Rega Motor Upgrade

admin_exported

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Has anyone any thoughts on Rega's own motor upgrade versus an Origin Live DC motor for an old(ish) Planar 3 turntable. Existing motor getting very tired so I have to get something but was wondering if it is well worth the £260 or so for the Origin Live kit as opposed to the £80 Rega upgraded motor.
 
T

the record spot

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No idea which would be the better; best to weigh up the differences between the two, or talk to a Rega dealer who might have heard both. Additionally, most dealers will undertake a service too (circa £35) so don't be surprised if they offer this at the same time as doing the motor upgrade for you.

I almost went for the Rega upgrade (which from memory makes a good difference over the cooking motor) but as the P3 is now on top of the wardrobe and likely to be sold off soon, I've spent my money on ageing Japanese amps of late instead....

Come to think of it, I might even have to rename myself - recordless_spot perhaps, or "_spotless" for the cleanliness obsessed!
 

chebby

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Jun 2, 2008
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Is the motor getting tired or do you just need a new belt?

Either way, £260 is two thirds of the price of a brand new Rega P3-24 (plus what you can get for the old unit on ebay).

Have your dealer do the Rega motor upgrade for you if you opt for that. (My Rega dealer tells me the upgrades are notorious for falling off if not done properly.) Then the upgrade is covered by some sort of warranty.

(The Rega motor upgrade does NOT bring bring it into line with the current P3-24 24V DC motor so you will not be able to use a TT-PSU with it. The upgrade pack pre-dates the new DC motors.)
 
A

Anonymous

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Thanks for that. No, the belt's o.k. - recently new. All is working well except that motor tends to rattle around a bit on its mounting bands and any amount of fiddling doesn't seem to totally cure that
 

nathanc

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I think I have a similar problem with my 6 year old P3. I've tried two different belts from two different suppliers (luckily they both accepted a return) to no avail. My motor issue manifests itself with a wavering sound to piano and cymbals etc..

Perhaps getting it serviced would be a good start!
 

chebby

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nathanc:I've tried two different belts from two different suppliers (luckily they both accepted a return) to no avail.

The supplier you should use for a Rega belt is Rega. (via an official Rega dealer. They will send you one in the post for a modest remuneration if you phone them.)

Rega Planars and P3s go back to the mid 1970s. Anything can wear out/go off it' peak performance over time. That is one of the crosses Rega has to bear with such an iconic, venerable, well-known and successful product. So often their performance is judged on the basis of an eldely example.

Getting it serviced (by a Rega agent) is a capital idea so long as the quoted fee is reasonable. If the fee is unreasonable then a brand new Rega P2 (with the newer motor and the RB251 arm) will almost certainly out-perform a jaded P3 for £250 (minus what you may get for the old P3 on ebay.)

- Of course there is the P3-24 with it's superb 24v DC motor and the optional Rega TT-PSU and the new RB301 arm which would slay any older series P3/Planar 3. (And virtually any other new turntables under £1000)

But that costs £398 (+ cost of optional TT-PSU) and may be a little rich in these economically morose times :-(
 
T

the record spot

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Standard service clocks in at around £35 at one of my local dealers, so would imagine this would be a simlar figure around the country. Might be a little higher given the latest credit crippling times, but not huge amounts.

And yes, for the cost of the belt, go for an authorised Rega product. I think about the only time you go off-road for this kind of thing is where you look to do an upgrade (e.g. Origin Live arm rewire) or you've got older kit where the manufacturer either doesn't have replacement stock, or they've gone the way of the Dodo.
 

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