Advantage of Rega Motor Upgrade

I did this upgrade to my Planar 2 yesterday. I was shocked, shocked I tell you (no, really, joke aside), that the new motor made so much difference.

All I can figure is that the rubber-band suspended motor on the Planar 2 was making micro-movements all the time. I didn't hear any flutter, not even on piano music, but something was happening. Because changing the motor made a very noticable sonic improvement in the TT.

I haven't done extensive testing yet today, but I don't think the table is running out of speed either. As I say, I felt that my Planar 2 was running just fine before the motor change too. I was very doubtful about the need for doing it.

Before I decided to do the up grade, I tried putting some foam dampening on 4- sides of the old motor to see if I could stablize it. Thinking maybe I didn't need the upgrade. But this didn't help at all, in fact it made the table run slow and it was noisey. The new motor runs very silently, and with virtually no vibration. The new motor is simply held in place with a 2 mm (aprox) thick double sided adhesive foam pad.

I think, especially with your power conditioning, that you'd be happy with improvement and feel it's well worth the $150.

Go for it.

I forgot to mention that I have damped the motor, and I did this by getting 1/2 inch width lengths of "rope" elastic rubber from a rubber store,gluing a length together with a powerful rubber adhesive called "Loctite" making a ring.I then snugly fit one at the top and one at the bottom of the Rega motor avoiding the wiring.It is super quiet I cannot hear any noise and it did not effect the way the motor runs,I am right on speed at 331/3 rpm.There is another mod for the motor sold through English ebay.It is called the bearing mod and you drill a hole in the Rega motor bottom plate to fit a brass well in which sits a ball-bearing.The motor spindle the runs on tp of the ball-bearing yielding added stability and quietness and less wear.These are alternatives to getting the upgrade,you could try the rubber mod on the new motor though for added damping as it is now attached to the plinth,no harm in trying one ring around the bottom of the motor at least.You can make a rubber ring for the edge of the glass platter too.These are sold on English ebay as well.

On this and a recent thread, you seem to want to believe the motor upgrade is not that worthwhile. That's OK; how can anyone but you size up how much of an improvement your tweaks have made? As far as a stock P3 motor compared to a stock Planar 3 motor, it doesn't take careful listening to tell the difference. The improvement is evident as soon as you spin a record.

Just scepticism on my part as I am beginning to think I have put a bit of money into this Planar 2(Origin weight mod,Incognito rewire,damping etc)and I can't make a silk purse.... I had previously seen on Vinyl Asylum some posts that this motor upgrade was not a huge leap up for various reasons,now the last few I have seen here and on the other forum are singing the new motor's praises.With my own damping(2 Rubber rings,high and low) I think I could have adressed some physical issues and I do use conditioning,so am I going to notice it.I could do the bearing mod for 7 pounds and be really smiling instead of forking out $155 more.I am going to add a VTA adjustment which should really make a difference.Why is the new motor great?

I don't mean to be vague, but I think saying it doesn't take careful listening to notice the improvement is as helpful as any attempt I could make at audiophilic descriptions. Also, I'm not that much of an audiophool. If I decide I like something, I tend to forget about it and any analysis I've done and just start listening to the music again. I would just say the new motor increased the resolution, low to high, of my Planar 3 and cleaned up a warm burnishing of the sound that, while pleasant, restricted the freedom of the sound a bit. The sound is clearer and more open.

I would say the improvement is in the same league as a step up in cartridge quality, or as when I put my TT on a Neuance shelf. It's in a higher league than playing with different feet, switching TT mat, or using the Expressimo Heavyweight.

I'm not going to say the upgrade is "great," or that I feel like I have a totally different TT. I would just say that the upgrade was easily worthwhile. From my limited experience, the motor upgrade is additive to non-motor improvements -- its effects would not be swamped by improvements elsewhere in the TT setup. I understand why you have a touch decision, since there's no way to know how it would compare with your tweaks without making the irreversible expenditure. Best of luck!