Rega Planar 6/Ania £1469
Rega, as usual, features heavily in this year’s Awards, as it has done in many previous years. This is the fifth year the mighty Planar 6 has won this category; no rival has come close to bettering its combination of precision engineering and class-leading sound.
As with other members of the family, this is a product that has been carefully refined over the years to keep it competitive. And, as with its siblings, the Planar 6 has taken a particularly big step up in performance with the latest round of upgrades.
The previous RP6 came fitted with an Exact moving-magnet cartridge – an option Rega still makes available for £1259 – but the company now offers a variant with its Ania moving-coil cartridge. This a quality cartridge, so to do it justice you will need to pair it with a high-quality phono stage – but that will be well worth while.
The Planar 6/Ania combination delivers a frankly astonishingly refined and mature sound. It doesn’t go for immediacy to grab your attention, nor is boldness put to the forefront; instead its party piece is an unnerving ability to juggle balance, subtlety and timing in the most understated way.
Moreover, it seems quite effortless – the difference between having to play the music and acting merely as a conduit for what’s etched into those grooves on the vinyl disc. The Planar 6/Ania does the latter with aplomb, drawing as realistic a sonic portrait as any turntable we’ve heard at this price.
Don’t let the visual similarities with some of the cheaper Planar turntables persuade you that there’s not much of a sound quality jump between the decks. Take the time to have a good listen and the improvements with each incremental price increase are clear to hear. If your budget extends this far, you really must hear this record player.