A 10 out of 10: British-Built Rega Planar 10 Exponentially Improves Analog Playback, Features RB3000 Tonearm, Ceramic Top Brace, Flywheel-Effect Ceramic Platter, and More

This one is certainly a 10 out of 10. Indeed, the Planar 10 turntable represents the biggest evolution of Rega founder Roy Gandy's design philosophy: A low-mass, high-rigidity, super-lightweight plinth combined with an electronically controlled low-vibration motor, ceramic flywheel-effect platter, and low-mass, ultra-stiff, high-stability tonearm. Bolstered by a ceramic top brace that provides off-the-charts accuracy while creating an ideal platform between the new RB3000 tonearm and central bearing, Planar 10 also features a custom-matched PL10 power supply, advanced DSP generator, EBLT drive belt, and single-piece dust cover to deliver the finest performance in Rega's esteemed four-decade-plus history. If you want Rega's best-ever-sounding rig, look no further. (Our drop-down menu gives you the option to select Planar 10 without a cartridge, with the Rega Aphelion MC cartridge, or with the Rega Apheta 3 MC cartridge.)

More than three years in development, Planar 10 delivers analog performance marked by exponential increases in detail, soundstaging, imaging, and black backgrounds. If you've ever wondered what architectural improvements in rigidity, solidity, quiet, and accuracy do for vinyl playback, Planar 10 will make such enhancements as clear as a cloudless day. As much an engineering feat as a musical instrument, it employs a surfeit of function-first parts — a Tancast 8 foam plinth, frameless design with double brace technology, ceramic brace, and RB300 tonearm included — that work in complete and total harmony. The emotional response to hearing Planar 10 spin a favorite LP cannot be summed up in words. This 'table is that magnificent.

"The music just emerged from a pitch-black background, fully defined spatially within a deep, wide, and tall soundstage, allowing me to hear into the music and focus on all sorts of lovely details and niceties.... With its use of cutting-edge materials, straightforward design principles, and unrelenting focus on minimizing the impact of vibration to extract maximal information out of record grooves, the Rega Planar 10 is easily one of the best turntables I have ever heard, regardless of price.... Unequivocally, my highest possible recommendation."
—Stephen Scharf, The Absolute Sound

"Rega's new RP10 is by far the company's most sophisticated, refined, quiet, and subtle-sounding turntable yet. If there's a better $6,695 plug'n'play turntable out there — or, for that matter, a better or at least competitive one for $10,000 — I don't know what it is."
—Michael Fremer, Stereophile

"It all sounds so natural, easy and organic — without so much as a hint of the processed feel that digital audio gives you, even at the high end. It's delightfully fluid and flowing, as well as having a realistic, tangible texture that makes high-end vinyl such a rare and special experience."
—Stereonet, Applause Award

"My immediate reaction was one of shock and disbelief. My system sounded completely different. I noticed right away that while things didn't sound thin or lean, the area around 250-400 Hz, which I had always assumed was a room acoustical mode, was cleaned up considerably. Bass was deeper and waaay more controlled. Dynamic contrasts of every variety were more apparent than ever before, even small scale events within a loud section of music. I could hear faders being turned up in mixes. Different kinds of depth and image-related effects in mixes were very apparent."
—Dave McNair, Part-Time Audiophile

Ultra-Lightweight Plinth

Planar 10 is the third Rega turntable constructed using the ultra-lightweight Tancast 8 polyurethane foam core (a material developed for the aerospace industry). It is sandwiched between two layers of HPL (high-pressure laminate), both exceptionally thin and extremely rigid. The new construction makes the Planar 10 skeletal plinth 30% lighter than the original RP10 while offering increased rigidity over the previous model.

Double Brace Technology

A super-lightweight plinth combined with a ceramic top brace and phenolic resin bottom brace mounted specifically where the increased rigidity is required (between the tonearm mounting and main hub bearing) forms a structurally sound, stressed beam assembly. This rigid plinth design prevents energy absorption and unwanted resonances that add unnatural distortions to music. Equally, heavier mass can transfer more unwanted energy such as motor or bearing noise directly into the rotating record. As such, the tonearm and cartridge must to be able to read accurately, directly from the platter. Enter Rega's double brace solution. The use of braces instead of the complete skin allows increased thickness in these key areas, while providing further weight reduction to the plinth, which directly addresses the issue of mass absorption and unwanted energy transmission.

RB3000 Tonearm

Rega is renowned for its tonearm bearing assemblies and recently found a new manufacturing process that results in a micron perfect bearing fit. RB3000 is the first Rega arm to benefit from these improvements. The entire tonearm structure is designed to have the minimum of mechanical joints while using the stiffest materials in all critical areas. The tolerance is so tight that no adhesive is used at any point throughout construction. Rega's latest low-mass, precision engineered, vertical bearing assembly has been manufactured to further complement the inherent design philosophy. RB3000 uses advanced, preloaded zero-tolerance bearing assembly adjusted to less than 1000th of an millimeter to give friction-free movement and zero levels of unwanted play. Simply put, friction-free bearings with no play enable ridges in the record groove of less than a micron to be read. RB3000 also employs the award-winning, aluminum Rega arm tube (each meticulously hand polished, keeping mass to an absolute minimum), redesigned to redistribute mass and further reduce stresses and resonances. The advanced design increases the stiffness and rigidity of the overall assembly whilst reducing stress on the bearings.

Hub Bearing Assembly and Ceramic Platter

Planar 10 uses a new low-mass central bearing assembly. A single-piece, machined aluminum subplatter and hardened tool steel spindle run inside a custom brass housing designed with improved mechanical integrity. The complete assembly is mounted within the chassis to eradicate unwanted potential energy being transferred or stored in the plinth. In addition, Planar 10 uses a custom ceramic, flywheel-effect platter produced from ceramic oxide powder that is compressed, fired, and diamond-cut to ensure utmost accuracy and flatness across the surface. The latest platter also features modified construction with improved coupling to the sub platter.

24v Low-Noise Motor Assembly

Planar 10 uses Rega's latest-generation, 24v, synchronous, low-vibration motor technology. Uniquely mounted using the highest level of coupling while retaining higher vibration isolation than any previous model, the new motor mounting technique (mounted from the bottom) is taken directly from the ultimate Rega turntable, Naiad. The unique mounting method removes all stress from the motor body while holding the drive pulley perfectly still — enabling better speed stability and accuracy from the turntable. The reduced vibration and more rigid mounting deliver superior drive from the new EBLT drive belts. Each motor is hand-tuned to match its own custom-matched PL10 PSU power supply before fitting to the turntable.

EBLT Drive Belt

Using a specialized curing system, Rega's newest drive belt offers superior consistency of modulus (a constant representing the degree to which a substance has a particular property, especially elasticity). EBLTs are manufactured on Rega-designed, super-accurate tools (inspired by working with a manufacturer of high-tech Formula 1 engine parts) that produce 'perfectly round' and 'dimensionally accurate' belts, critical for perfect speed stability.

PL10 PSU Custom-Matched Advanced Power Supply

PL10 PSU offers the ultimate in motor control stability, convenient electronic speed change, advanced anti-vibration control, and user-adjustable electronic fine speed adjustment to ensure total accuracy and control over the life of the motor. Housed in Rega's latest custom-designed case, PL10 PSU is dedicated to running the 24v, low-noise motor as quietly and as accurately as possible. The speed and control of the motor is achieved by using a DSP generator built upon a high-stability crystal. It divides the accurate square wave from the crystal to the exact frequency required to turn the platter at the selected speed. The DSP core will also generate a near-perfect sinusoidal waveform to power the motor. Factory-set vibration removal and fine speed adjustments are then made to the power supply to tune each motor for optimal performance.