TURNING THE TABLES
Three brand new turntables rise to challenge the mighty Rega Planar 3. Will the long-time champ be bested?
The Rega Planar 3 has been the all-conquering champion turntable in its class for some time. In fact, we can’t think of another product that has dominated its market sector with so much authority. The original was launched in the late-1970s, and since then, through various iterations, it has remained the obvious choice at its level.
The Rega RP3S, as they were initially known, haven’t changed much in appearance since then, and in fact until 2016 the generational changes were always evolutionary, with the aim of simply improving performance. But the shift from the RP3 to the 2016 Planar 3 was seismic, and the king was crowned there and then. Just about every part was revised to give a proper jump up in sound quality, while Rega also went for a slicker look. Today the Planar 3 remains a simple, well-engineered deck that puts performance first and is the current What Hi-fi? Award winner in its class. But now a trio of new decks on the block emerge to challenge the Rega’s throne.
New record players from Pro-ject, Cambridge Audio and Dual enter the fray at the £650-£850 mark.
First up is the Dual CS 518. Dual dominated the budget turntable market back in the 1980s, but we need go back only a few months, to the company’s new CS 418, to find a terrific performer for its £499 price tag. The closely related Dual CS 518 (p32) is a little pricier (though still the cheapest in our round-up here) at £649, but can it build on the solid foundations laid by the CS 418 to take on the Rega?
The other contenders here have solid form too. Cambridge Audio released the world’s first aptx HD Bluetooth turntable, the Alva TT, in 2019 – and that deck proved successful enough to spawn not only a V2, but also a new competitor in the Alva ST (p38).
The Pro-ject Debut, meanwhile, has been steadily gaining ground since it was introduced at the tail end of the 1990s. A terrific budget deck that married affordability with performance, it has continued that trend alongside a gradual move upmarket until we get to the new Debut Pro (p34) – the most ambitious and sophisticated Debut model yet.
So will the Rega Planar 3 stand up to these new pretenders to its crown? Read on to find out!