Rega Planar 10 Turntable

The Planar 10 Turntable offers the ultimate in Rega performance by using all the latest technology and engineering know how at Rega’s command. Part of Rega’s illustrious Reference series, it is the perfect platform for the Apheta or Aphelion moving coil cartridges and is clear proof that sometimes less is definitely more. The Planar 10 was inspired by the ultimate Rega turntable, the Naiad. Built around Rega’s ultra-light skeletal plinth, constructed from Tancast 8 core and covered in a high-pressure laminate (HPL) skin. The Planar 10 is the first production turntable to use ceramic bracing which provides the ultimate rigid surface for mounting the precision reference RB3000 tonearm and custom central bearing assembly.

The Planar 10 is also fitted with a bespoke ceramic oxide platter which is diamond cut during manufacture for ultimate accuracy and speed stability. The 24 V synchronous motor is controlled by Rega’s most advanced outboard power supply, the P10 PSU. This supply delivers the ultimate in motor vibration reduction, electronic fine speed adjustment and the convenience of electronic speed change. The Planar 10 is designed to deliver the ultimate in Rega performance by extracting more information from the vinyl groove than ever before.

Ultra-Lightweight Plinth: The Planar 10 is the third Rega turntable (after the Planar 6 & 8) constructed using Rega’s latest technology, the ultra-lightweight Tancast 8 polyurethane foam core (a material developed for the aerospace industry). This material is sandwiched between two layers of HPL (high-pressure laminate). HPL is exceptionally thin and extremely rigid.

This new construction makes the new Planar 10 skeletal plinth 30% lighter than the original RP10 while offering increased rigidity over the previous model.

DB Technology (Double Brace Technology): “Mass absorbs energy – lost energy equals lost music”! 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 the main hub bearing) forms a structurally sound, ‘stressed beam’, assembly.

This rigid plinth design prevents energy absorption and unwanted resonances 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 tonearm and cartridge must be able to read accurately, directly from the platter. This unique Rega double brace solution enables this.

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 the quality of its tonearm bearing assemblies. In particular the accurate manufacturing of the bearing housing and bearing spindles. Technical characteristics such as “roundness” and “parallelity” are critical.

Over the past few years, Rega has found a new manufacturing process which improves on all these characteristics resulting in a micron perfect bearing fit. The 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 of the RB3000 tonearm is so tight that no adhesive is used at any point throughout the construction. Rega’s latest low mass, precision engineered, vertical bearing assembly has been manufactured to further complement the inherent design philosophy of the Planar 10 turntable.

The RB3000 tonearm uses Rega’s advanced, preloaded zero tolerance bearing assembly adjusted to less than 1000th of a millimetre. This gives 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.

The RB3000 also uses the latest award-winning, aluminium, Rega arm tube (each one of which is meticulously hand polished, keeping mass to an absolute minimum) which was redesigned to redistribute mass and further reduce stresses and resonances. This advanced design tube increases the stiffness and rigidity of the overall assembly whilst reducing stress on the bearings even further.

Hub Bearing Assembly: This latest design demonstrates attention to detail and modern CNC engineering advances which brings Rega’s main bearing design closer than ever to the unachievable ideal. The Planar 10 uses a new low mass central bearing assembly. A single piece machined aluminium sub-platter and hardened tool steel spindle run inside a custom brass housing designed with improved mechanical integrity. The complete assembly is cleverly mounted within the chassis to eradicate unwanted potential energy being transferred or stored in the plinth.

Ceramic Platter: The P10 uses a custom ceramic, flywheel effect platter. The platter is produced from ceramic oxide powder which is compressed, fired and diamond cut to ensure perfect accuracy and flatness across the surface. The latest platter features a modified construction with improved coupling to the sub-platter.

24 V Low Noise Motor Assembly: The Planar 10 uses Rega’s latest generation, 24 V, synchronous, low vibration motor technology. Uniquely mounted using the highest level of coupling while retaining higher vibration isolation than any previous model, this new motor mounting technique (mounted from the bottom) has been taken directly from the ultimate Rega turntable, the Naiad. This unique mounting method removes all stress from the motor body whilst holding the drive pulley perfectly still. This enables better speed stability and accuracy from the turntable.

The reduced vibration and more rigid mounting delivers 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 to optimise the anti-vibration circuit.

EBLT Drive Belts: For three years Rega has been researching and developing with chemists the use of a bespoke new rubber compound for drive belts. Using a specialised curing system, the new drive belt offers superior consistency of modulus (a constant representing the degree to which a substance has a particular property, especially elasticity).

These new belts are manufactured on Rega designed, state of the art, super-accurate tools (inspired by working with the manufacturer of high-tech Formula 1 engine parts) which produce ‘perfectly round’ and ‘dimensionally accurate’ belts, critical for perfect speed stability.

P10 Power Supply Unit: The P10 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, the P10 PSU is dedicated to running the 24 Volt, low noise motor as quietly and as accurately as possible. The speed and control of the motor is achieved by using a new DSP (Digital Signal Processing) generator built upon a high stability crystal. This device will divide 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.

Dust Cover: The outer frame of the previous model has now been removed and a new stylish, removable, single piece dustcover has been introduced further reducing the overall mass of the turntable.