Question Component Matching for Rega Planar 6/Ania

[VinylGym]

Hi, I am about to upgrade my system and had a couple of questions. I want to opt for a vinyl based system with CD option available also. I currently have the original Pro-ject Debut 3 paired with a Cambridge Audio Azur 540A amplifier, Marantz 6006 CD player, and bi-wired B&W 607 S3 speakers. All the interconnects/speaker cable Etc are premium apart from the poor Project fixed interconnect cables.

I want to purchase the Rega Planar 6/Ania turntable as the central piece around which the system is built (I don't like the Technics styling so the new SL1300G is not on my radar). I am thinking of pairing it with Arcam's A15 amplifier. Is this a good combination? Also, even though I have recently purchased the B&Ws, should I opt for a more premium set of speakers and if so, what would you recommend? I am looking to spend in the region of £1000 for each component. I don't see myself upgrading the Marantz at this time.

 

[daytona600]

RP6/Ania is £1700 Good TT
Spend 50% of your budget on the TT/Phono stage in a vinyl system " Source First "
at this price level IMHO get a demo of a Avid Ingenium & Project X2B with your chosen amp/speakers

The AVID Ingenium Plug&Play turntable

Listening to Simon and Garfunkel’s classic, Bridge Over Troubled Water, on AVID’s Ingenium Plug&Play table is not only highly satisfying but clearly illustrates how much difference the turntable makes in the analog equation. Too often, I’ve seen audiophiles put a mega cartridge on a mediocre...

www.tonepublications.com

Pro-Ject X2 B/Phono Box S3 B Turntable/Phono Preamp

Moving-coil pick-ups are inherently 'balanced' and Pro-Ject is determined to reveal them at their best with this balanced-wired version of the X2 deck and phono preamp One burning question is begged by the arrival of Pro-Ject's X2 B turntable and Phono Box S3 B phono stage: why did it take so...

www.hifinews.com

 

[Al ears]

Amplifier wise, if you are happy with Cambridge, buy a more recent model although, if keeping the 607s I would look at Marantz or Rotel amps that are within budget.
Speakers, cannot help you with as not enough information regarding rom size etc.
Anyway they are very personal so suggest you get to a dealer and audition some, if possible in your own home.
Turntable wise I would also go for Avid over Rega

 

[manicm]

Amplifier wise, if you are happy with Cambridge, buy a more recent model although, if keeping the 607s I would look at Marantz or Rotel amps that are within budget.
Speakers, cannot help you with as not enough information regarding rom size etc.
Anyway they are very personal so suggest you get to a dealer and audition some, if possible in your own home.
Turntable wise I would also go for Avid over Rega

What's wrong with the Arcam A15?

 

[Al ears]

What's wrong with the Arcam A15?

Never heard one so couldn't say personally....
Might be worth a listen if OP needs a dac and Bluetooth.
I'd also recommend Musical Fidelity amps, like M2si, with B&W.

 

[VinylGym]

RP6/Ania is £1700 Good TT
Spend 50% of your budget on the TT/Phono stage in a vinyl system " Source First "
at this price level IMHO get a demo of a Avid Ingenium & Project X2B with your chosen amp/speakers

The AVID Ingenium Plug&Play turntable

Listening to Simon and Garfunkel’s classic, Bridge Over Troubled Water, on AVID’s Ingenium Plug&Play table is not only highly satisfying but clearly illustrates how much difference the turntable makes in the analog equation. Too often, I’ve seen audiophiles put a mega cartridge on a mediocre...

www.tonepublications.com

Pro-Ject X2 B/Phono Box S3 B Turntable/Phono Preamp

Moving-coil pick-ups are inherently 'balanced' and Pro-Ject is determined to reveal them at their best with this balanced-wired version of the X2 deck and phono preamp One burning question is begged by the arrival of Pro-Ject's X2 B turntable and Phono Box S3 B phono stage: why did it take so...

www.hifinews.com

Thanks Daytona. Currently, Sevenoaks are selling the Raya P6/Ania for £1155 which strikes me as a great deal. The Arcam A15 has a built in phono stage but I’m not sure if I will need a better one, like you say, to get the best from it.

 

[Al ears]

Thanks Daytona. Currently, Sevenoaks are selling the Raya P6/Ania for £1155 which strikes me as a great deal. The Arcam A15 has a built in phono stage but I’m not sure if I will need a better one, like you say, to get the best from it.

Are you sure about that price? Can't see it anywhere, is it ex demo? Normally they are £1675.
Arcam phono stages normally good, you will have to try it out for yourself if going for the A15 before spending lots more on a decent separate.
If you are intent on buying a separate why buy an amplifier with one installed?

 

[good_enough]

Thanks Daytona. Currently, Sevenoaks are selling the Raya P6/Ania for £1155 which strikes me as a great deal. The Arcam A15 has a built in phono stage but I’m not sure if I will need a better one, like you say, to get the best from it.

It looks like that onboard phono is MM while the Ania is MC? You're unlikely to get an integrated with a MC input in your price bracket.

To use with an integrated's MM input you might look at the Rega nd7 instead of the Ania, or with the Ania you have two moving pieces: a phono pre-amp (or step-up) and an amplifier.

 

[VinylGym]

Are you sure about that price? Can't see it anywhere, is it ex demo? Normally they are £1675.
Arcam phono stages normally good, you will have to try it out for yourself if going for the A15 before spending lots more on a decent separate.
If you are intent on buying a separate why buy an amplifier with one installed?

That was the What HiFi quoted price but I’ve checked the offer and the price has gone up to £1280 and that is without the cartridge. Looks like I need to rethink this as you guys have intimated!

 

[daytona600]

Rega had a price rise this month

 

[nopiano]

If you are determined to have a Rega - and they are decent turntables, deservedly popular - then a Planar 6 can come with the newest Nd5 cartridge for around £1500. For £1,000 I think you might find the Planar 3 RS Edition doesn’t lose out much, and includes the same cartridge - and meets your budget.

Get that first, and see how much better your records sound. Then, think about speakers that work in your room/space, with an amp that’s suitable for driving them, with the facilities you need. Please listen to and look at as many speakers and amps as you can, before deciding. You’ll be repaid for years, for the time you invest now, rather than asking us!

Enjoy!

PS. I can’t seem to find whether the 540A has a phono stage - does yours?

 

[Al ears]

If you are determined to have a Rega - and they are decent turntables, deservedly popular - then a Planar 6 can come with the newest Nd5 cartridge for around £1500. For £1,000 I think you might find the Planar 3 RS Edition doesn’t lose out much, and includes the same cartridge - and meets your budget.

Get that first, and see how much better your records sound. Then, think about speakers that work in your room/space, with an amp that’s suitable for driving them, with the facilities you need. Please listen to and look at as many speakers and amps as you can, before deciding. You’ll be repaid for years, for the time you invest now, rather than asking us!

Enjoy!

PS. I can’t seem to find whether the 540A has a phono stage - does yours?

Agree, you'll probably struggle to hear any difference between the Planar 6 and Planar 3 RS assuming same cartridge used on both.

 

[daytona600]

2nd hand RP8 will be better than a RP3/RP6 £1250/1500 with cartridge
Always a good selection of used Rega
Picked up a 3week old Rega Naid / Aphelion 2 for £6,000 recently huge saving on RRP £13,150

 

[manicm]

Hi, I am about to upgrade my system and had a couple of questions. I want to opt for a vinyl based system with CD option available also. I currently have the original Pro-ject Debut 3 paired with a Cambridge Audio Azur 540A amplifier, Marantz 6006 CD player, and bi-wired B&W 607 S3 speakers. All the interconnects/speaker cable Etc are premium apart from the poor Project fixed interconnect cables.

I want to purchase the Rega Planar 6/Ania turntable as the central piece around which the system is built (I don't like the Technics styling so the new SL1300G is not on my radar). I am thinking of pairing it with Arcam's A15 amplifier. Is this a good combination? Also, even though I have recently purchased the B&Ws, should I opt for a more premium set of speakers and if so, what would you recommend? I am looking to spend in the region of £1000 for each component. I don't see myself upgrading the Marantz at this time.

In either case you'd want to get a standalone phono preamp, otherwise you'd be losing out. The ones in your amp choices simply won't do your turntable choices justice.

 

[Al ears]

If you are determined to have a Rega - and they are decent turntables, deservedly popular - then a Planar 6 can come with the newest Nd5 cartridge for around £1500. For £1,000 I think you might find the Planar 3 RS Edition doesn’t lose out much, and includes the same cartridge - and meets your budget.

Get that first, and see how much better your records sound. Then, think about speakers that work in your room/space, with an amp that’s suitable for driving them, with the facilities you need. Please listen to and look at as many speakers and amps as you can, before deciding. You’ll be repaid for years, for the time you invest now, rather than asking us!

Enjoy!

PS. I can’t seem to find whether the 540A has a phono stage - does yours?

I he's running a Debut 3 through it then it must have.

 

[The_Lecht_Rocks]

My 2p. Having recently bought a Planar 6 ND7..Rabbit hole !
I bought it to accommpany my NAIT 50 as the MM stage was apparently magnificent…
It is ! But then I began looking at extracting more from the RP6 and now looking at phono stages to further improve..

I suspect if you buy either the RP3 RS or RP6 ND5 that you must also don justice to the turntable by matching the phono stage as closely as possible.

You can’t buy a great TT then whack it into a generic phono stage.

 

[Entrigo]

That was the What HiFi quoted price but I’ve checked the offer and the price has gone up to £1280 and that is without the cartridge. Looks like I need to rethink this as you guys have intimated!

If you are local to Exeter, and don't mind second hand gear, there's a used P6/Ania for sale at £1175 or thereabouts.

For what it is worth, I demoed it last weekend (as an upgrade from my Technics SL1500C with AT-VM540ML). With the ND5 wasn't that special, but with the Ania it was really good. Pity for the "centre hum" issue. Couldn't really hear it when playing - and didn't really look for it as anyway the price quofor the whole package, £2.3k including Fono MC, was out of my budget - but nonetheless annoying at this price point.

 

[matthewpianist]

I'm coming at this having been around the house many, many times. The best (but not the most expensive) system I've ever had was Rega RP3/Elys2, Apollo-R, Brio-R and RS2s (or Dynaudio DM2/6 - I had both and they offered different signatures, but were equally excellent).

Frankly, I've never matched the engagement of that system, and so I'm in the process of going Rega again and making a resolution to stick with it, starting with the io amp and Kyte speakers I have arriving today.

The Planar 3 is a sweet spot, and a superb balance of price and performance. It's all the turntable most people need, and the P3RS is excellent value, including as it does the NEO MkII PSU. If you wait a few weeks for the new Brio Mk. 7, or consider a used Elex-R or new Elex MkIV, Rega's built-in phono stages are a step above most, and you'll probably be more than happy with what you get.