The new Rega Planar 8 turntable and the Aria Version2 MM/MC phono stage have arrived here with us and we can’t wait to have a listen to them!

The Rega Planar 8 is the newest member of Rega’s turntable range and it is available without a fitted cartridge or with two factory-fitted cartridge options (with Ania or Apheta2).

Let’s take a closer look at the Planar 8.

The ultra lightweight plinth (Tancast 8 polyurethane foam - a material developed for the aerospace industry) with a double brace mounted between the tonearm and main hub bearing. It prevents energy absorption and unwanted resonance.

The super flywheel effect triple layer glass platter

The Planar 8 is powered by the supplied Neo PSU . It offers a smooth power supply and electronic speed adjustment.

Our demonstration Planar 8 with the factory fitted Apheta 2 moving-coil cartridge.

But there is one more thing!

What about a lid/cover? No problem. There is a nice lid in the box.

Before we connect it up to our system, we have a look at the Rega Aria phono stage. This is the newer version that matches the design of the Rega Apollo-R CD player and Brio-R integrated amplifier.

The Aria has two entirely separate high performance phono stages, a fully adjustable moving coil and a moving magnet stage. Each stage has its own input sockets and input pre-amplifier circuitry.

The MC input allows to select resistive input loading of 70 ohms to 400ohms and capacitive loading of 1000pF to 4200pF. The input sensitivity can be changed by 6dB.

With both , the Planar 8 and the Aria, connected to the award winning Rega Elicit-R amplifier and a pair of Spendor A4 floor standing speakers we started listening to Daft Punk’s Random Access Memory.

Straight out of the box, the Planar 8 turntable sounds fantastic. The detail and rhythm are amazing, there is groove and it makes you want to listen to more vinyl.

Next on the list is Nirvana’s Album Unplugged in New York. I watched this concert live on MTV many years ago and listening to it on the Rega Planar 8 brings back memories. Voices and instruments stand out into the room with so much depth and space around them. Fantastic!