The Planar 10 was inspired by the ultimate Rega turntable, the Naiad. Built around our ultra-light skeletal plinth, constructed from Tancast 8 core and covered in a high-pressure laminate (HPL) skin. The Planar 10 is the first production turntable to use ceramic bracing which provides the ultimate rigid surface for mounting the precision reference RB3000 tonearm and custom central bearing assembly.
RB3000 tonearm
The RB3000 tonearm is packed with new features pushing the boundaries of tonearm design. The RB3000 uses improved bearings with each one being hand selected to be an interference fit with the paired spindle matching both the inside and outside diameters. This is a Rega developed method of increasing the amount of detail retrieved from the record surface, designed specifically to maximise performance of the tonearm and cartridge.
The entire tonearm structure is designed to have the minimum of mechanical joints whilst using the stiffest materials in all critical areas. The tolerance of the RB3000 tonearm is so tight that no adhesive is used at any point throughout the construction. A brand new, low mass, precision engineered, vertical bearing assembly has been manufactured to further complement the inherent design philosophy of the RP10 turntable.
Plinth
constructed using Rega’s latest technology the ultra-lightweight Tancast 8 polyurethane foam core (a material developed for the aerospace industry). This material is sandwiched between two layers of HPL (high-pressure laminate). HPL is exceptionally thin and extremely rigid.
This new construction makes the new Planar 10 skeletal plinth 30% lighter than the original RP10 while offering increased rigidity over the previous model.
Double braces
A super lightweight plinth combined with a ceramic top brace and phenolic resin bottom brace mounted specifically where the increased rigidity is required (between the tonearm mounting and the main hub bearing) forms a structurally sound, “stressed beam,” assembly.
The use of braces instead of the complete skin allows increased thickness in these key areas while providing further weight reduction to the plinth which directly addresses the issue of mass absorption and unwanted energy transmission.
Rega Aphelion 2 moving coil cartridge
The Aphelion 2 is the ultimate in micro engineering and design. Rega’s unique hand-wound micro cross and coil assembly is built directly onto a Boron rod cantilever. The advanced ‘fine line’ profile nude diamond is then mounted through 90 degrees which offers extreme levels of stiffness and control over the stylus. This design requires a ‘zero tolerance’ approach to engineering to achieve the highest level of performance from a Rega cartridge to date.
Hub Bearing Assembly
The Planar 10 uses a new low mass central bearing assembly. A single piece machined aluminium sub-platter and hardened tool steel spindle run inside a custom brass housing designed with improved mechanical integrity.
Platter
The P10 uses a custom ceramic, flywheel effect platter. The platter is produced from ceramic oxide powder which is compressed, fired and diamond cut to ensure perfect accuracy and flatness across the surface. The latest platter features a modified construction with improved coupling to the sub-platter.
24 V Low Noise Motor Assembly
The Planar 10 uses Rega’s latest generation, 24 V, synchronous, low vibration motor technology. Uniquely mounted using the highest level of coupling while retaining higher vibration isolation than any previous model, this new motor mounting technique (mounted from the bottom) has been taken directly from the ultimate Rega turntable, the Naiad. This unique mounting method removes all stress from the motor body whilst holding the drive pulley perfectly still. This enables better speed stability and accuracy from the turntable.
The reduced vibration and more rigid mounting delivers superior drive from the new EBLT drive belts. Each motor is hand-tuned to match its own custom-matched PL10 PSU power supply before fitting to the turntable to optimise the anti-vibration circuit.
PL10 PSU
The PL10 PSU offers the ultimate in motor control stability, convenient electronic speed change, advanced anti-vibration control and user adjustable electronic fine speed adjustment to ensure total accuracy and control over the life of the motor.
Housed in Rega’s latest custom-designed case, the PL10 PSU is dedicated to running our 24v, low noise motor as quietly and as accurately as possible. The speed and control of the motor is achieved by using a new DSP (Digital Signal Processing) generator built upon a high stability crystal. This device will divide the accurate square wave from the crystal to the exact frequency required to turn the platter at the selected speed.
The DSP core will also generate a near perfect sinusoidal waveform to power the motor. Factory set vibration removal and fine speed adjustments are then made to the power supply to tune each motor for optimal performance.
Turntable Dimensions: H 12.5 x W 42 x D 1.5 cm
PSU Dimensions: H 8 x W 21.8 x D 32 cm
Turntable Weight: 4.7 kg
PSU Weight: 3 kg
