Rega Planar 1
Couldn't load pickup availability
Free Shipping On All Orders, No Minimums.
We offer free 2-day shipping on most products within the continental US.
Weekdays - Orders placed by 2pm EST ship same day. Orders placed after 2pm EST will ship the following business day.
Weekends - Orders placed on Saturday and Sunday will ship Monday.
Orders requiring motor freight delivery may take more than two business days. Once your order has shipped, you'll receive a shipping confirmation email with a tracking number for easy tracking.
Orders that contain items that are currently backordered, special order, or out of stock will ship complete once all items are in-stock unless otherwise requested.
If you need it faster, you will have the option of choosing a quicker shipping option when you checkout on the website.
At this time, we do not ship internationally and orders to Hawaii and Alaska may incur an additional shipping charge. Please contact us at 888.899.8776 or email support@audioadvice.com to confirm.
Rerouting and Address Changes
We cannot make ANY address changes once an order is placed. If you are unable to accept delivery of your package as ordered, we will need to cancel your order, return the package to sender and have you replace your order through our website.
Keep the Box
We suggest you keep the shipping box or boxes for at least 30 days. It is actually a great idea to keep boxes for audio products for the life of the product. Having the box and all packing will increase the trade-in value should you decide to move up and they are handy to have should you ever need to send the unit in for repair.
How To Receive a Motor Freight Order
The trucking company will contact you to schedule a convenient time to deliver the order. Please note that you must be present for delivery.
Visually inspect the box to make sure you see no signs of damage. If you notice any damage at all, take some pictures with your phone and make a note of them on the delivery receipt the driver will ask you to sign. If it is obvious that the product is damaged, please refuse the order and contact us immediately at 888.899.8776 or email support@audioadvice.com.
Open your box as soon as possible and inspect the product for damage and contact us if you find anything wrong.
FedEx Freight Service Comparison
| Feature / Service | Scheduled Curbside Delivery | White Glove Delivery |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduled delivery appointment | ✔ | ✔ |
| Delivery location | Ground level only (garage, front door, loading dock) | Room of choice, any floor |
| Delivery team | 1 person | 2 people |
| Placement inside home/business | ✘ | ✔ |
| Upstairs / downstairs delivery | ✘ | ✔ |
| Unpacking | ✘ | ✔ (upon request) |
| Packaging removal | ✘ | ✔ (upon request) |
| Assembly / installation | ✘ | ✘ |
| Old item removal | ✘ | ✘ |
At Audio Advice, we pride ourselves on customer satisfaction. We'll bend over backward to make sure you're 100% satisfied and we won't accept anything less. We offer 30-day hassle-free returns and personalized service from real, live people.
If an item doesn't meet your expectations, you may return or exchange it in its original condition and packaging within 30 days for a full refund, minus shipping fees. Items shipped back in like new condition through standard shipping carriers will only incur a flat fee of $15 to return. If the items were initially shipped through free scheduled delivery via motor freight (commonly referred to as LTL), returning them will result in return shipping fees starting at $150. These items include but are not limited to, oversized items such as TVs, certain subwoofers, floorstanding speakers, furniture, and most items weighing over 75 pounds. Return fees will also apply for exchanges. We want to treat your system as if it is our own and want you to be completely satisfied with your purchase.
Please see the instructions below. We only accept returns for any product purchased directly from our website. If merchandise is not returned in its original condition or is missing packaging, manuals, accessories or other parts, or the resale value of the product has been impaired, a partial refund will be given and calculated on a case-by-case basis.
Non-Returnable Items
The following items cannot be returned or cancelled:
- Special/Custom Order Items
- Open Box Products
- Gift Cards
- In-ear headphones cannot be returned once the packaging has been opened due to personal hygiene reasons. Please contact our customer care team if you'd like help choosing.
-
Turntables With a Broken Stylus: All turntables ship out with the stylus intact. If you return a turntable or phono cartridge with a broken or missing stylus you will be subject to a return fee. Please be careful when setting up your turntable and contact us with any questions.
Is It Easy To Return An Item?
Yes, simply give us a call at 888.899.8776 or you can email our support team at support@audioadvice.com. Many times our team of experts can help figure out why the product might not be working like you expected and get things fixed over the phone, so don’t be surprised if we ask a few questions, we love troubleshooting!
If our tech help can not make you happy, we will email over a return shipping label with a Return Number.
Hopefully, you saved all of the original item’s box and packaging inserts. You will want to pack back up your return or exchange in the same way it came out of the original box. Once you have everything packaged correctly, tape the box on the top and bottom to assure it stays together. If Audio Advice shipped the item to you inside a second box, it's a good idea to use that same extra box to help prevent damage on its way back to us. To avoid it accidentally coming back to you, use a magic marker to cross out the old shipping label or just tear it off.
The return shipping label we send you will have our address on it, just make sure you take the box to the right shipper (UPS, FEDEX, or USPS) as per the label.
If you are close to one of our stores, please let us know if it is more convenient for you to return it to us directly. You will still need to get a return number by contacting us and shipping and/or restocking charges may apply.
When Will I See My Refund?
It usually takes around 7-14 days for the refund to show up on the payment method you used. We do inspect all returns for damage and accuracy of the item inside the box before issuing a refund. Some items may be subject to shipping and restocking fees.
Can I Exchange My Purchase For Something Different?
Sometimes those big speakers just don’t fit in the room or you might have bought a small subwoofer and later found out you’d love a bigger one. If you would like to make an exchange within 30 days of receiving your item, just give us a call at 888.899.8776 or email support@audioadvice.com and we will help work out the details. Additional shipping charges and return costs may apply.
How Do I Cancel An Order?
If the item has already shipped out or is a special order item, it is not possible to cancel the order. Please contact us at 888.899.8776 or email support@audioadvice.com to start the return process.
What If I Find Shipping Damage?
We need to know right away about any shipping damage. Please contact us at 888.899.8776 or email support@audioadvice.com within 48 hours of your delivery so we can get the ball rolling on making things right. It’s very helpful to take some pictures and email them to us if possible.
Can I Refuse A Shipment?
You can, but unless the item is damaged, shipping and restocking fees will be deducted from your refund. If your item arrives damaged and you are lucky enough to be there, snap some quick pics and refuse the order. Then contact us so we can get a replacement on the way.
What Happens If My Order Is Defective?
This is actually pretty rare, most consumer electronics work fine out of the box 99.9% of the time. We’d like for you to contact us first by calling 888.899.8776 or email support@audioadvice.com so we can help get to the bottom of things. If your item is indeed defective during the first 30 days, we can usually exchange it for a new, replacement unit.
What About Service After 30 Days?
Audio Advice has a great relationship with all of our brands and can help you with warranty service by the brand after our 30-day guarantee period. Even after the warranty expires, we can arrange for service by the brand on products purchased from Audio Advice. Just call 888.899.8776 or email support@audioadvice.com.
How Do You Determine A Restocking Fee?
You may not believe it, but sometimes we receive items back that were put in the box with zero packaging and are completely destroyed or are missing many of the pieces that came with the item. We also track serial numbers and will get back different serial numbers. We’ve even seen different items than what we shipped out be returned. However, it’s very important to package your return properly so that nothing goes missing or gets damaged in shipping, which will result in a restocking fee or even no refund at all. If a product is opened and the market value of the product is reduced, then a restocking fee may be applied to the cost of restocking and the reduced market value of the product. The bottom line is if you treat us fairly, we will do the same.
Audio Advice strives to provide industry-leading support and service while also maintaining the lowest prices available on products for our customers. We work hard with our vendors to bring our customers the best products at each price point. As a part of that process, we work with our vendors to provide the lowest pricing in our stores and on our website.
Our prices should always be the same as any other authorized dealer, including big-box retailers and major online retailers.
If you believe that you have found a lower advertised price from a legitimate authorized seller, call us and let us know so we can make sure we can correct any inadvertent error on our side. As a matter of policy, we update our prices automatically if a vendor changes its authorized pricing policies, so we generally have the best prices all the time. Increasingly, there are knock-off copies of products online, usually sold by non-authorized dealers.
Please be sure that the item meets the following conditions:
- The item is brand new, in stock, and available for purchase
- The item has the identical model number, color, etc as the item on our site.
- The seller is an authorized dealer
As always, our goal is to provide a terrific customer experience, including industry low prices. We appreciate your support.
Overview
The High Notes
Fast Setup
Hand Assembled RB110 Tonearm
Upgrade Path
Company & Product Overview
Like many audio companies that sprang up in the golden days of audio, Rega has a pretty interesting history. Their founder, Roy Gandy had a deep-seeded love of music along with a passion for tinkering with audio gear to produce better sound.
As a hobby, he enjoyed helping his friends put together budget systems. However, he found that most of his time was spent messing around with and modifying their turntables, in order to make them sound good. When it came to producing quality sound, most people back then thought only about the speakers and not as much about the turntable itself. Roy understood what any true audio enthusiast understands -- that every aspect affects the sound, from the source to the speakers.
By 1973, Roy was building turntables at home in his spare time. In 1975 he produced the Planar 2, followed in 1977 by the Planar 3. Move ahead over 40 years and over 2,000 Rega turntables come off their line every month, thanks to the booming vinyl revival.
Today, their team of engineers is focused on advancing the art of turntables, while sticking to their roots. They are interested in one thing -- making sure the sound is true to the music and lets through the emotional qualities and rhythm and pacing characteristics that good turntables are known for.
Today we will be reviewing Rega’s entry-level Planar 1 turntable. This is a complete overhaul of the Rega RP1 which came before it. Due to its great quality build and sound, as well as it’s sub $500 price, the Planar 1 has quickly become one of the most popular entry-level turntables in the world.
Design & Build Quality
The Planar 1 (which we will refer to interchangeably as the P1 as well throughout this review) is a manual, belt-drive turntable, like many of the best high-performance turntables in the world.
There are several reasons why these types of turntables are so popular.
When it comes to the way the platter is spun, there are three different types of turntables -- idler wheel, direct-drive, and belt-drive. The very first turntables were idler wheel. With this type of a table, a motor with a rubber outer ring contacts the inside of the turntable platter, using friction to spin the platter. This is a very noisy type of design that is not really found much these days, for obvious reasons.
Direct drive is popular due to the fact it starts up instantly and is safe for spinning the platter backwards for DJ type use. However, with direct-drive the platter becomes part of the motor and can pick up motor noise. Direct drive is also constantly correcting the speed, so it’s less pure.
Belt drive gives you the advantage of isolating the platter from the motor as little to no noise passes through the belt. Once the platter gets up to speed, the speed is usually very consistent.
For over 40 years, Rega has opted for belt-drive designs, and the P1 (even at a great beginner price) is no exception. In addition, the motor is suspended on an isolation system that reduces noise even further.
The Planar 1 is also a manual turntable. This means that you have to lower and raise the tonearm manually in order for the stylus (or needle) to make contact with the record.
Doing this manually as opposed to automatically eliminates the need for all of the gears and other mechanisms required to lift the tonearm, again minimizing noise. All of Rega’s turntables are manual turntables for this reason.
We really like the look of the Rega turntables and the Planar 1 is no exception. It’s simple and elegant, available in gloss black or white. It also comes with a dust cover in order to protect it and give it a nice finished look.
Every Rega turntable is manufactured in their UK factory and the build quality is impeccable all the way up and down the line. From a construction quality standpoint, it’s really difficult to tell when you move from the entry-level P1 to a P3 or P6. They’re all just so well-made.
Features & Technology
Let’s start with the plinth -- the main platform of the turntable. Rega likes to use a lightweight plinth to help any external noise filter out through the turntables feet. In the case of the P1, the plinth is a sandwich melamine construction wrapped in a high pressure acrylic laminate. This type of design also cancels noise out by having different thicknesses of materials.
The platter is the large circular disk that the vinyl record sits on. The P1’s platter is made of a heavy phenolic material. It is thicker and heavier around the outer edge, giving it a better flywheel effect, which leads to more consistent speeds. All of the Rega turntables above the Planar 1 use an even heavier glass platter, but this is a great way to get most of the benefits while still keeping the cost of the P1 reasonable.
While many other turntable brands out there just use other manufacturers tonearms, Rega makes their own. Their arms have been winning awards for years. The Rega P1 uses the new RB110 tonearm. It’s specifically designed to work with the Rega Carbon moving magnet phono cartridge, which comes pre-mounted on the P1. It doesn’t offer as many adjustments as some of Rega’s other arms do, but for the money, it’s a great tonearm.
When it comes to the bearings, it’s important that they be tight but provide as little friction as possible. Many turntables we test fail when we get to this part of the evaluation. It’s pretty easy to test by carefully grasping the tonearm at the front and moving it front to back to see if there is any play in the bearing. We call that bearing chatter.
From there, zero balance the arm and see if it moves freely from side to side. You’ll want to be careful of your stylus when you do this, as they’re very delicate and can break or bend easily. Needless to say, the RB110 on the Planar 1 passes the test with flying colors.
The main bearing, which the platter sits on, is another extremely important part of any turntable. If the bearing creates any kind of noise at all, it can be transmitted up the platter and eventually to the stylus. You may have heard this in some less expensive turntables in the form of a background rumble.
The P1 has a bearing that is very similar to the one use in their more expensive Planar 2. The hub that the outer platter sits on is made of a phenolic material with a stainless steel spindle that drops down into a bronze bearing well. You’ll notice that when you first install the inner hub, it will fit in perfectly. Place the outer platter on, give it a spin, and we bet you won’t hear the slightest hint of noise.
All Rega tables also use 24-volt brushless motors that are isolated from the plinth. They’ve perfected this design over the years to the point where the motor provides a solid speed to the pulley.
In 2018 Rega added a new model to the series, a Planar 1 Plus. The Plus is identical to the Planar 1, with the addition of a built in phono preamp. The phono preamp is designed to work great with the Rega Carbon cartridge supplied with the Planar 1. This allows the Planar 1 Plus to be easily connected to a pair of powered speakers or a system lacking a phono preamp. The only thing to consider is the built in phono preamp is always on. Should you ever want to purchase a better phono preamp, it would not work with the Planar 1 Plus.
As you can see, at least in the theory, the tech is all there! Now let’s talk about how it sounds.
Performance
The Rega P1 is super simple to set up. You simply unpack it, place the counterweight on the rear of the arm, screw it all the way in, take off the stylus guard, put on the platter and you are up and running. When it comes to turntables, it doesn’t get much simpler.
Throw on a record, start the table up, and have a listen. If you are upgrading from a more basic turntable, the first thing you will notice is a beautiful purity to the music. We feel this is due to the great speed consistency you find in all of Regas tables and the high-quality tonearm which helps the cartridge held steady in the record grooves.
It’s just a fun table to listen to. The rhythm and pacing are fantastic and the bass line is tight and rich while the upper frequencies stay smooth.
When we compare the P1 to more expensive Rega tables, it is clear when you move up that you do get a jump up in sound with each model. However, what is interesting is the P1 does not do anything wrong. If you compare it to say a Rega P3, you will hear more into the music, with deeper lows and more clarity to the top end along with a more effortless spacious sound, but the P1 does nothing (like some tables can do) to annoy your ears.
In other words, you’ll not know that you are missing anything unless you compare. The P1 plays your records with such a musical perspective that you can listen for hours and never tire of your music.
We feel this is a great characteristic. Getting all this great sound with just a $60 phono cartridge is pretty amazing. While it limits flexibility, as we mentioned before, we would much rather see a decent cartridge mounted on a really nice tonearm than a great cartridge on an arm with bearing chatter and friction.
Everything Rega has learned in their past 40+ years of making tables comes together in the P1, providing a level of sound that is simply amazing for the money. And if you want more, there are 5 Rega models above it offering even better sound!
Overall Recommendation
If you are considering taking the plunge into the world of vinyl or wanting to move up from that $100 all-in-one table (that not only sounds bad, but is ruining your records, by the way), the Rega Planar 1 is a great choice. It sets up in about 2 minutes, is easy to use and is musically very rewarding.
The Plus model, with the built in phono preamp, makes this table super easy to add to a set of powered speakers or entry level amplifier.
If this deep dive into the P1 has piqued your curiosity about what else is out there, we invite you to take a look at our comparison of the P1, P2, and P3 as well.
Details & Specs
Performance beyond price
Every single aspect of the Planar 1 has been meticulously designed to improve performance. The Planar 1 uses a bespoke 24 V, low noise, synchronous motor to reduce vibration combined with Rega's hand made RB110 tonearm fitted with their unique Rega-designed ultra-low friction bearings. They've added their latest drive belt technology the EBLT belt which delivers greater accuracy and improved speed performance. If you are looking to get back into vinyl and want serious performance that will last you a lifetime, then look no further.
Tonearm
Brand new RB110 tonearm built with the new Rega designed, bespoke, ultra-low friction bearings (patent pending). New bias assembly and integrated arm clip. Includes automatic bias adjustment negating the need for the user to set bias, making this the most ‘plug & play’ turntable Rega has ever manufactured. Ergonomically, designed headshell for improved usability and appearance.
Cartridge
Rega Carbon cartridge supplied fitted as standard.
24 V Synchronous Motor
The first entry-level Rega turntable to use a 24 V, synchronous AC motor with a new motor PCB and aluminium pulley offering low noise and better speed stability.
Central Bearing Housing
Performance brass main bearing, offering improved fit and removing stress on the bearing itself whilst minimising the transfer of potential energy (patent pending).
Platter
23 mm, higher mass, phenolic platter with improved flywheel effect for improved speed stability.
Isolation
Rega's latest design foot assembly increases stability and reduces vibration transfer.
Motor Cover Tray
Motor cover tray with integrated cooling.
Balance Weight
111 g ‘plug & play’ balance weight.
| Model | Rega Planar 1 |
|---|---|
| Tonearm | Hand assembled RB110 tonearm |
| Cartridge | Factory-fitted Rega Carbon moving magnet cartridge |
| Motor | 24 V low noise motor |
| Platter | Phenolic resin platter |
| Dimensions (lid closed) | 17.6 in. x 4.6 in. x 14.2 in. (447 x 117 x 360 mm) |
| Weight | 9.3 lbs (4.2 kg) |
