What to do with my new (old) Planar 3

[admin_exported]

Well it took a few weeks of outbidded auctions but I'm now the owner of a Rega Planar 3!

It's only now dawned on me that now I've got it, I've not got any idea how to properly set it up OR how to check if it's in good nick (cue for torrent of bad ebay experiences...). I've only ever used a Technics with a Pmount so never had to do all the allignment, azimuth necromancy to get it playing straight.

Sooo, any help would be nice, any setup guides to point me to or any tips on checking if it needs any attention etc.

I await a reply with crossed fingers, please god don't tell me I've been ripped off!

 

[John Duncan]

Well luckily a Rega is easy peasy to set up, particularly if there was a cartridge on it already. The Planar 3 setup flier is here, but for peace of mind (or sleepless nights - you choose) it's worth reading about and downloading a cartridge alignment protractor from here, and if you're really in the mood, a speed check strobe from here. Other than that, stick it on a light, rigid, level shelf and off you go...

What cartridge is on it, out of interest?

 

[fatboyslimfast]

Invest in a new belt - well worth it on any Planar, I used to change mine every 5 year.

Apart from that, if the platter spins freely for what seems an age without the belt attached (after a push), you are fine!

 

[Anonymous]

There's an A&R cambridge c77 cart on it, heard this is what is now arcam, not really got an idea what condition the stylus is in, just gonna try some unwanted record to see.

It came with the original Rega cart setup card and having a quick look seems to say it's a bit off so that'll be fun.

Any idea what I can do to upgrade? or if it's worth while? I know they made this deck for years but not got much of an idea how old it is. I've read somewhere about a motor upgrade to sort out flutter and various dampening ideas, Also replacing the counterweight, rewiring the arm ( I'm quite interested in this as the phono cables look a bit stringy and thin)

I think the belt is fine, i was told it had less than 10hrs with this belt and it looks in good nick.

I get the feeling that i'm gonna start spending money I don't have.....

 

[Lost Angeles]

Congratulations.

The advice from Rega when I bought mine in 1986 was spin the platter before you swtch the drive on as it eases the start up strain on the motor, I have always done this and never had a problem.
Enjoy.

 

[John Duncan]

cookiemonster:
There's an A&R cambridge c77 cart on it, heard this is what is now arcam, not really got an idea what condition the stylus is in, just gonna try some unwanted record to see.

It came with the original Rega cart setup card and having a quick look seems to say it's a bit off so that'll be fun.

Any idea what I can do to upgrade? or if it's worth while? I know they made this deck for years but not got much of an idea how old it is. I've read somewhere about a motor upgrade to sort out flutter and various dampening ideas, Also replacing the counterweight, rewiring the arm ( I'm quite interested in this as the phono cables look a bit stringy and thin)

I think the belt is fine, i was told it had less than 10hrs with this belt and it looks in good nick.

I get the feeling that i'm gonna start spending money I don't have.....

That cartridge is ancient. Buy a new one...

 

[Anonymous]

OK just given it my first spin and..... not what I was expecting.

I tried to align the cart as best I could, it seemed to be quite off when i checked it before adjusting and there is quite a bit of scraped metal at the head of the arm. I think it was much better aligned when i'd finished, well according to the card anyway.

I put on a 45 of "stand and deliver" by adam and the ants that i got in a job lot sale and had never played before to use as a test record. First thing, the arm lift barely reaches as far in as the line in groove of a 45 and is very close to the record aswell, not sure if this is how it should be.

This deck has the glass platter fitted and did take a good while to get up to speed (will use your advise in future Lost Angeles).

Noticed a distinct amount of rumble, and could feel it when I touched the plinth, is this a bearing? ( the platter seemed to spin nice and free and long)

Also noticed that the band clicks every few seconds as it runs up the spindle and then jumps back to the centre again.

As I've said before I've no idea how the stylus is but it seemed to play ok, but the overall sound was overly warm, lacking treble and the bass seemed too strong to me too. I'm thinking the treble issue points to a worn stylus but the bass, i've no idea.

So as a first play I know this isn't the best setup but am now a bit worried. My dad's technics deck is allot brighter and even in sound than this p3. I think I've bought a pup!

Going to the pub now to sooth my brow. EBAY!!!

 

[Anonymous]

OK got back from the pub ready for another go, found that the motor spindle was fouling on the platter, pushed that onto the motor shaft a bit further and the rumble has greatly reduced! Also twisted the arm raising rest so it held the arm over the whole playing area, no idea why this was in the wrong position.

My main concern now is that the previous owner seems to have been adjusting the bolts on the top of the head of the arm instead of tightening the Allen key bolts under the head, this has worn the metal at the top quite badly, you can see the metal where the black paint of the arm has be scrapped off. Is this bad news?

Played a few more records and I take back what I said before about my dad's old Technics deck, this deck is much better, definitely.

 

[Anonymous]

sounds like the bolt that holds the arm onto the arm board had come loose so you might want too tighten that

if the damage is on top of the head of the arm but theres still plenty of metal there shouldnt be a problem but posting a photo might help there

regas are sensitive to mounting so id put it on a shelf which might help with the noise floor

you can get an upgraded motor but jd is right buy another cartridge first people like ortofon on the rega so look at those

 

[Anonymous]

you might want to change the oil in the bearing too if it hasnt been done for a number of years

 

[respe]

a few rega basics

make sure that the nut that hold the arm onto the plinth from underneath is finger tight. (mechanic fingers)

get some gear box oil, and a long thin magnet, some lint free cloth and a couple of q tips.

Lift off the glass plater, remove the ''plastic'' sub platter, with the long thin magnet, reach into the now exposed bearing housing and remove the ball bearing. Wrap the Q tips with the lint free cloth and clean out the bearing housing, and the bearing. If you have any cleaning alcohol dampen a lint free cloth, wipe out the bearing housing, the bearing, and the spindle on the 'plastic' sub platter. Leave it for a few minutes to dry. Put a few drops of the gear box oil into the bearing housing, putt the ball bearing back, (you lost it?), then put the sub platter back, and the glass platter. It may all take a few minutes to settle back to the correct level. If you have overfilled the housing, this is when you find out, as it will appear on the wooden deck under the platter.

Clean it up and start again.

spin the glass sub platter manually, it should spin freely for ages. It did- good, put the drive belt into some warm soapy water and give it a clean, wipe dry. Then put a little talc powder into a polythene bag, with the belt, and give it a shake. Re fit the drive belt, (get your self a new one as soon as poss, they are not expensive and do not last forever. Give the platter a spin with your fingers, turn on the deck, and the platter should settle quickly at the correct speed.

Now to sort out the arm.

You have checked that the securing nut is finger tight, wind the tracking force weight to zero, and slide the anti skate to zero.

If you move the arm over to where the middle track of a LP would be, it should float just above the surface of the record, and very slowly swing back towards the arm rest. If not re position the balance weight on the rear of the arm until it does. When it does, put the arm back on the rest, and dial in the required tracking force, apply about 0.5 on the anti skate. Give the stylus a dam good clean with a stylus Brush, or if you are feeling brave pop into boots, and get a few of the pre injection wipes they sell, and clean the stylus by gently pulling one from the front to back of the stylus. Its not recommended for new carts but given the age of yours its going to need something.

Now have a listen to a few albums, you may need to increase the anti skate a tad, but you will hear it.

If you wish to upgrade later, then start with the bits that matter, sub platter, motor etc, but its best to add up what you think you want to do and compare that cost to a P3-24.

 

[Anonymous]

not sure about gearbox oil heres what rega have to say http://www.rega.co.uk/index2.htm

 

[Lost Angeles]

I forgot to say last night that you need to leave the turtable running during a record playing session. Do not keep switching off and on every time you change a record. The normal time for the TT to reach full speed is between 2 to 5 seconds and a slight rattle during starting should cause no concern.
I always lock my arm in position before turning a record over as a safety precaution.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for all the info, just checked how much a service is and decided to have a go at these things first myself (£60/hr!) I'll try and get some pics up but seeing as I can't get my avatar to work don't hold your breath.

 

[jetjohnson]

.....Funnily enough I've just had my original Oracle Delphi 1 TT / Zeta tone arm serviced and it also had an A+R P77 cartridge that needed replacing. Also one of the cartridge leads had lost it's connector so I decided that due to my inherent clumsiness and now not so great eyesight (and on the premise that this was my xmas prezzie from her indoors) to get it professionally looked at.

.....I Took it to Lintone Audio in Gateshead who ...changed the bearing oil ...repaired one suspension pillar ....and fitted a new Goldring 2200 cartridge whilst generally setting it up properly. Cost was £224.00 inc the cost of the Goldring ...which was a fair price for the work done I reckon.

It sounds fab and I can heartily recommend the Goldring for anyone looking for a MM cartridge in the £100 bracket .....now her indoors is complaining about all the vinyl that is cluttering up the lounge - DOH! ;-)

 

[Anonymous]

respe is right.

get yr old rega set up correctly frist, listen to it for a while before deciding to upgrade. the cartridge shld be the first thing to be changed. rega has an excellent range of mm cartridges.

if the belt is a bit loose, you can change that too. then you can replace the glass platter with an acrylic one - definitely sounds better.

there is also a motor upgrade that you can consider. later you can change the counterweight, rewire the arm and even replace the sub-platter.

however, if you add up the total cost of the upgrades, you might as well get a new p3-24 or even the p5.