How does a small specialist turntable company attract a wider audience? That was the question Rega asked themselves. The answer was simple. By making their most successful turntable sound better and even easier to use, turning it into a ‘Plug & Play’ all-in-one package that can simply and easily bring the sound of Vinyl to almost any audio system.

There are a lot of cheap (and not so cheap) turntables out there. Many of which will destroy your vinyl while they play, so it's refreshing to see this affordable package from the very respected British specialist turntable manufacturer.

The new model has already been launched in the UK and is attracting rave reviews including a 5 Star from the respected What Hi-Fi publication.

The sleekly styled Planar 1 'Plus' turntable is their first 'all-in-one' and comes complete with fitted tonearm, moving-magnet cartridge and phono pre-amplifier for a competitive price of $699 RRP, in black or white finishes. Australian distributors, Synergy Audio Visual, tells us it will land in Australia late July.

The key 'Plus' feature is a built-in phono stage based on Rega's well-reviewed Fono Mini, an updated version of which is integrated into the turntable chassis.

The new model benefits from all of the advantages of its well-liked sibling, the Planar 1, such as a low noise 24v motor, precision hub bearing assembly and handmade RB110 tonearm with a factory fitted Rega Carbon cartridge. Automatic bias adjustment negates the need for the user to set bias, a great ease-of-use feature.

Rather than having to own an amplifier with a phono stage or purchase an external one, the built-in phono stage offers the ability to connect the Planar 1 Plus directly to almost any audio system that has a standard line input via a standard phono to phono cable (supplied) or phono to 3.5mm lead. This would include Hi-Fi systems without a phono stage, Active loudspeakers, Bluetooth adapters and even room-to-room systems with a line-in input.

By eliminating the often scary elements of setting up a turntable for the newcomer to vinyl, the design enables even a vinyl neophyte to get up and playing quickly. Almost anyone should be able to open the box and plug the Planar 1 Plus into their Hi-Fi or audio system as quickly as they would add a CD Player.

0 to 33.3 rpm in 30 Seconds. Set-up for new users remains possible in under 30 seconds. Stick on your favourite LP, sit back and enjoy!

For more information visit Rega.