Is upgrading the motor on a REGA P25 worthwhile?

kikiso

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I was considering doing a service on my P25 motor when I noticed that you can buy the 24V Upgrade kit for reasonable money. I have no idea of the history of my current motor but expect it has not been touched in recent years if at all. The question is, has anyone upgraded the P25 and if so is it recommended above and beyond just servicing the existing motor?

It also seems that I can also add the TT-PSU which helps out as I have many 45s and find I can't be asked to keep removing the platter just to change the speed, but will the TT-PSU further add to the sonic performance?
 

kikiso

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Hi Steve, somehow I guessed you would be the first to respond and thanks. I have decided to do this upgrade as well as buying the Groovemaster Reference Subplatter. I have a friend who has the TT-PSU so will be able to try it before buying it, but it seems that these upgrades will fix issues that will improve the decks performance unless someone jumps in before Monday to argue otherwise. These forums never deliver a definite "yes" or "no" but I appreciate the opinions as it's impossible to experience all the permutations available first-hand.
 

stevebrock

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Do one upgrade at a time - otherwise you wont see what difference the tweaks are.

The Rega decks have plenty of aftermarket upgrades - some may say buy a better deck - but sometimes this is not realistic.

Search for CSJF posts on here, he has taken a P5 to the extreme, I mean he has exrtracted as much as possible from this deck.

The Groovetrracer Sub Platter is a good upgrade to as is Tecnoweight also.

Just noticed your Elicit R :) clean & transparent - you should be able to hear your little tweaks

remember on their own - not massive, but all together these little tweaks will make a Big difference.

Also noticed 2m blue through the Elciit - thats gonna be quite forward - thought about a cartridge upgrade instead??
 

kikiso

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Yes, I plan to get the MP-200 and I had another post about this, however I haven't had a lot of use from the 2M and I think I would rather improve the deck more then add the MP-200 at a later stage, I think at that point I will get more from it. The Elicit-R and the CM8s are really generating a terrific sound so I'm really looking forward to making further improvements.

But I will take your guidance and I agree with making incremental changes to appreciate the difference each one makes.

:cheers:
 

kikiso

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Just for information for anyone who might read this post at a later stage, after much research on the net last night I have decided to not replace the P25s motor. The reason for this is that there seems to be little to gain from the upgrade. One of the main changes Rega made with the new 24V motor seems to be better isolation by removing the need for it to be screwed to the deck and instead using self-adhesive foam pads which are good at isolating any vibrations. Well one of the benefits of the P25 was the hand tuned motor which eliminated the vibrations so nothing to be gained except for a more modern motor which will not need any maintenance for a while. The flip side to this is that you now have a motor that is dependent on glue to remain in situ and there have been many issues with this.

There is a very useful video on YouTube which describes how to service and better isolate the P25 motor so I might do that in the future.

Without the 24V upgrade however I can't take advantage of the TT-PSU and the speed change, but I have found a solution to that which is to buy something like the Heed Orbit 2. This seems to have all the benefits of the TT-PSU and will work with my stock P25. Also, happily it costs about the same or less than the two upgrades I was contemplating, so happy days, and even better, it seems to get good reviews from Linn owners. I'm ordering one today.
 

kikiso

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Will do. The Orbit is due to arrive later this week and there is at least a 2 week wait list for the Groovetracer before it gets posted from the US.
 

kikiso

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Well the Orbit 2 arrived but was unable to use it until I had purchased an IEC male connector. It was not obvious that this is not included. Anyway, that arrived today and I'm up and running. Initial impressions are that there now seems to be an added "weight" to the sound. Hard to really describe but it's just better. I have also played some 45s that I've been ignoring for so long and it's now so easy and what every deck should be capable of doing without removing the platter.

I'm still waiting for the GT Reference Subplatter and not sure that what I have now can be improved on, but having read dozens of other reports I’m hoping to be pleasantly surprised.

As I write this I'm playing REM's Automatic For The People which sounds good anyway, but it's just superb now.
 

VOE

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The problem with upgrading small components of any unit is you never know when to call it quits. If the unit is quite old, other parts could fail at any time and your money might be wasted. I'm one for waiting for improvements to be made across the board and then every 5 - 8 years or so I replace the whole thing!

My mate had a Linn Sondek and he did the Circus thing with it. Then a Keel (?), then a Lingo, then Vivid (plinth, sub-chassis), then Trampoline or something else. His t/table description on another forum is about 3 lines long! He then heard a new Rega which cost about half what he'd already spent on the Linn and it was better. Surprise, surprise. The Linn, complete with a truckload of extras, went for the exit.

IMHO small and cheap little upgrades might be worth doing one at a time but you have to weigh up how much you could end up spending on something old that you won't always recover your money with. A new deck always allows for the existing one to be sold. New parts rarely bring much back in terms of the re-sale of old and presumably inferior parts.
 

kikiso

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Thanks VOE, I know what you mean. I have now read about so many upgrades to the REGA decks that there has to be a point where enough is enough. My P25 with the RB600 arm and the hand-tuned motor is inherently a good deck which I don't want to sell, so the two upgrades I have decided on seem to be all I need to do to get maximum performance from it and at the same time keeping the deck pretty original. The only thing I would spend more money on would be a new cartridge which I will do when the current one needs replacing,

The GT Sub platter does have a good resale value on its own so not wasting too much money here, same goes for the Orbit 2, both changes are easy to backout of.

I'm interested in any feedback that would indicate that doing this to a P25 is either good or bad, although I have committed to both "upgrades" now.
 

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