Rega – Planar 10 – Turntable Rega

Planar 10 turntable and P10 PSU.
For the Planar 10, we have used the most advanced materials and engineering solutions built around a supremely lightweight plinth to ensure the greatest level of performance.

 

Like its sibling, the Planar 8, the Planar 10 was inspired by the ultimate Rega turntable, the Naiad. We decided early on that instead of an evolution of the previous RP10, the new Planar 10 was to be developed and engineered to encapsulate the essence of the Naiad at a more affordable price. The Planar 10 narrows the gap between itself and the Naiad even further by using more exotic materials, carefully selected to reduce mass and improve rigidity throughout the design. New innovations in hub bearing, sub-platter, motor and drive belt design have led to even greater accuracy in turntable speed which directly improves sound performance.

 

The Planar 10 features the new RB3000 tonearm fitted with an improved, low mass, precision bias housing. We have pioneered a completely new low mass, central hub bearing assembly with improved mechanical integrity. For the first time on a Rega production turntable, a ceramic top brace delivers ultimate rigidity and accuracy whilst creating the perfect platform between tonearm and central bearing. Finally, this entirely new player is controlled by our most advanced electronic power supply housed in a brand-new, full metal custom case designed to match the latest range of Rega electronics.

 

ULTRA-LIGHTWEIGHT PLINTH

The Planar 10 is the third Rega turntable constructed using our 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 a 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 our bearing housing and bearing spindles. Technical characteristics such as “roundness” and “parallelity” are critical. Over the past three 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. Our latest low mass, precision engineered, the vertical bearing assembly has been manufactured to further complement the inherent design philosophy of the Planar 10 turntable. The RB3000 tonearm uses our advanced, preloaded zero tolerance bearing assembly adjusted to less than 1000th of a mm. 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 our 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

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.

 

24V LOW NOISE MOTOR ASSEMBLY

The 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, 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 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 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.

 

PL10 PSU CUSTOM MATCHED ADVANCED POWER SUPPLY.

The 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, the PL10 PSU is dedicated to running our 24v, 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.

 

Turntable (with dustcover fitted)

• Dimensions (HxWxD): 125 x 420 x 315 mm
• Weight: 4.7 kg

P10 PSU

• Dimensions (HxWxD): 80 x 218 x 320 mm
• Weight: 3 kg