Rega Planar 2 Turntable with RB220 Tonearm Glass Platter and Carbon Cartridge (Gloss Red)

I’ve had an AT-120LP turntable for many years and it served me well. Early on I removed the internal phono preamp (per Steve Hoffman forum), added an external Cambridge Audio preamp, and added a Shure M97xE cartridge. Audio components at time were Emotiva Airmotiv B1+, Emotiva a-100 amp, and Dayton audio 1200 sub. For a budget hi-fi system it totally rocked and led me to buy 100+ albums and get way into vinyl. Then I started down the upgrade path. I started by adding an Emotiva PT-100 preamp and Emotiva Airmotiv se8 sub. Bass got way more tight, punchy and balanced. Next I got an Ortofon red which sounded great but not much difference than my Shure. Sound was a bit clearer but man that Shure sounded so good. Couple years later the needle broke off my Ortofon and I bought an AT-VM95SH cartridge with Shibata stylus. After dropping $200+ it I was stoked to be blown away by the sound. I installed it using a protractor and scale, but the AT-120LP anti-skate adjustment didn’t work. Not sure why but the cartridge did not sound good on my setup. Some albums were super clear, but the sound was analytical and unbalanced. Amy Winehouse’s voice blended into the midrange, rock albums were muddy, jazz was super clear but lacking cohesion. Returned it. The time came to upgrade my system and I did a ton of research. Top contenders were the Rega planar series, Technics sl1200, Project Debut Pro. The planar 3 was my initial top choice but decided dropping $1k+ was overkill. Research is difficult because there are audiophiles that say everything isn’t good unless it costs thousands. Truth is nowadays you can get killer sound for way less. I was drawn to Rega due ti their indisputable reputation, killer What Hi-Fi reviews of the Planar line, and overall reviews on sound and build quality. Went with the Planar 2 due to the slick glass platter, one piece tonearm with frictionless bearings, and once I learned the new Planar 2 had anti-skate adjustment, that was it. The build is totally different than the AT-120 in every way. It is designed to totally isolate the sound and eliminate and vibrations or interference. Tonearm has one piece cable from cartridge to preamp. Motor is separated completely and only connects to platter via rubber belt. The planar 2 does not have VTA adjustment, you need to add a spacer. Folks say over 2mm spacer and the lid won’t close. Others say a spacer is not needed. My next upgrade will be a Nagoaka MP-110 cartridge (many say spacer is not needed) but man it sounds so good I’m gonna wear out this carbon for a while first. Other item of note is you need to move the belt to switch from 33 1/3 to 45 speed. I don’t listen to many 45s, but when I do, I’ve got no prob being more hands on to switch it; it’s part of the experience. The Rega turntable is built well. Every part of it feels quality when you use it. The tonearm is super light and the bearings are perfectly smooth with no play. Tonearm drop has a metal piston. Platter is perfectly balanced and floats above the table on the smaller diameter sub-platter. It looks killer and is fun to use. The Rega Carbon cartridge sounded great out of the gates, but is really opening up after about 25 hours of play. Now it sounds really really good. The table has a lot to do with that, but honestly I was planning to upgrade the cartridge right away and now I am going to wait. Super balanced sound, great separation of vocals from midrange, tight bass. The cartridge isn’t expensive, but Rega engineers matched it so well to this table it sounds incredible. Super stoked!!

I'll admit I did get a used one for $550 through amazon that was essentially opened and repackaged. That price point is perfect for what this TT delivers. Easy setup, great out of the box sound, and sleek performance. I really like the minimalist look of the table too. Its simple yet elegant. The sound is great, but I'm sure some improvement will be had once I upgrade the cartridge down the line. On a side note, the whole "just get a RP3" is a really bad argument. Without a cartridge youre spending $1000 for a RP3. For a used RP2 at half the price you still get a great TT with a glass platter and a better tone arm and plinth than the RP1 that comes with a cartridge that is adequate. There is a justification for going up or down depending on your budget. Granted this is only my second TT, but I think it sounds fantastic! The RP2 is great!

My initial review was 3 stars based upon setup. Since that time, I've listened to a few records, and they really sound great. Sounds way way better than my old Technics. So I changed my review from 3 to 5 stars. ____________________________________________ Initial Setup: (This review might change.) Four things struck me as really cheap after I first set up this turntable. First, the little mat that is put on the glass platter is not round. It is off by a bit, so when it spins, it looks off balance. You'd really expect that a $675 turntable would have a very round mat. Nothing says precision like an off balance spinning object. Second, the dust cover hinges are really flimsy. They are made of plastic. Imagine bending a piece of plastic back and forth a dozen times, and the hoping that that plastic stays strong. They look like they might last about a year at most. I do see that you can purchase hinge replacements, so I guess that hinge replacements are expected. Third, balancing the tone arm is a bit awkward. The anti skate/bias is set so high (and you can't adjust it) so that it's very difficult to follow the instructions that say to balance it over the platter. I had to go to Youtube and found some Danish or Norwegian clip that explained how to do it. It's a bit awkward, but I think I got it set up. Do I have it off by a half or quarter gram. Possibly. Probably. Who knows? Should I have to buy a scale of some type to find out? I guess so. Fourth, how do I know that it's really spinning at 33 rpm? I don't, and I just have to hope that it does. I'm a bit concerned because the little bitty rubber band that controls the speed (motor to platter drive well) is not any where near tight. That may be a good idea to prevent stretching, but if you're a true stereophile, don't you want to make sure that the record is really spinning at 33.33 rpm and not 31.45 rpm? (I'm not a true stereophile.) All in all, I'm quite underwhelmed by such a hyped-up turntable. I'm replacing an old Technics SL-1400, and with the Technics, the above 4 things were nailed down and solid. The Rega Planar 2 is just chintzy in comparison. Not sure if the tone arm is balanced, hope the bias is really correct, hope speed is correct and the dust cover hinges will probably fail. Yes, I'm sure I can buy some pretty fancy equipment that will diagnosis the balance, bias and speed, but should I have to do that? I'll listen to it shortly. Maybe I'll change my mind after that. Or maybe I'll just get the Technics fixed.

I received this turntable as a present around 8 months ago and I can not be happier with it. After the initial setup that caused a small amount of stress (setting up the arms counter weight), it was ready to use. The sound quality is more that excellent and it's large glass table is heavy enough to prevent any jumping of the arm. I should also say that taking away the felt cover from the table makes it look increadible, especially with the clear "1975" record my friend brought round. A word of warning to anyone who isn't too familiar with higher end players. You MUST have a set of speakers and a pre amp to listen to records. There are no built in speakers and without at least a pre amp you'll hear nothing more than a few whispers from the speakers, even when they are turned up to maximum volume. Be prepared for manual speed changes as there is no button, switch, or lever to do this. Instead you remover the large piece of glass and move the small rubber band from one circle to a higher or lower circle, depending on the desired speed. One complaint is that there is no "auto-stop" function when you get to the end of a record. For the price I feel like it should have this simple feature that even £75 Crosley briefcase players have. I would definitely recommend this turntable as it looks and sounds incredible. Even after 8 moths I have no buyers regret. It's minimal design looks great anywhere and it's glass table looks fantastic.

Given the chance to upgrade my existing turntable was not approached haphazardly and a great amount of research was undertaken before any decision was made. In every top ten from various sources the name Rega Planar was always present. I had a budget to work to and in the end the Rega Planar 2 seemed to tick all the boxes. When received it proved very easy to install (lots of visuals on simple installation available on You Tube). Even balancing the arm was not an onerous task (I can be quite ham fisted but even I managed it without causing any damage). The sound when first experienced was a world away from what I had previously experienced, punchy, dynamic and crisp. The bass in particular was far more responsive and I have to admit on a couple of albums a little too much, although a quick alteration to the amp settings sorted that out. Even old and dated vinyl sounded new. The alteration from 33rpm to 45rpm has to be manually done but again this is simple and no real hardship. Overall a very satisfactory purchase and one which I am looking forward to using more and more.

Creo que podrían agregar una aguja de mayor nivel, pues la que trae es de las más básicas.

Très bien produit esthétique et fonctionnel Par contre vous aurez besoin de un préamplificateur pour le connecter avec un home cinéma ou une chaîne hi fi Dommage que c’est pas écrit d’avant C’est une dépense en plus ,à la fin ça revient on peu cher

Had tried LP120X but returned due to an issue. Then had a fluance RT83 with bad wow and flutter and had to return again unfortunately as gr8 looking table. Then I ordered the Rega Planar 2 which I wanted 20 years ago and straight out the box it was solid, worked perfectly and they had upgraded my cartridge to ND3 due to an issue on there end and it's wonderful. It sounds fantastic. It's gr8 for the detail on complicated recordings, has gr8 imagery and oomph!! I am so happy with this and will cherish it for a long time. Also delivery was fast. I'm a happy camper !!!