Rega
English turntable manufacturer Rega started out back in 1973 producing tone-arms and turntables to high critical success, picking up many awards along the way. Known for their engineering expertise, their focus was firmly on getting the best sound possible from competitive price points coming in at much more affordable prices than other brands in the turntable industry such as Linn.
Throughout the 1980's, Rega expanded into full HiFi offerings utilising the quickly accumlated experience to add amplifiers, CD players and loudspeakers to an already strong range, all made in the south of England and shipped to vinyl enthusiasts around the world. So steadfast in their quality, each and every product comes with a life long guarantee, something you won't see too often in this day and age!
The factory in England is a fascinating insight into how a dedicated team of circa 140 expert workers can output a well rounded range of high quality hifi equipment at quite an astounding rate. You'll find areas within the floorspace dedicated to certain models within the range, the Planar 1 and variants occupy what is known as 'Turntable Area 1' where around 125 units are assembled each day. Fancy a look around the factory? Check out the Rega factory tour video by clicking here.
Continuing into their range today, you will find a broader range of turntables than ever before. The range now know as Planar, has models ranging from the entry level Planar 1, all the way up to the Planar 10. All models provide fantastic quality at a more than fair price point and unsurprisingly the Planar 1 provides many enthusiasts to be a gateway into the world of vinyl.
For turntables, prices typically range from around £260 for the Planar 1 series, through the £600 price point for the Planar 3 and beyond £1000 for the Planar 6, 8 & 10 series. As we touched on, Rega do not just build turntables, they too build complete hifi systems and offer single components allowing you to upgrade elements of your system.
We recommend checking out the new and extremely reasonably price Rega Kyte speakers which have just joined the range. The perfect book shelf (or free standing thanks to some handy accessories) speakers to pair with your turntable of choice. Build it out with a Rega io integrated amplifier and power your compact and high performance audio setup and discover the magic of vinyl (again!).
For those experienced ears, we recommend looking to pairings such as the Aethos and Planar 8 or 10 for something truly earth shattering. What's better, Rega are one of the few companies still producing CD players so if you have spent years refining the perfect CD collection you can add on the Saturn-R to expand the range of your system.