Κώστας Φ.
Truth hurts. Here's a teddy bear.
- Μηνύματα
- 8.978
- Reaction score
- 894
Το νέο εισαγωγικό πικάπ της Rega, στα $350 (φαντάζομαι Ευρώπη αρκετά χαμηλότερα), συνεχίζει απ'ότι φαίνεται την καλή παράδοση της εταιρείας στη χαμηλή κατηγορία τιμής. Απο το Stereophile.
"Like most Rega record players—and especially like the very first, the Planar 3—the P1 has a purposeful, unfussy appearance: a simple-looking, lightweight wooden plinth covered in dark, semigloss laminate. The underlying design is less simple, however—something that Rega's many imitators have missed over the years—and is the direct result of designer Roy Gandy's abiding belief that a massive plinth is massively good for one thing only: the storing of unwanted resonant energy (which always gets rereleased, and which doesn't wait for you to flip the record over before doing so). That plinth sits on three of the same multi-tiered rubber pods that have supported Rega Planar turntables since time out of mind: Each of the three feet supports an area of different mass compared with the other two, and is thus "tuned" to a slightly different frequency.
The Rega P1 also uses the same sort of molded subplatter, with the same sort of interference-fit bearing spindle, as Planars gone by, and to which is fitted the same round-cross-section drive belt. The outside diameter of the P1's bearing well is only 7/16" compared with the 11/16" of the P3, yet their bores are the same, as are their captured thrust balls and reddish gear oil. The Dutch-sourced AC motor is a bit less refined than the one used in the P2 and P3, and topped with a similarly less select pulley; the only drive circuitry to speak of is the usual three-part "phasing" network, to get the platter turning in the proper direction.
That's all well and good. But in order to sell the P1 for $350—a significant savings (footnote 1) compared with the already affordable P2 ($525)—Rega had to economize in two other, more major ways. The first of those is the aforementioned RB100 tonearm, which is outwardly similar to the very successful RB300 family of arms, despite its simpler construction: The one-piece armtube casting has given way to a simple alloy tube with a bonded aluminum headshell, and the spring-actuated downforce of the more expensive tonearms—actually an adjustable spring whose upward pressure is relieved as downforce is increased—has been replaced with a simple adjustable counterweight. Damped cueing and magnetic antiskating remain, as does the arm's basic effective length of 240mm.
The second major scale-back is even more drastic: For the P1, Rega has forgone their famous glass platter in favor of one machined from MDF. That's right: Put away the Windex and get out the Pledge. The fiberboard platter is 11/16" thick, and is machined in an effort to concentrate a bit more mass toward the periphery than toward the center—although I can't imagine it makes much of a difference, given MDF's low mass. The platter is sprayed black and topped with a somewhat coarser version of the standard Rega felt mat.
...
Although I'd worked in a hi-fi shop for a number of years before 1980, that was the year of my initiation (footnote 3) into perfectionist audio. That was when I bought—from an honest-to-goodness audio salon—a Rega Planar 2 record player. Then as now, the seriousness of a record player was gauged by its lack of frills, and the Planar 2 was nothing if not serious. In making it, Rega disconcerned themselves with gimmicks, and pared their product down to what was needed to make recorded music sound convincing and real.
As they have here—with one key difference: The Rega P1 marks the first time in my experience that a designer whose work sometimes ranks with the very best you can buy, has created an audio component this affordable. And by affordable I don't mean relatively affordable, as with our favorite entry-level Koetsus, entry-level Wilsons, and even entry-level Linns. I mean affordable as in cheap, as in sane, as in reachable by anyone with a job.
The all-English-made Rega P1 also marks the first time in recent memory that a high-tech company hasn't resorted to outsourcing in order to bring to market a high-quality, very-high-value product. Kudos to Roy Gandy for his ingenuity in doing so, and for keeping Rega's work among Rega's people.
Consider: A brand-new SME Model 30 record player costs approximately $35,000 when equipped with its companion Series V tonearm. I've never had one in my system, but I suppose that the 30 is at least pretty good, and that buying one would be an effective way of making yourself happy. Then again, you could use the same amount of money to buy a hundred or so Rega P1s and give them to a hundred or so friends whose music-buying habits could benefit from the motivational equivalent of a good, swift kick in the ass. That would probably bring lots of happiness into the world as well. Very strongly recommended." -- Art Dudley
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