Vinyl is the most popular way to enjoy listening to music and with sales of albums and turntables still on the increase what better excuse can there be to spin some lovely new(ish) vinyl on a the Rega Planar 6 which is a rather wonderful record spinner!

Because the Rega Planar 6 has been in the current turntable line up since August 2017 I think that it is due a bit of a re-appraisal. Evolved from the RP8 and the RP10 the P6 offers a rather enormous improvement over the ever popular P3 and not enough people know about it! So here goes…

Features, Benefits and Advantages…

Like the Planar 8 and the Planar 10, the Planar 6 is constructed around a unique and extremely rigid, ultra light foam core plinth and HPL laminates. This helps it to deliver a level of performance far beyond anything else at this price. The Planar 6 comes supplied with the RB330 tonearm and a dual-layer float glass platter for extra stable speed control. The supplied Neo Mk2 turntable power supply provides convenient selection between 33 and 45 rpm speeds, advanced anti-vibration control, and electronic fine speed adjustment.

The Planar 6 benefits from a single piece, machined aluminium sub-platter, a new 24 V motor hand tuned and matched to its own Neo power supply and custom drive pulley, fitted with the Reference EBLT upgraded drive belt as standard.

Rega’s double brace technology between the platter bearing and the tonearm base, with integral custom matched aluminium tonearm and hub pillars, ensures maximum rigidity and accuracy between the record surface and the stylus tip. This again is something rarely seen on any other make of turntable.

close up of the cross brace between the arm and main bearing housing

Factory fitted cartridge options are…Exact (MM), Ania (MC) or Ania Pro (MC). You can also buy it without a cartridge, if you would like to fit one of your own choice. The Dynavector DV20X2 moving coil works rather well IMHO.

Now time to play some music.

Another wonderful album from 2023. The Delines and The Night Always Comes.

The Delines are an American band from Portland, Oregon. Formed in 2012 they describe themselves as a "retro country soul band". I describe them as just brain meltingly gorgeous. Guitar player and chief lyric writer is the novelist Willy Vlautin and hence each song is like a little story. In fact this album is described as the soundtrack to his novel of the same title. The real star of the show here though is the band and the production. There is a palpable sense of being present with the band in the studio as they are playing. The soundstage as rendered on the Rega P6 is so big and so spacious that you feel as though you could just reach out and touch the band. The bass is deep and bouncy and tuneful. The trumpet and keyboards are off the scale dreamy and Amy Boone’s vocals offer a true widow into the tortured soul of Lynette ( the book’s protagonist ).

Then I moved on to this little gem…

Suffice to say anyone with even a passing interest in Joni Mitchell needs to listen to Meg Baird. Known for her previous work with Espers and more recently, Heron Oblivion, she continues in that tradition with her atmospheric and ethereal vocals. The music is dreamlike and lysergic, with breathy vocals and hushed piano accompanying her understated guitar prowess. She is joined by Mary Lattimore on harp, and she utilises vibes as well, adding to the overall shimmering dreaminess of the tracks. The whole album is just a Joni fan’s meet God wet dream, but my own personal highlight is the song “Cross Bay”. The guitar picking is sublime and the lyrics really are poetry. Once more the Combination of the Rega P6 with the Exact cartridge really brings the music to life. Sound hanging in the air in between and around the loudspeakers.

One more test for the P6…

The audible antecedents of Primrose Green are the extravagantly inventive music that Tim Buckley, Davey Graham and John Martyn made in the 60’s and 70’s. Walker doesn’t just sound like them; he is possessed by a similar spirit. I came upon this album during a visit to local second hand record specialists The Vinyl Vault in Cambray Place in Cheltenham. If you’ve not been there then you are seriously missing out. It is quite probably the best source of used vinyl for miles around! Anyway…played on the P6 the mix of folk-rock and hazy Grateful Dead jazz is delightfully disorientating. There is more than a hint of Danny Thompson in that bass playing too. Special mention goes to the title track for extra genius. “Head full of Primrose Green”….I think I know what he means!

To Conclude…

If the Planar 10 and Planar 8 are out of reach price wise and you hanker after a chunky hike in performance over a Planar 3 then this groovy spinner of groovy grooves (?!?) will be the place to get off. It offers substantial improvements in both sound quality and build quality over the P3 and gives you much more of an insight into the music that you would normally expect with much more expensive turntables.

The Rega Planar 6 turntable is currently available for demonstration at our Cheltenham store so if you fancy a listen call them on 01242 583960 for a chat.

Thanks for reading.