Best Mid-Price Record Player 2024 - What Hi-Fi?
Best Buy Award – The-Ear.net
"Nigh on Impossible to Beat"
The highly acclaimed Planar 2 turntable returns to the Rega line-up. The new Planar 2 was developed over the past two years alongside the recently released Planar 3. Planar 2 features the brand new RB220 tonearm, which is packed with groundbreaking performance-enhancing features.
Other features include a new 24-volt low noise motor, an acrylic laminated plinth, and a newly designed central bearing. Every feature of this innovative new turntable is designed to extract the maximum amount of information and detail from your vinyl collection.
"Impressive Attention to Detail"
"The Planar 2 delivers punchy basslines, room-filling scale, impressive attention to detail, and rhythmic subtlety," reports What Hi-Fi?, which named the Planar 2 its Best Mid-Price Record Player 2024. "There's no built-in phono stage, so it needs to hook up to a stereo amplifier that has one, or you can always buy a separate one. If that's within your budget, you'll find that the Planar 2 delivers a clear step-in performance from the Planar 1 – and at a very competitive price."
"It Just Works"
The Planar 2 won a Best Buy Award from The-Ear.net"You have a budget turntable that is nigh on impossible to beat. If you want to hear what vinyl is really all about get thee to a Rega dealer forthwith," notes Jason Kennedy, June 15, 2016
"The Planar 2 is a high-performing deck at a competitive price," notes whathifi.com, May 24, 2016. "The ability to tie all the musical strands together and paint them on a precise and spacious canvas seems to come easy to the Rega, and in that aspect its delivery just works."
New RB220 Tonearm
The Planar 2 boasts the brand new RB220 tonearm. It incorporates new patent pending bespoke ultra-low-friction, zero-play ball bearings designed by Rega. These are housed within a brand new, stiffer and lightweight bearing housing which was developed with a new automatic bias setting negating the need for the user to set bias. This feature makes the Planar 2 almost completely plug-and-play apart from simple arm balancing. The new housing also includes an integrated arm clip and uses Rega's latest custom aluminum arm tube.
The Planar 2 also has a new, patent pending 11mm self-securing brass bearing, offering improved fit and less stress on the bearing, preventing the transfer of potential energy.
Plinth, Motor, and Platter Upgrades
The high gloss acrylic laminated plinth is stiffer and enjoys a vastly improved appearance compared to previous versions, and it includes an ergonomically positioned power switch. A new float glass ‘Optiwhite’ 10mm-thick platter provides improved accuracy.
The Planar 2's motor is a new 24-volt low noise, low vibration motor assembly and uses a new PCB.
Carbon Phono Cartridge – and Other Features
The features list goes on and on, beginning with the inclusion of a Rega Carbon phono cartridge for simple plug-and-play convenience right out of the box.
The Planar 2 has re-designed feet. The new and improved foot assembly increases stability and reduces vibration transfer. The motor cover tray provides integrated cooling. The supplied lid/plinth protectors prevent marks on the plinth and keep it looking its best.
An easy-to-use multilingual quick start guide gets you up and running right away.
