Rega Planar 3
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We offer free 2-day shipping on most products within the continental US.
Weekdays - Orders placed by 2pm EST ship same day. Orders placed after 2pm EST will ship the following business day.
Weekends - Orders placed on Saturday and Sunday will ship Monday.
Orders requiring motor freight delivery may take more than two business days. Once your order has shipped, you'll receive a shipping confirmation email with a tracking number for easy tracking.
Orders that contain items that are currently backordered, special order, or out of stock will ship complete once all items are in-stock unless otherwise requested.
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At this time, we do not ship internationally and orders to Hawaii and Alaska may incur an additional shipping charge. Please contact us at 888.899.8776 or email support@audioadvice.com to confirm.
Rerouting and Address Changes
We cannot make ANY address changes once an order is placed. If you are unable to accept delivery of your package as ordered, we will need to cancel your order, return the package to sender and have you replace your order through our website.
Keep the Box
We suggest you keep the shipping box or boxes for at least 30 days. It is actually a great idea to keep boxes for audio products for the life of the product. Having the box and all packing will increase the trade-in value should you decide to move up and they are handy to have should you ever need to send the unit in for repair.
How To Receive a Motor Freight Order
The trucking company will contact you to schedule a convenient time to deliver the order. Please note that you must be present for delivery.
Visually inspect the box to make sure you see no signs of damage. If you notice any damage at all, take some pictures with your phone and make a note of them on the delivery receipt the driver will ask you to sign. If it is obvious that the product is damaged, please refuse the order and contact us immediately at 888.899.8776 or email support@audioadvice.com.
Open your box as soon as possible and inspect the product for damage and contact us if you find anything wrong.
uShip In-Home Delivery
Due to current concerns surrounding COVID-19, uShip is able to offer THRESHOLD SERVICE ONLY at this time. To ensure everyone’s safety, uShip is advising carriers to refrain from making room-of-choice deliveries. Threshold service consists of the shipment being brought into the first door of the address or the lobby of an apartment/condo, and does not include set-up, installation, assembly or debris removal.
What to Expect: Most oversized items will be delivered within 2-3 weeks. Your carrier will place your item inside the first door of the address or the lobby of an apartment/condo.
Appointment Scheduling: Your delivery partner will call 24-48 hours prior to delivery to arrange an appointment window.
How to prepare for in-home delivery:
- Determine the clearest path from the street to your home
- Measure entrances and hallways to ensure your item will fit
- Remove any wall hangings or clutter to ensure a clear path and to prevent damages
- Remove old furnishings to allow placement for your new piece
Check your furniture for damages: We rarely expect damaged furniture, but in the instance it does happen, we have you covered. Once your item’s packaging is removed, check for any damages that may have occurred in transit. Take pictures of any damages and notate appropriately on the delivery receipt. Keep possession of the damaged piece and contact us via phone or email and we’ll start the process to repair/replace your new piece of furniture. For uShip customer support, please call 800-698-7447.
At Audio Advice, we pride ourselves on customer satisfaction. We'll bend over backward to make sure you're 100% satisfied and we won't accept anything less. We offer 30-day hassle-free returns and personalized service from real, live people.
If an item doesn't meet your expectations, you may return or exchange it in its original condition and packaging within 30 days for a full refund, minus shipping fees. Items shipped back in like new condition through standard shipping carriers will only incur a flat fee of $15 to return. If the items were initially shipped through free scheduled delivery via motor freight (commonly referred to as LTL), returning them will result in return shipping fees starting at $150. These items include but are not limited to, oversized items such as TVs, certain subwoofers, floorstanding speakers, furniture, and most items weighing over 75 pounds. Return fees will also apply for exchanges. We want to treat your system as if it is our own and want you to be completely satisfied with your purchase.
Please see the instructions below. We only accept returns for any product purchased directly from our website. If merchandise is not returned in its original condition or is missing packaging, manuals, accessories or other parts, or the resale value of the product has been impaired, a partial refund will be given and calculated on a case-by-case basis.
Non-Returnable Items
The following items cannot be returned or cancelled:
- Special/Custom Order Items
- Open Box Products
- Gift Cards
- In-ear headphones cannot be returned once the packaging has been opened due to personal hygiene reasons. Please contact our customer care team if you'd like help choosing.
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Turntables With a Broken Stylus: All turntables ship out with the stylus intact. If you return a turntable or phono cartridge with a broken or missing stylus you will be subject to a return fee. Please be careful when setting up your turntable and contact us with any questions.
Is It Easy To Return An Item?
Yes, simply give us a call at 888.899.8776 or you can email our support team at support@audioadvice.com. Many times our team of experts can help figure out why the product might not be working like you expected and get things fixed over the phone, so don’t be surprised if we ask a few questions, we love troubleshooting!
If our tech help can not make you happy, we will email over a return shipping label with a Return Number.
Hopefully, you saved all of the original item’s box and packaging inserts. You will want to pack back up your return or exchange in the same way it came out of the original box. Once you have everything packaged correctly, tape the box on the top and bottom to assure it stays together. If Audio Advice shipped the item to you inside a second box, it's a good idea to use that same extra box to help prevent damage on its way back to us. To avoid it accidentally coming back to you, use a magic marker to cross out the old shipping label or just tear it off.
The return shipping label we send you will have our address on it, just make sure you take the box to the right shipper (UPS, FEDEX, or USPS) as per the label.
If you are close to one of our stores, please let us know if it is more convenient for you to return it to us directly. You will still need to get a return number by contacting us and shipping and/or restocking charges may apply.
When Will I See My Refund?
It usually takes around 7-14 days for the refund to show up on the payment method you used. We do inspect all returns for damage and accuracy of the item inside the box before issuing a refund. Some items may be subject to shipping and restocking fees.
Can I Exchange My Purchase For Something Different?
Sometimes those big speakers just don’t fit in the room or you might have bought a small subwoofer and later found out you’d love a bigger one. If you would like to make an exchange within 30 days of receiving your item, just give us a call at 888.899.8776 or email support@audioadvice.com and we will help work out the details. Additional shipping charges and return costs may apply.
How Do I Cancel An Order?
If the item has already shipped out or is a special order item, it is not possible to cancel the order. Please contact us at 888.899.8776 or email support@audioadvice.com to start the return process.
What If I Find Shipping Damage?
We need to know right away about any shipping damage. Please contact us at 888.899.8776 or email support@audioadvice.com within 48 hours of your delivery so we can get the ball rolling on making things right. It’s very helpful to take some pictures and email them to us if possible.
Can I Refuse A Shipment?
You can, but unless the item is damaged, shipping and restocking fees will be deducted from your refund. If your item arrives damaged and you are lucky enough to be there, snap some quick pics and refuse the order. Then contact us so we can get a replacement on the way.
What Happens If My Order Is Defective?
This is actually pretty rare, most consumer electronics work fine out of the box 99.9% of the time. We’d like for you to contact us first by calling 888.899.8776 or email support@audioadvice.com so we can help get to the bottom of things. If your item is indeed defective during the first 30 days, we can usually exchange it for a new, replacement unit.
What About Service After 30 Days?
Audio Advice has a great relationship with all of our brands and can help you with warranty service by the brand after our 30-day guarantee period. Even after the warranty expires, we can arrange for service by the brand on products purchased from Audio Advice. Just call 888.899.8776 or email support@audioadvice.com.
How Do You Determine A Restocking Fee?
You may not believe it, but sometimes we receive items back that were put in the box with zero packaging and are completely destroyed or are missing many of the pieces that came with the item. We also track serial numbers and will get back different serial numbers. We’ve even seen different items than what we shipped out be returned. However, it’s very important to package your return properly so that nothing goes missing or gets damaged in shipping, which will result in a restocking fee or even no refund at all. If a product is opened and the market value of the product is reduced, then a restocking fee may be applied to the cost of restocking and the reduced market value of the product. The bottom line is if you treat us fairly, we will do the same.
Audio Advice strives to provide industry-leading support and service while also maintaining the lowest prices available on products for our customers. We work hard with our vendors to bring our customers the best products at each price point. As a part of that process, we work with our vendors to provide the lowest pricing in our stores and on our website.
Our prices should always be the same as any other authorized dealer, including big-box retailers and major online retailers.
If you believe that you have found a lower advertised price from a legitimate authorized seller, call us and let us know so we can make sure we can correct any inadvertent error on our side. As a matter of policy, we update our prices automatically if a vendor changes its authorized pricing policies, so we generally have the best prices all the time. Increasingly, there are knock-off copies of products online, usually sold by non-authorized dealers.
Please be sure that the item meets the following conditions:
- The item is brand new, in stock, and available for purchase
- The item has the identical model number, color, etc as the item on our site.
- The seller is an authorized dealer
As always, our goal is to provide a terrific customer experience, including industry low prices. We appreciate your support.
Overview
Company & Product Overview
Like many reputable audio companies, Rega was born out of a garage from a couple of guys seeking to create a better product than what they could find on the market. In the case of Rega, this was in the UK in the early 70s.
The subject of today’s review, the Rega Planar 3 hails from the original Rega Planar 3 introduced in 1976 receiving rave reviews from the British press launching the company on a long history of great value products.
The original Planar 3 was eventually replaced by the RP3, which received multiple awards including winning Product of the Year 5 times! But even after 40 years, the team at Rega wanted more. They came up with so many improvements to the RP3 they decided to return the iconic name of the Planar 3.
Design & Build Quality
Like all Rega turntables, the Planar 3 is a belt drive manual system. It’s equipped with Rega’s new RB-330 tonearm already pre-mounted. We appreciate how Rega tables are some of the easiest on the market to set up, and always have superb fit and finish. And remember, when you get your Planar 3 from Audio Advice, we will set it up and fully test it out in our turntable facility to ensure your cartridge is perfectly mounted. You’ll receive a link to a set-up video on everything you need to know about setting it up the way it should be.
At Audio Advice we love a well-executed tonearm design that lacks any friction or play. The RB330 arm that comes with the Planar 3 is one of the best out there in this regard, and there is zero play in the precision bearings. This doesn’t come as a surprise since Rega tonearms are known throughout the audio world for the almost friction-free horizontal movement with zero play in the bearings. Rega is so fanatical about this they continue to improve the bearings while measuring changes in microns. The tapered tonearm tube took hours upon hours of work with 3D CAD design to build it in one piece, thus greatly reducing any unwanted resonances.
While you should not lift the inner platter all the way out, you can rest assured the bearing is just as precise as any other part of the turntable. This ensures you will not have any noise coming up into the platter from a less-than-perfect bearing.
Features
Enjoying vinyl is like many of the other pleasures we enjoy in life. Whether it’s cooking, cycling, travel, or anything else, the more you learn about your hobby the further you want to advance it. Not only does the Planar 3 start out with some seriously good features, but it also has an upgrade path to feed your passion for better sound should you want to improve things.
The Planar 3 arrives already outfitted with the following features:
Double Bracing Technology: Starting with the Planar 3 all Rega tables employ this unique design to reduce resonances.
RB330 Tonearm: This handmade, one-piece tapered design is a huge step up from the RB101 found on the Planar 1.
Float Glass Platter: Rega developed the glass platter system in the 70s and it’s been their trademark ever since. The precision surface and heavy weight ensure a constant speed for your vinyl. The new Optiwhite finish on the Planar 3 is also visually stunning.
Upgraded Bearing Well: The critical inner platter bearing gets a big upgrade from the RP-1 to the Planar 3 for reduced noise.
24 Pole Quiet Motor: Jumping from the Planar 1 to the Planar 3 gets you the same motor found in the $2995 RP-8.
Factory Upgrades
The unique part about Rega tables is that many of them have the following options to add now or later on for performance improvements:
TTPSU: This is the external motor power supply, which we feel is one of the best possible upgrades for the Planar 3. It provides even better speed stability and reduced motor noise.
Tungsten Counterweight: The fanatical engineers at Rega figured out a tungsten counterweight offered some audio improvements over their standard counterweight.
Performance
Have you ever experienced a live band in a small club environment where their perfect timing and rhythm was almost drug-like in the sense of euphoria it stirred within you? We feel this is the best way to sum up the sound of the Planar 3. It delivers an intensely accurate sense of stellar live music because the timing of the music is just spot on. Bass is extremely clean and detailed with no measure of bloating. The RB-330 tonearm will shine with the Rega Elys cartridge or consider stepping up to the Ortofon Bronze or Black for even more 3 dimensional sound from your records. In summation, the Planar 3 just sounds right. It does not add any coloration and is extremely true to the music.
Overall Recommendation
We rank the Planar 3 as a top value product at Audio Advice. It’s difficult to find another turntable on the market offering all the features of the Planar 3, especially one with the added bonus of the option to upgrade over time. Couple these features with its simple, elegant setup and you have a definite winner for your vinyl collection.
The High Notes
Amazing Value
New RB330 Tonearm
Stellar Speed Control System
Replacing the multi-award winning and five-time Product of the Year (RP3) was never going to be an easy task. It took Rega's team of designers (headed up by Rega's Roy Gandy) two years to develop the all new 'Planar 3' following the biggest re-design of the iconic 'three' model ever seen. Their team worked tirelessly to improve every aspect of this turntable offering improved ergonomics, usability and first and foremost, sonic performance for a definite winner for your vinyl collection.
RB330 tonearm
Designed using the latest 3D CAD & CAM technology, the new RB330 is the culmination of more than 35 years of tonearm design experience. Featuring a brand new bearing housing, and our latest tonearm tube designed using intelligent redistribution of mass ensure this arm will exhibit fewer points of possible resonance. Extreme stability with almost friction free movement from the new high precision bearing assemblies guarantees to gather more information from your vinyl than ever before.
- Featuring a new bias assembly, re-designed stiffer vertical bearing housing, integrated arm clip and an improved spring housing with easier to read numbers.
- Rega made, new low capacitance phono cable with Neutrik plugs
- Improved lower friction, precision horizontal and vertical bearings
- New design 100g mild steel balance weight.
Plinth
High gloss acrylic, laminated plinth, stiffer and vastly improved appearance, ergonomically positioned power switch. Three plinth finishes available gloss black, white and red.
Double braces
Improved thicker 3mm phenolic bottom brace and new metalised skin phenolic top brace.
Bearing housing
Re-designed brass main hub central bearing, improved fit and construction reducing stress on the bearing itself.
Sub platter
Re-designed sub platter, improved accuracy and improved stiffness.
Platter
New float glass "Optiwhite" polished rim 12mm Improved accuracy in manufacture and stunning looks.
Re-designed foot
New improved foot to increase stability and reduce vibration transfer.
24V motor
Improved new motor control PCB with integration for the addition of Neo PSU for electronic speed change and improved advanced anti-vibration circuit (sold separately).
Motor cover tray with integrated cooling.
Details & Specs
Specifications
- Tonearm: Hand assembled precision RB330 tonearm
- Motor: 24 V low noise motor
- Platter: 12 mm glass polished edge
- Connectivity: RCA / Phono
- Power (additional): Mini DIN for connection to Neo PSU (optional upgrade)
- Dimensions (lid closed) (W x H x D): 447 x 117 x 360 mm
- Weight: 6.0 kg
Warranty:
All Rega products are covered by a lifetime warranty against manufacture defects. This warranty does not cover wear and tear. Any unauthorised modifications or failure to follow the Rega recommended guidelines may invalidate the warranty. If returning goods for inspection to your retailer the original packaging must be used to preserve warranty. Replacement packaging is available from any Rega retailer. Your statutory rights are not affected.
