Rega Planar 2-Calling Chebby

[Torres09]

Im in the process of getting the attic converted, so i got up there last weekend and took down all my old HiFi seperates, well what a treasure throve, ive got a NAD314 Amp, Marantz CD42mkII, Tannoy 603 bookshelves and wait fot it ......Rega Planar 2 with Ortofon VMS10E MII..

So when i told my better half my plans for the attic thats where the trouble started- i was met with, and i quote "Your not going to put that record player in the attic are you"

I set it up and played some vinyl and the sound is fantastic, im really impressed........

Is the Ortofon up to the job?, its over 10years old but in fantastic condition.......

Would i be mad to get rid of this? I think so-but i just need a bit of convinsing

P.S its got a RB250 tonearm and IXOS interconnections- all good?

 

[Anonymous]

 

[John Duncan]

Yup, great setup. That ortofon was good in its time as well, if I remember, but after ten years it's probably worth investing in something new and shiny. Rega or Ortofon (again) would be my first ports of call.

 

[chebby]

Telephone or visit your local Rega dealer and get a new drive belt. (Essential for older models.) Cheap to buy but essential you get an authentic Rega belt and not something claiming to be genuine from ebay.

If the cartridge sounds good then it is good. If you can still get new styli for it (genuine Ortofon) all the better, but unlikely.

Your Rega dealer will be able to put a Rega Bias 2 on it for you in a trice.

You can 'funk' it up with a new mat too. (About £11 when I bought one last year.)

Bit concerned about the Ixos cable you mentioned and how it got there. Rega decks all have captive leads.

I am hoping someone has not botched a rewire in the deck's past. (Ixos is hardly the best name in the business.) Maybe someone just replaced the phono plugs. I would want to get that checked.

Hopefully you have re-balanced the arm and reset the tracking weight to the recommended amount. The RB250 arm has a very 'agressive' anti-skate mechanism so you should experiment with setting the anti-skate/bias slider a bit lower than the tracking weight number. If you are tracking at a mass of 2 grammes then set the antiskate to 1 and see if it improves things.

All this assumes that you are supporting the deck on a (very) level and rigid and stable surface.

 

[Torres09]

chebby:

Telephone or visit your local Rega dealer and get a new drive belt. (Essential for older models.) Cheap to buy but essential you get an authentic Rega belt and not something claiming to be genuine from ebay.

If the cartridge sounds good then it is good. If you can still get new styli for it (genuine Ortofon) all the better, but unlikely.

Your Rega dealer will be able to put a Rega Bias 2 on it for you in a trice.

You can 'funk' it up with a new mat too. (About £11 when I bought one last year.)

Bit concerned about the Ixos cable you mentioned and how it got there. Rega decks all have captive leads.

I am hoping someone has not botched a rewire in the deck's past. (Ixos is hardly the best name in the business.) Maybe someone just replaced the phono plugs. I would want to get that checked.

Hopefully you have re-balanced the arm and reset the tracking weight to the recommended amount. The RB250 arm has a very 'agressive' anti-skate mechanism so you should experiment with setting the anti-skate/bias slider a bit lower than the tracking weight number. If you are tracking at a mass of 2 grammes then set the antiskate to 1 and see if it improves things.

All this assumes that you are supporting the deck on a (very) level and rigid and stable surface.

Chebby, i live in Dublin,so theres no Rega dealers over here

You are correct as regards the cable, its the original Rega, as you mentioned it's just the Phono Plugs that were replaced-pheww.....

Propr to going into storage it was serviced by LyricHiFi-they were part of RicherSounds who dealt in higher end gear, Linn, Rega, Creek etc,etc, and tbh it sounds and is in great condition....

When i tested it i had it on the granite worktop of my kitchen, however when the attic is completed im getting an Atacama Equinox Rack-would this suffice??

cheers........

 

[chebby]

Hmmm strange there are no Rega dealers or distributors in Ireland/Eire (especially a place as big as Dublin).

Bit of a gap in the market. Is that true of other UK hifi manufacturers' products or just Rega?

 

[Torres09]

chebby:

Hmmm strange there are no Rega dealers or distributors in Ireland/Eire (especially a place as big as Dublin).

Bit of a gap in the market. Is that true of other UK hifi manufacturers' products or just Rega?

Yep its true, we dont even have a RicherSounds in the Rep of Ireland-one in Belfast. Theres 2 good dealers in the whole of Dublin Cloney Audio and Sevenoaks!!!

I bought the Rega from Cloney Audio and although he does'nt do Rega any more im sure he could sort me out...

Any thoughts on the Atacama Equinox rack? btw its the Equinox AV rack...

 

[Anonymous]

The classic is the Ikea Lack, if you have a store near you.

 

[chebby]

Torres09:Any thoughts on the Atacama Equinox rack? btw its the Equinox AV rack...

No idea. I am sure it is fine.

So long as it is level-able and rigid and stable and not on something like big hollow furniture that can reverberate.

I don't know anthying abouts racks (solid concrete floors, don't need 'em) so probably best to open up a new thread for the rack 'experts'.