turntabled Posted February 11, 2017 Share Posted February 11, 2017 Hello, I am looking at picking up my first entry level turntable (I have been using vintage turntables till now). I zeroed down on the Rega RP1 with plans to upgrade to the performance pack a bit later. But Rega now has the Planar 1 and I have a ton of questions on which to pick. Here are the some questions that I have: 1. How far can I upgrade the RP1? Can I add a better tonearm (say the one on Planar 1 and maybe later the Planar 2) later on if I want to? 2. In terms of quality of music, is the RP1 with the performance pack comparable to the Planar 1? 3. Would it be possible to upgrade the Planar 1 with a better tonearm later on? Any other advice to help me decide would be much appreciated! Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allenh Posted February 11, 2017 Share Posted February 11, 2017 2 hours ago, turntabled said: Hello, I am looking at picking up my first entry level turntable (I have been using vintage turntables till now). I zeroed down on the Rega RP1 with plans to upgrade to the performance pack a bit later. But Rega now has the Planar 1 and I have a ton of questions on which to pick. Here are the some questions that I have: 1. How far can I upgrade the RP1? Can I add a better tonearm (say the one on Planar 1 and maybe later the Planar 2) later on if I want to? 2. In terms of quality of music, is the RP1 with the performance pack comparable to the Planar 1? 3. Would it be possible to upgrade the Planar 1 with a better tonearm later on? Any other advice to help me decide would be much appreciated! Thanks! Short answer you can upgrade any Rega to astonishing levels so that you are left with basically the power switch from your original turntable. Even shorter answer don't bother with either and buy a used Planer 3 I've written on here at length about the Rega upgrade path listing out lots of bits etc. And some of the history of them so use the search button as I don't want to write it all again but basically any Rega's strong point is it's arm, the RB250 and 300 were industry standards for years and are still used on a good few high end tables in various guises now, they are all pretty good apart from the very early RP200 and the Rega turntable as a whole is fundamentally unchanged from the very earliest mid 70's examples. So basically buying a new one is pretty much pointless and like I say buy a used Planer 3 and upgrade from there. Out of interest what are you using as a vintage table now? There is very little new in turntable design so you might already have a winner and not be aware. The only real improvements have been in motor control and this can be adapted for any turntable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turntabled Posted February 12, 2017 Author Share Posted February 12, 2017 Thanks for the answer! I am using JVC QL-A2 with a Shure M92 cartridge right now. I picked it up from a garage sale with a busted cartridge. I am having problems with the speed control right now. It always plays in 45 rpm. I have opened it up and cleaned up the speed control potentiometers, but I can't seem to able to fix the problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allenh Posted February 12, 2017 Share Posted February 12, 2017 8 hours ago, turntabled said: Thanks for the answer! I am using JVC QL-A2 with a Shure M92 cartridge right now. I picked it up from a garage sale with a busted cartridge. I am having problems with the speed control right now. It always plays in 45 rpm. I have opened it up and cleaned up the speed control potentiometers, but I can't seem to able to fix the problem. Ok not a bad table at all and can be very respectable when working properly but yes of course you can do better and a Planer 3 would be an upgrade, personally I'd try and get the JVC working properly first though. Misbehaving speed control yes one of the joys of old and complex electronics I'm afraid. More likely to be a problem in the speed selection than the speed control pots, if you had speed stability issues then yes but if it just wants to run on 45 then it's going to be speed selection somewhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vinyl addict Posted February 12, 2017 Share Posted February 12, 2017 As Allen said, skip over the RP1/Planar 1. Save up for the P3. It's a much better machine, and you will t have the itch to replace it either. The RP1 is a very basic turntable, and leaves much to be desired. How much did you plan on spending between the RP1 and upgrades? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turntabled Posted February 13, 2017 Author Share Posted February 13, 2017 I was planning on spending around a maximum of $400. I was planning on upgrading a bit each year over the stock. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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