly Recommended"

"For me, the best record-playing system is the one that most vigorously directs my attention toward the humans behind the music... Rega's new Planar 3 is exceptional at doing just that. Rega's new Planar 3 is exceptional at doing just that," notes Herb Reichert in Stereophile, which awards the Planar 3 the magazine's coveted "Recommended Component" honor.

"The Planar 3 only sits in the middle of the company's range, but it's arguably the best value. It's also a thing of elegance, with a simple to set up design and the beautiful RB330 tonearm (if you're into that sort of thing)," reports Ty Pendlebury at . " It is highly recommended."

"Clarity, Precision, and Insight"

"Want the best value turntable on the market? This is it," raves What Hi-fi? magazine, which awards the Planar 3 its top rating of Five Stars. "We think this new version is the best RP3 yet, adding extra servings of clarity, precision and insight to an already musical sound."

"Percussion sounds crisp, vocals are clear and realistic, and there’s plenty of tight bass," notes Simon Osborne-Walker at TrustedReviews.com, May 4, 2016. "If you’re looking for a record player [anywhere near this price range], you need look no further than this."

Breakthrough RB330 Tonearm

Designed using the latest 3D CAD & CAM technology, the new RB330 is the culmination of more than 35 years of Rega tonearm design experience. A brand new bearing housing joins forces with Rega's latest tonearm tube, which was designed using intelligent redistribution of mass, ensuring that this arm will exhibit fewer points of possible resonance. Extreme stability with almost friction-free movement from the new high precision bearing assemblies will gather more information from your vinyl than ever before.

Features aplenty include a new bias assembly, a redesigned stiffer vertical bearing housing, an integrated arm clip, and an improved spring housing with easier to read numbers. The arm also boasts a new Rega-made low capacitance phono cable with Neutrik plugs, improved lower friction precision horizontal and vertical bearings, and a newly designed 100g (3.5 oz.) milled steel balance weight.

Double Brace-Technology Plinth

Rega has pioneered the use of lightweight rigid plinths. Clever use of lightweight particulate core with a highly rigid phenolic resin skin became the foundations of the high level of performance achieved by the now iconic original Planar range.

The new Planar 3 takes this design philosophy to the next level. A lightweight acrylic laminated plinth strengthened using a new improved double brace system mounted specifically where the increased rigidity is required (between the tonearm mounting and the main hub bearing), forming a structurally sound "stressed beam" assembly. The double braced design has an improved thicker 3mm phenolic bottom brace and new metalized skin phenolic top brace. This rigid plinth design prevents energy absorption and unwanted resonance, which will add unnatural distortions to the music.

Equally, heavier mass can transfer more unwanted energy, such as motor or bearing noise directly into the rotating record. The strategic use of braces instead of the complete skin allows double thickness phenolic resin in these key areas while providing further weight reduction to the plinth which directly addresses the issue of mass absorption and unwanted energy transmission.

More Performance-Enhancing Features

Beginning with a brand new platter, the Planar 3 includes even more performance-enhancing features. A new float glass ‘Optiwhite’ 12mm-thick platter with polished provides improved accuracy along with stunning looks.

A new bearing housing uses a redesigned brass main hub central bearing, improved fit and construction reducing stress on the bearing itself. The redesigned sub platter offers improved accuracy and improved stiffness. Redesigned feet increase stability and reduce vibration transfer.

An improved new 24-volt motor control PCB offers integration with the addition of and optional TT-PSU for electronic speed change and improved advanced anti-vibration circuit (sold separately).

Rega Exact Phono Cartridge

You get the exact cartridge you want for your Planar 3 when you order it with the Rega Exact MM phono cartridge.

The Exact is Rega's flagship handmade MM moving magnet cartridge. It's built to the tightest achievable tolerances and using an advanced ‘Vital’ profile, (a complex fine line micro-ground from a rectangular diamond billet). This advanced profile is guaranteed to extract more music from your vinyl by using its unique profile to track the grooves with greater accuracy.

Each Exact uses a pair of the highest grade in house wound parallel coils. The selected coil-set is carefully assembled in a custom jig to create the tightest possible pole gap in the moving magnet range. Achieving an incredible fine channel balance figure of ±0.1 mV the Exact delivers the best stereo image and highest output available from Rega's magnet range.

This testing process can take three time longer than other moving magnet models but the increased accuracy is worth the effort as you will experience taut bass and incisive treble. The addition of the unique Rega three-point mounting system – which automatically sets overhang and improves the rigidity of mounting to the tonearm head-shell on Rega arms – is what makes the Exact Rega's flagship moving magnet cartridge.