I have added a rubber band to the outer edge of the glass platter. I managed to find a 150mm band, it was a complete pain to fit and does absolutely nothing to dampen out the ringing. However, the cork mat reduces it dramatically. The rubber band does make it easier to stop and start the platter though and I like the look of it, so it can stay. I would suggest therefore that anyone who wants to dampen the ring of their turntable might like to look at a cork surround instead, possibly using edging strips from laminate flooring. I might play with that later.
This is like the storey of Triggers long use broom repairs. I think someone has too much time on their gands. My old rega 3 with the original S shaped arm still works and sounds great without all these unnecessary bodges. A capacitor change is all that is required.
I mean sure, you're not wrong, I could have done nothing and learned nothing in the process. As it is, now that I'm using the acrylic plinth (see the third video), it sounds waaayyy better.
I have the same sub platter that I now use in my Rega RP3 turntable and very pleased with all upgrades. Never talk to a stereo salesman, they want to sell a new turntable.
The interesting philosophy of Rega turntables is in the lightness coupled with stiffness. I like the use of materials in their designs that make the passage of vibration through from one side to the other more chaotic. The low mass makes any remaining tendency to resonate very short-lived. Metals transmit vibration very well so, attaching the arm and the bearing housing reduces sound from the arm reaching the bearing and sound from the bearing reaching the arm. The skin or laminate stiffens the MDF/particle board and stops bending mode vibrations and maintains the properties of the particle board. Rega introduced a brace on top of the plinth skin between the arm pillar and the bearing and one underneath. This would have increased the stiffness between the two structures with a minimal increase in mass. The material would have been a phenolic laminate. The laminate would be a poor vibration conductor and would have kept the vibration coupling low. The pair of strips on either side of the plinth stiffen the structure without affecting the lightness of the MDF core or the vibration transmission between the bearing and the arm pillar. When you introduce metal parts like you have, you are changing the paths for vibration conduction. Luckily, you started to experience the consequences and put some compensations in. The plastic subplatter disrupts the conduction of bearing noise into the relatively conductive platter. However it is something that could have done with some machining to make it perfectly round. You found the problem of a metal sub platter, it conducts bearing noise up into the platter and the spindle and into the record… ouch… If the metal brace you added to the top of the plinth is connecting the bearing to the arm pillar, you have created a path for clean coupled conduction of sound between the bearing and the arm pillar. It’s not affecting plinth stiffness. The Sorbothane is on the right track. A plastic foam with an adhesive backing is even better. If the metal brace can be drilled so that it goes around the bearing without touching it and around the VTA adjuster without touching it and a second brace made for the underside again, not touching the speed-nut or the bearing housing, you could use silicone to hold them in place and get some advantage. Even better source some phenolic braces and attach those instead. If those braces were made of carbon fibre rather than metal that would be cool…
If you haven't read it yet then get yourself a copy of the book " The Vibration Measuring Machine " by Rega. It's very interesting and sets out the design philosophy in more detail. You'll enjoy reading it. One thing I strongly suspect is that a few of Rega's design decisions are more about hitting a certain price point than engineering. Not that there's anything wrong with that.
From more modern RP3 decks it seems Rega are using a less dense mdf material in the plinth than my old timer from the 90s . My plinth almost sounds like hardwood when you clip it with your fingers. Maybe that's why Rega adopted the bracing system to tighten everything up on the RP3 upwards. Once you get over the amount of money you pay for a new one you realise after a week or two why this is the most popular record player sold over the past 45 odd years .
@@glpilpi6209 I found it interesting to see the differences on my gray RP3 (not the newer P3) and RP6 (not the newer P6) both have bracing on top but different brace material from each other on their bottom braces. The RP3 appears to have very similar plinth material to my original two early Planner 3 plinths (paritcal board?) and the RP6 looks like HDF.
I got an Iceni audio sub platter second hand, and as well as some marking from the ball bearing the machining was quite visible and was infact rougher than the Rega one, so I lapped the Iceni up to 7500 grit and polished to a mirror finish and put a new ceramic ball in, no bearing noise now 🙂 I also have a brace that I have yet to fit but when I do I plan to use the two small holes half way along it to put a couple of self tappers in to keep it flat to the plinth. I agree about the hard feet, I am trying some spring feet and they work well
yes, I feel that the cutter speed on the CNC machine is too high, leaving definite ridges on the stem. I polished mine by hand using some tissue and some Astonish cookware cleaner. It's a lot smoother but I think it still needs a little work. I'm going to be filming a sequel soon (parts on order) so will probably cover this issue then.
I put 2" hemispheres under each of the 2018 Rega RP3 stock feet and noticed a better level of isolation. I also replaced the stock Rega subplatter with an aluminum subplatter and used double drive belts.
@@tbrown6559 all belts seem to have differing areas of tightness / slippage, so if you use two belts then you (hope for) a more even speed, I would have thought, plus better grip so more constant speed due to lack of slippage.
Goldring is the better cartridge i've got for my 1984 Rega 3. I've made some enhacement (subplatter, belt, achromat, 24 v motor) and i love the sound. You enjoy to do these things...but i think it will be better to me to go to a rega 6!
Yes, a few people have said the Rega6 is a good fit for them. Personally, I'm very happy now with the SRM Tech kit (see later video). I don't need to go any further.
I have purchased the same bracing as you and have it on the bottom of the plinth as well, I took off the old rubber band motor support and added a Sorbothane one instead as it's more stable.
I bodged a way of doing that myself , it does make a difference . I suspect the rubber support ring damps the detail in the arm tube as it plays too. I would have gone for a dedicated up grade kit but my bodge seems to work just fine.
Interesting video 👍. Maybe you should consider a SRM Tech silent base, it isolates the motor from the plinth, the plinth from itself using sorbothane and has adjustable spike feet for leveling. They come in black or clear acrylic, both versions can be seen on my wee channel, if you have the time and inclination to look. Happy listening. Jim 🏴🙂
Thanks Jim, it looks like a nice design, though it does show some replication of the isolation I have already done, though without the extra plinth. I'm definitely looking to decouple the motor (and maybe implement the thrust bearing that SRM offer) but I have an alternative design that might be a lot cheaper for much the same result. I'm definitely feeling that the motor is currently my area of focus at the moment. I have been tweaking again and might have something to upload in the near future, though other things are rather in the way at the moment.
@@ashtontechhelp thank you for the reply. Just thought it may be of some interest, and saw a pre-owned silent base on eBay UK the other day for around £65. Looking forward to seeing how your turntable progresses. Have subscribed. Jim 🏴🙂
@@jimsregaturntableshifijukebox Looks like we're both up late tonight. I'll probably release in a few weeks, got other stuff to do. But I think it will show a development of my previous work / ideas.
@@ashtontechhelp apologies for leaving this link, please feel free to remove it ,if it offends. You may find some of his Rega turntable modifications interesting ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-pzC4ZVJW-Vw.html Jim 🏴🙂
I’ve got one of these and there’s no way I’m going to start buggering about with it. If you don’t like the sound of it, buy a turntable that you do like the sound of.
They are simply attached to the top - but I also had a VTA adjuster, so vertical alignment was not an issue. Shimming the base of the arm is not a difficult thing to do, in any case.
@@sumahama1981 Thanks very much, there are currently 2 more, if you're struggling to get to sleep one night. The third one is very much a great leap forwards.
You've got 2 belts, different sizes because 2 different manufacturers made them so basically you have one belt chasing the other in terms of rotational speed, not a good thing for accurate pitch. The brace doesn't do anything in your older plinth because Rega didn't route out the specific area where you installed the brace on. Later generation plinths were lightened and "may" benefit from a brace. The glass platter rings like a bell. I wouldn't worry about any ringing from the sub-platter.
All good points. I have now got two of the blue belts, the glass platter has been very well damped by a cork mat.i might do a part 2 at some point, much to address.
If the two belts are both driving at 33 speed this is good. However if one belt is on the 33 speed and the other on the 45 speed, then I would assume they would be "fighting against" each other and the RPM would be out. Can check the platter speed with an App called RPM on the iPhone. Apologies if you have thought all this through.
This is the after-market twin-belt pulley, both are running at 33 1/3. However, in a later video I ditched this motor and went for the 24v motor, which comes with the regular pulley. I went back to the single belt.
Crazy cool mods! I’d be so worried about damaging something. Mine is a 2021. Where exactly did you attach the ground wire ( earth) at the head shell? Wondering if this would help me, as I have a bit of hum.
You have to remove the rubber bung at the front, scratch off a little paint and solder the ground to that point. You will need a much longer earth wire to accomplish this but you can get some very fine wires from eBay, Amazon. The connection module is so worth while to have, makes the turntable much easier to manage if you need to move it to maintain it, dusting etc.
I've got an old rp3 that I'm about to tart up. Not the arm though for the simple reason that I couldn't notice the difference. Friend of mine spent £300 on the new arm rb330 and we had the two regas side by side and there was no noticeable difference. I'll stick with the rb 250 s arm. I will put some shiny bits on her as in brace and spindle and possibly some new shiny feet. She's not my main Turner. My garrard 401 is (sme arm) I've had them both for decades.
I wish you luck - I think that, once I have finally sorted the motor issues, I will have a deck that I'm very happy with. Though of course, working on this one and researching others has given me lots of ideas I wish I had the tools and the knowledge to implement. But it's very good already, I'm just chasing rainbows, really.
Interesting , never thought of putting a rubber band round the platter . I still can't see how using a bracing system is good though , to my mind you are transferring any vibration from the platter support bearing through a metal brace to the pick up arm . But hey maybe I have it all wrong there.
The rubber band did not work, but was interesting to try. The brace is something that Rega do on their latest turntables but I agree, I can see problems with it. Moving to acrylic (see video 3) was the best option.
I saw someone had come up with the idea of placing the motor on an acrylic plate with peg supports attaching it to the flat surface which the table sits on. Completely isolating the motor from the plinth except by its belt.
SRM Tech sell something similar to the rubber band, the call it a Platter Damping Ring, one of my subscribers tried it, but returned it as he says it made no difference.
I'm afraid that I'm not in the painting business. But, given it's already scuffed, how about roughing it up further and using a plastic paint on it, preferably via a spray gun for a better finish? You would have to strip the deck entirely, at least the top half. You might like to try Plasti-Dip, which is a rubber paint and might dampen further any resonances.
@@slistone1940 The tone arm is pretty easy, just one very large nut and then the cable retaining clip. The bearing sleeve, similar. The power switch will be the most difficult, probably best to just mask that off.
It sounds like the increased noise with the metal subplatter was due to a failing motor rather than the subplatter amplifier motor noise. Is that correct, or are you suggesting that all metal subplatters will always increase motor noise?
I would say that it's a bit of a combination - the motor was definitely failing, which was most noticeable when using the metal sub-platter. The plastic was definitely dampening the sound in a way that the metal does not, however the metal sub platter will be more accurate overall. It's not possible to say whether the sub platter was amplifying the noise, as the motor was always quiet when turning with no load (until it failed entirely) - so, if you removed the belts, it was fine. If you put the belts back then you could hear the noise very faintly with the plastic sub platter, but with the metal one it was very much more noticeable, with the lid open. The sorbothane pads should prevent any resonance from reaching the main platter. I think that all motors will have some noise, even brand new, so better to dampen it out.
@@ashtontechhelp I appreciate your response. After rescuing my P5 from storage, I ordered a Groovetracer Delrin platter and an aluminum/steel subplatter. I also ordered the Neo PSU MKII and Mnpctech feet. Over the years, the plastic spindle deformed; the back foot deformed just enough to put the table out of level. As I wait to receive and install these upgrades, I find myself wondering if I should have simply traded the old P5 in for a new deck. I’d love a tonearm that has azimuth and VTA adjustment.
@@BellTunnel Hard to say what's best, it is a question of where you put your money and how much you are prepared to spend. If I started over I would be looking at what Pro-Ject have to offer, their arms look very interesting and I like their off-board motors, great idea, which I shall be doing at some point with my Rega. Much as I appreciate the sound I am getting from my Rega turntable, it does seem that they are charging a lot of money for small changes when you look at the new stuff. And they are still using those crappy rubber feet that have no adjustment and no dampening through much of their range - Sorbothane is not /that/ expensive.
Hi sir I have the rega p3 and haven’t really felt the need to change anything on the deck it self , but I have now got the rega psu speed controller which did make a difference and the rega phono stage which I had from the start . I think it’s worth pointing out if funds permit it would be more prudent to just go straight to the rega p6 but in my case it wasn’t an option . As a fellow commenter has stated , the best possible upgrade to most TT is a better cartridge . Which can often equal the cost of the deck , I suppose at the end of the day it’s knowing when to quit . I have recently replaced my amp for the audio lab 6000A with matching CD player , again a worthwhile upgrade from my old Harman kardon 730 which I bought new in 1976 but sadly needs a total recap . I am lucky to have sold floors , but I still have the P3 mounted on a lump of granite . I have recently bought a audio technica LP 120 just purely to play 78 rpm record and a audio tec 78 cartridge . Just out of curiosity while I waited for the 78 cart to arrive I thought I’d just try it as it is with an LP , now considering it sells for around £ 230 pounds I can quite honestly say it was not to bad considering the price . The reg sells for around £600 pounds , but in my opinion I can’t say it sounds more than twice as good as the LP120 . Best wishes and kind regards to your good self 👍👍👍😀
Thanks for taking the time to comment. I like the Goldring 1042 very much, it's a very well reviewed cartridge and you should probably be looking for a moving coil beyond that.... Which would be a massive upgrade as I would then have to purchase a phono stage to cope with it. The 1042, being now nearly 25 years old, may be coming to the end of its usable life, glues and insulation break down after a while. I will have to do some thinking / costing.
@@ashtontechhelp bless you for your kind response I may as a final upgrade consider your chosen path . Thank you again for your informative video , as I type these ramblings I am listening to JS Bach Brandenburg Concertos 2 LPSet DPA 577-B on the LYRE label which I must have bought new at the princely sum of £ 3 pounds 35p o happy days Best wishes and kind regards and may the quest never leave you . 😀👍👍👍
@@1x3dil it sounds like we have similar budgets :) in truth my financial situation is much better than it used to be but I'm still not in a position to splash out hundreds of pounds without blinking. This is why I'm so pleased with the results I have managed thus far, with actually a small amount of expenditure. The LP120 looks like a decent budget deck, to be honest. As with all things, the law of diminishing returns applies, so I can well believe that there was not a truly massive difference between the two. I like the look of the Pro-Ject range also, their tonearms look very interesting and I like the idea of the remote motor mounting. It's something I tried to do with mine but have yet to find a cheap solution. I might see if I can find someone with a lathe to turn a steel cylinder out for me.
I have an LP120 with a Nagaoka MP-110 cartridge and it sounds great; the stock cartridge (AT-95E) is pretty good too. I also have an AT3600L cartridge (low cost, great sound) and an Ortofon Concorde MK2 DJ, which is awesome at tracking worn-out old records. I have them all in their headshells so switching them is super convenient and fast, unlike a one-piece tonearm like the ones on the Rega turntables where you have to disconnect and unscrew the current cartdige, and then mount, connect and align the other one every single freaking time hahaha 😆
I would like to dare to suggest that you rethink the construction of the red motor support as it does little to add to the cosmetic appearance of the plinth,.
Thanks for the suggestion, however it cannot be seen when the player is in place so aesthetics don't really come into play here. I actually quite like it, however. I chose the red on purpose, not realising that it would be hidden when in use. I hope to move to an off-deck motor soon though, at which point the red bracket can come off again.
Instead of changing the glass platter try an acrilic matt . A lot less expensive than changing the glass platter. I have the wool the cork rubber and the acrilic. And to my ears the acrilic matt sounds best.
An acrylic mat is a great idea, I have seen them. I was concerned about slippage, however, and small pieces of grit damaging my vinyl. But I might give it a go. I do need to find a large rubber band to go around the glass platter, though I'm sure that the sorbothane is helping greatly with damping the glass out. I might put the original plastic sub-platter back, also.
@@ashtontechhelp I can't help you with the rubber band. But as far as slippage l use a Mitchell record clamp for a Rega. Another thing I do to control vibration is the turntable feet are on large sorbathane half spheres for turntable leveling. And I put it on a patio block 15" x 15" x 2" painted black. And the patio block is mounted in my cabinet on 8 sorbathane half spheres. That's my take on vibration control with out spending crazy money.
my idea is to put a full acrylic piece over the board 2mm is fine thiw stiffens better without the use of the brace,only the bearing and arm base will stiff drills for the mottor and power button screw it with the motor sctrews,why this red plate ? this is the original cheapboard around 3 cm the newer mdf is 1,8cm !!!!
This is the original chip board deck, but the problem is not so much the chip board, it is that there is no chip board at all in this section, it is purely resin - and it was buckling, throwing the motor out of alignment and not providing a steady platform from which to hang it. Thus, by clamping above and below (then mounting the motor on sorbothane to prevent vibrations passing through) I have resolved this problem, hopefully without creating too many new ones. The plate is red because I fancied a groovy colour, and I like to show alterations clearly. It turns out though, once the platter mat is on, you can't see it at all, which is a disappointment. If you fancy a go at acrylic, there are some companies that produce a laser cut acrylic frame, into which you then transfer all your parts. You end up with something approaching the shape of the high-end Rega decks, very skeletal-looking.
@@ashtontechhelp so would you recommend this turntable at all having to go through all these issues? I guess saving for a better one would be better, unless you're into the vinyl record hobby for the modifications
@@JoeOrber if you're at the stage of buying a turntable, the decisions are very different. This is a turntable I already own and it's 25 years old. I have taken the approach that I don't fancy spending a fortune on something I don't use much, so have spent a small amount of money to bring it up to standard... But more modern gear will have many small improvements over my old rig. If course, some people just enjoy messing with their equipment and would do so even with brand new. But, the p3 is a well respected deck that still gets plaudits from reviewers. Pro-ject are very similar and I like their designs. I think they may offer better value for money. Personally, if I were buying new, I would buy the best deck I could afford without a cartridge and then choose a decent cartridge.
@@ashtontechhelp thank you for your feedback. When it comes to cartridges I guess it depends on the sound you want to get out of them and the price range you're at. For a budget system I love the Nagaoka MP-110
@@JoeOrber Given that I'm pretty happy with this deck overall, I would probably next move to a MC cartridge - but that would be a great expense, as I would have to also purchase a phono statge, my amp is not compatible with MC.
I would say it's more fornica it would make more sense. It doesn't have any movement probably best to glue on top of the original really. Don't worry about with that silly brace take it off, that's not going to achieve anything probably make it worse! not the right material, if you want to make one just glue them together about 4 millimeter thick that would be a lot better than that steel brace. Then glue it to the table and what they do in the factory drill it all the way through the whole table not this silly little holes, just 2 inch Circular cutter. You could do that for the motor as well make a little short one inch hole and maybe then two half an inch holes next to them behind don't have it touching the main bearing tho and glue it down with a artificial bitumen roof repair water-based you can get it from Wickes grey 5l tin. i would be surprised if the inner platter engineering plastic is not round I mean you could have it checked and skimmed but there's no reason why it shouldn't be the same as a aluminium platter. if you're having this problem you want to get yourself a shelf if it's bouncing around, but best feet is packs of jelly. If you got the money get yourself a Thorens tp92 it's a fantastic arm and is the right way to make an arm with bearing below pivot, and I've seen them for 900£ they do for, a uni pivot tp82 for five hundred might be good choice as well can't really say on that, much better than the Rega the Rega is just a moth arm design so go for a Higher spec moth 4, probably around 500£ if you want to stick with that type of design. Another thing you might like to try is to glue a felt or cork matte underneath the platter give yourself about five millimeter gap from the motor It will deden it down even more
Thanks for taking to time for such an extensive reply. Rega say that the coating is phenolic resin. The Moth arms are just re-badged Rega arms, so no real gains to be had there. I'm unlikely to be changing the arm soon in any case, I just don't have that much disposable income for something that does not get used greatly. However, if you check out video 3 in the series, you will see that I have moved to an all-acrylic setup and I'm very much happier with that.
@@ashtontechhelp no the moth arms are not re badged they were manufacturing before Rega go that design, I don't know what they did they sold them the blueprints or something to Rega. yes phenolic resin is used in the process of formica I've seen these tables they look like formica that is a better material then just phenomic resin on its own. I think they're trying to keep their cards close to their chest if you put formica on the top and bottom and make up a stiffening plate stiffening plate on bottom as well will be much better deck
I have 0ne Rega Planar 3, only the plinth and motor is Rega , and I do not sell for less 2k pounds, comparable with this the my is much better, miles distance
Possiedo un Rega Planar 3 red, con la suaalimentazione dedicata e la miglior MM progettata da Rega: la "Exact" con taglio Vital. E' un tipo di taglio che usa anche LINN.. Fabioo '961 29/06/2022 h. 00,24 P.S. Io, ormai è già tanto che massimo cambio la testina a 3 viti. Sinceramente io, le mani, non ce le metterei ci sono componenti, delicate e se non si è sicuri di se, meglio mandarlo a qualche tecnico. Io non farò nulla. se voglio prestazioni migliori mi prenderei un Klimo Stern, ma solo se si può dotare di una qualche cappa parapolvere. Fabioo '961 29/06/2022 h. 00,45
The planar 6 is significantly better than the planar 3. I assume you have the p3 which is worse than the new planar. Just get the upgrade and stop wasting your money. I can’t imagine anything you do to your p3 would make it better than even the planar 3
Thanks for the advice :) Mine is a 25 year old turn table, predating even the p3. I see that the planar 6 is over £1150 without a cartridge now. That seems a lot of money, I have probably only spent £200 tops thus far and it's been fun. I might replace it in the future but that seems a lot of money for something that does not get used regularly.
It's fun. And I was not happy with the turntable. The new ones are too expensive for what they are. I can build the SRM tech deck, using new bearing, arm and motor, for exactly the same price as Rega are charging and obtain a better result. I cannot believe how much Rega charge for coated chipboard.
It's not fun Rega have engineered a legendary table worth ever penny & the rest that's why they don't even have to advertise & they plough the money into development Instead leave it to the experts instead of slating them just because you can't afford it
@@jasonemanuel9070 this turntable was broken. I could have taken it in for a service but I would have learned nothing and spent more money. I'm very happy for you to do whatever you like with your own hardware, including nothing if that's your preference.
@@ashtontechhelp did you break it🤣 The money you spend on daft upgrade you could get a better TT anyway I'm pleased for you too,I believe in keeping everything original but that's just me a simple watchmaker
@@jasonemanuel9070 it transpired that the motor was busted any way. But the resin was buckling, also, and the suspension band was weak. It needed something doing. Eventually I went to the SRM deck, vastly better.
You certainly can. I'm not actually sure whether you're being humourous or not. But the fact that they do several models does rather suggest that improvements are possible and, in this case, both fun and successful.
