Rega Planar 3 upgrades help.

I have run a Planar 3 for 15 years.My best upgrade was the Pete Rigglo VTA adjustment which houses the arm in bronze.The ability to adjust the VTA to match an LP is by far better than all the other upgrades I installed but you have to drill out the plinth for it.The next best thing is to put brass weights between the arm and the platter which I posted before Rega actually did it to on their newer model underneath the plinth.My Planar 3 with the sub platter,belt and counter weight upgrades out performs CD reissues,Lp reissues of 50 year old music on my original LP pressings.I would not buy another turntable without the ability to adjust the VTA.

Put a Dynavector 10X5 on it for the best bang for your buck!!


Matt M

I would go this path......Tango spinner pulley, feet and subplatter...$165.00. Michell VTA adjustment. $35.00. That is $200 worth of upgrades and reasonable for the Rega. 

Then try out various mats compared with no mat.

And, yes, a good MC cartridge will go a long way to increase your enjoyment!

Another cheap tweak is to buy $10 worth of dynamat and apply it to the bottom of the plinth.

This is a great table to have a lot of fun with and you should enjoy all the options available. Down the road you might even consider making your own plinth, or having a local cabinet maker create one for you. This can be done very reasonably and may address one of the weakest points of the table.

Yes, in the end you might end up replacing many of the tables parts but it can be great fun going down this path with you ending up with a table of your own creation!

Enjoy!!!!!!

Don't for get the ceramic bearing.....another $10.00.

This is pretty much a dead string, but I though I would throw in my 2 cents.  Yesterday I got a bug and modified my RP6.  I have always had the table on a 3/4" piece of quality birch plywood.  The plywood is sitting on pink bubble pack.  That was a huge upgrade in itself.  Once every 4 or 5 months I replace the bubble pack as it shrinks.  These are the small bubbles, not the large ones.

Wow.  $11 invested and the noise floor dropped like no other mod I have done in the past.  I have a few friend with systems in the 100K to 200K price range.  Yesterday was the first time I have been able to turn up my vinyl setup and get that hyper analytical resolution and volume, without there appearing to be all sorts of grunge in the way.  I don't know why I did not do this a long time ago.

FYI, I also found a couple pieces of 2" thick acrylic that I stuck under my monoblocks as platforms.  That also lowered the noise floor and increased resolution.  Not near as much as isolating the TT motor from the plinth, but it was noticeable.  I got the Acrylic for $40.  That was a steal.  A sheet was $1,800.