Rega Planar 8
Rather than being a gentle evolution of the previous (and still rather good) RP8, the Planar 8 takes its inspiration from Rega’s Naiad – the company’s spare-no-expense uberdeck. Just look at it. This skeletal player can’t but turn your head with its angular shape and aggressive cutouts. The idea is to minimise plinth mass while increasing rigidity; the plinth is 30 per cent lighter than that used on the previous model – and more rigid with it. Rega believes mass absorbs energy – and that ends up taking the life out of the music.
The platter is something of a work of art. It’s made of three pieces, with two different types of laminated glass. While Rega goes to extreme lengths to avoid mass, this is one area where more mass leads to better results by creating more of a flywheel effect to smooth out any small speed fluctuations.
Rega’s well proven 24v motor provides the drive to the platter. It’s powered by the Neo outboard power supply, which is hand-adjusted to match the motor optimally. The company even goes as far as developing its own drive belts to ensure consistency and therefore improve speed accuracy.
Strong arm tactics
The RB880 tonearm might look like the designs used on Rega’s cheaper turntables, but it has an improved vertical bearing assembly. It also uses low-capacitance phono cables terminated by some high-quality, lockable plugs to ensure a good contact.
The Planar 8 is available in four guises. You can buy the deck and arm without cartridge for £1699, but it can be equipped with the Exact MM (+£210), Ania MC (+£420), Ania Pro MC (£650) or with the Apheta 3 MC (+£900). We tested the Planar 8 with the Apheta 2 (the 3’s predecessor), but know enough of the newer cartridge (in our test of the Planar 10) to know that it will work as well as the 2 did with our reference Cyrus Phono Signature/psx-r2 phono stage.
The Planar 8, as with other Rega turntables, doesn’t have much in the way of suspension. There are just three soft feet to absorb external vibrations. You’ll need a level and rigid support, positioned as far away as possible from your speakers to get the best from it.
Rega makes a custom wall bracket (£135) for just this job.
Set-up is easy. The cartridge is premounted and its alignment is guaranteed thanks to the brand’s unusual threepoint mounting system. All the user has to do is remove the packaging protecting the main bearing and arm, fit the tracking weight and set the bias.
Once up and running, the Planar 8 puts clear air between itself and the cheaper decks in Rega’s catalogue. It delivers a level of clarity and insight more reminiscent of far pricier high-end turntables than anything its talented siblings can manage.
We start with Orff’s Carmina Burana and love the way this package copes with the music’s wild dynamics and changing momentum. The presentation is as insightful as we’ve heard at this level, and all that detail is organised with class-leading levels of composure. The Planar 8 always sounds in control, no matter how complex the music gets. Yet, all that control doesn’t dilute the drive and excitement of the recording.
Tautness and agility
This package is tonally well balanced. It’s smooth when required but still has enough bite when the music demands. In absolute terms it’s possible to get more in the way of sonic authority and weight – the Planar 8 has a strikingly taut and agile presentation – but you’d have to spend thousands extra to get it while matching the Rega’s strengths.
We’re pleased with the stable and focused stereo imaging. The record player renders an expansive soundstage and locks instruments in place even when the production becomes dense.
Totally bossing The Boss
We switch to Bruce Springsteen’s Born To Run and the Planar responds with a combination of attack, drive and rhythmic precision that we haven’t heard bettered at this price. While delivering each musical strand with clarity, it also ties everything together to produce a cohesive and massively enjoyable whole. It’s this combination of hi-fi analysis and simply communicating the emotion in the music that the Rega does so well.
We listen to a range of records from the gritty reggae of Bob Marley’s Concrete Jungle all the way through to the heartfelt gospel-tinged blues of Eric Bibb and Needed Time’s Good Stuff, and the Planar 8 always sounds at home.
It has a wonderfully articulate way with bass that combines punch, power and texture beautifully. An articulate midrange ensures that Marley’s distinctive vocals come through with the passion they deserve, while the crisp but refined highs render the rich harmonics of Eric Bibb’s acoustic guitar convincingly.
In being so ambitious with this record player’s engineering, Rega has pushed the boundaries of performance at this level and has given premium rivals positioned above it plenty to worry about. Highly recommended.