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Rega Planar 1 plus Best upgrade ??


Guest Blackbriar

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Guest Blackbriar

Hi Guys, I would like to know your thoughts on best bang for the buck upgrades for Rega Planar 1 plus turntable. Any feedback would be appreciated. Many thanks in advance. 

 

 

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Save the money and upgrade to P3.

If you still want to do something and can keep for future once you upgraded to the higher model.

Get a better cart. Not sure you can do MC or not otherwise 2M Bronze or Black although P1 probably won't be fully benefited from the cart but you'll at least improve the SQ more than most of the other tweaks. 

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Guest Blackbriar

Thanks Guys. Definitely upgrading turntable down the path is a better option. Do you think groovetracer platter and subplatter brings significant improvement in planar 1 plus compared to cartridge upgrade ?

 

 

 

 

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41 minutes ago, Blackbriar said:

Thanks Guys. Definitely upgrading turntable down the path is a better option. Do you think groovetracer platter and subplatter brings significant improvement in planar 1 plus compared to cartridge upgrade ?

 

 

 

 

Hard to say. These tweaks all add up, which has the greater impact only trying would probably answer. I'd say personally a cart upgrade will make quite a noticeable difference. As for platter/subplatter upgrade, remember this is meant to be a plug and play turntable. Even upgrading the cart wasn't the idea of Rega when designing the P1. It should improve it but how much do you spend on a $550 turntable? Your probably better to look at something like the P2 in the classifieds as the tonearm on the P1 is going to be the limiting factor.

 

I have 4 turntables but enjoy the P1 for what it is. Only difference is the Bias 2 and I use a Rega Fono Mini A2D as a pre. Probably slightly better than your built in one. The setup actually sounds very good IMO ;) 

Edited by blakey72
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Guest Blackbriar

Thanks for your thoughts. I may go with Elys 2 for now and down the track upgrade to Rega 3 or 6. I am using KEF LSX speakers with Planar 1 plus. So, I dont think these speakers will do justice for Rega 3 or 6 if I upgrade turntable now. For that matter, I will have to do speakers upgrade too. 

What do you think of Elys 2 ? 

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17 minutes ago, Blackbriar said:

Thanks for your thoughts. I may go with Elys 2 for now and down the track upgrade to Rega 3 or 6. I am using KEF LSX speakers with Planar 1 plus. So, I dont think these speakers will do justice for Rega 3 or 6 if I upgrade turntable now. For that matter, I will have to do speakers upgrade too. 

What do you think of Elys 2 ? 

The Kef LSX are a fine speaker, plenty enough for a P3 or P6 IMO. I would be upgrading the phono-pre before speakers. Do you like the Rega cart (carbon) sound? The higher Rega carts sound similar but just 'more' of everything. If you want a more relaxing sound something like this may suit. If you want more lively/detailed this may be a good choice. Not sure how these carts will go on the P1 arm though, someone else may have an idea as far as weight/VTA are concerned.

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Guest Blackbriar

I like the carbon cart sound. Its very good considering it is the base  model in rega cart chain. What I was looking for bit of more clarity and instrument separation. I prefer to stay with Rega cart as it is fuss free setup. The reason I went with Rega planar 1 plus was minimalistic set up as I live in Apartment at the moment. I thought Elys 2 would have been equivalent to Ortofon 2m blue. Correct me if i am wrong. My speakers are 20 cm above the floor on a console table at the moment. I listen to it sitting on a sofa. Do you think its worth getting stand for lsx as well?

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1 hour ago, Blackbriar said:

I like the carbon cart sound. Its very good considering it is the base  model in rega cart chain. What I was looking for bit of more clarity and instrument separation. I prefer to stay with Rega cart as it is fuss free setup. The reason I went with Rega planar 1 plus was minimalistic set up as I live in Apartment at the moment. I thought Elys 2 would have been equivalent to Ortofon 2m blue. Correct me if i am wrong. My speakers are 20 cm above the floor on a console table at the moment. I listen to it sitting on a sofa. Do you think its worth getting stand for lsx as well?

I used to sell the Planar 1 when it first came out and thought it was rubbish relative to their other tables. I assume Roy got off his ass and improved the basic design.

The cartridge that come with it has had plenty of praise heaped on it and I would consider upgrading the table instead. Bearing/ subplatter would be an improvement IMO.

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Guest Blackbriar

Upgrading the cart is definitely a strong consideration down the track. But for now, I was looking to squeeze the most out of planar 1 plus.

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I did some research for a friend recently who purchased a P2. I was surprised how good it actually sounded compared to my Denon DP 75 with 103R cart, but he is running it in conjunction with Paradigm speakers and Cambridge Pre/Emotiva power amp. The Carbon cart fitted to his P2 holds its own admirably. However, looking at reviews online of the Elys2 cart, things don't look so great. Didn't find a lot of love for it, where as for the money, relatively speaking compared to Ortofon 2M Bronze etc, the Rega Exact seemed to fare a lot better.

 

I haven't actually heard the Elys2 or Exact cartridges, only what I've read online, so am happy to hear other opinions.

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17 hours ago, dwbasement said:

Save the money and upgrade to P3.

If you still want to do something and can keep for future once you upgraded to the higher model.

Get a better cart. Not sure you can do MC or not otherwise 2M Bronze or Black although P1 probably won't be fully benefited from the cart but you'll at least improve the SQ more than most of the other tweaks. 

What he said

 

I used to think that you could upgrade your way of out an entry level table, but lots of $$$$ down the proverbial toilet has proven otherwise. 

 

I got my P3 recently and not only is it a stunning table, it's got a very clear upgrade path. 

 

I'd (personally) steer clear of putting on more expensive carts on the P1, especially the regas. My experience with the Bias and Elys 2 carts hasn't been great. 

 

Good luck

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3 minutes ago, Blackbriar said:

Rawshack, what do you mean by not good experience with elys 2 and Bias carts on P1 ? They dont sound right? 

 

I personally don't think that they're great carts for the money. Your money would be better spent elsewhere. The Carbon is an entry level cart, but you'll be struggling to get the return on your $$$ by upgrading to a Bias. 

 

Again, this is just opinion and I'd be keen to hear other users thoughts., 

 

My advice, for what little it's worth, is enjoy the table with the carbon cart as is and put your money toward something like the P3 

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Guest Blackbriar

Thanks mate. As I am planning on keeping my Planar 1 plus for a while and later upgrade to planar 3, I wouldn’t mind getting my cartridge upgraded and later use it for planar 3 too. 
 

@Thorens, Is it noticeable difference from carbon to ortofon blue on planar 1 plus ?

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If you are dead set on keeping the P1 for the time being, then I'd invest in a cartridge you can easily transfer to the P3 when the time comes. If it was me, I'd go the Exact, simply for ease of install. Mount the Carbon back on to the P1 and move it on.

 

Some good experiences here with the P3 and Exact match up

https://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/opinions-on-rega-exact-cartridge.753048/

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I started with RP1 and like most ppl, playing with all the upgrades like platter, counter weight, belts...etc IMO not worth it especially for the lower Rega model, I did upgraded the cart to a Denon Dl110 which is a HOMC, it gives a bit of a MC taste to you without a MC phono. You might want to consider that. No a fan of Rega carts except the higher MC models.

After all that I upgraded to RP6 and released the money I spent on the RP1 would have been more than enough to get the RP6 base model.

For the RP6, I just upgraded the cart, then the phono stage. I think from P3 model up you should be looking at upgrading the phono stage.

At the end, I upgraded to P9 which I am happy with and no more upgrade on the TT for me. Obviously always better TT available if you have the money and wanting to keep chasing better sound. For me I am settled on the P9. With a decent cart and phono stage, this is a sweet spot for me.

Good luck to your journey! 

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along with a cart upgrade (which you can transfer to a future P3 buy), you can also think of upgrading the phono pre. A good one will improve the sound of your P1 as well as work well for the future P3. Lots of mid-level phono players - Schitt , Rega, NAD, CA, Project etc.

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Guest Blackbriar
On 15/03/2021 at 3:41 PM, Mr Thorens said:

Ortofon OM10 or 2m blue are better and work perfectly to with Rega arms. 

Hi, Does 2M blue have noticeable difference on REga planar 1 plus compared to Carbon Cart ? I am using KEF LSX with my turntable.

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