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Rega turntable tweaks

The following details tweaks for Rega turntables, some from Rega and some after market (the use of the latter may invalidate manufacturers warranty, please ask for details). Before tweaking any turntable we recommend ensuring it’s working optimally, and whilst Rega decks are incredibly robust many are 20-30 years old so a thorough service is highly recommended (we recommend this is done every 5-10 years).


Feet

We always find that rubber feet like the ones fitted to Rega turntables have a habit of muddying the sound and spoiling the timing, especially of lower frequencies. The standard Rega foot is however very difficult to replace without compromising other areas of performance and it has taken a lot of experimentation for us to find a solution that is completely successful. Ultimately the Something Solid Little Link foot is our solution, this cleans the sound up remarkably, offering much greater definition, less colouration and much improved bass quality and timing. The Little Link feet are slightly taller than the original rubber feet, so the originals can be left in place and simply bypassed with the new feet, alternatively the old feet can easily be removed with a screwdriver from underneath.


Please click here for more details: Something Solid Little Link feet


Power supplies

There are two types of Rega turntable motors, all the earlier and budget models use mains voltage powered motors (easy to tell as they have a captive mains cable) and more recently they have used a 24volt motor on their more expensive turntables (which feature a wall wart power supply that plugs into the underside of the turntable).


There are various supplies available, please see the following link for some models which are suitable:


Turntable Power supplies AC



Rega  EBLT Reference drive belt


The Reference EBLT is the replacement and upgrade over the old White belt upgrade, and are now black in colour. These belts are as currently supplied on the Planar 8 and Planar 10 turntables, and can be used as an upgrade for all other Rega turntables (expect the very early Rega Planet turntable). It’s claimed they are the most accurate they’ve ever made and longer lasting too. After moulding they are cryogenically and then process to have the best surface finish possible.


Rega EBLT Reference drive belt upgrade: £28.00


Edwards Audio Little Belter

Originally designed for use with the (Rega derived) Edwards Audio turntables, these special drive belts are now available separately for use with any Rega turntable. These belts are made from a material which is quite different from others, it has a smooth, shiny, and slightly sticky surface which is (and I think this is the most important bit) much less elastic than normal rubber belts and much more grippy. The only ‘downside’ is it can squeak momentarily on start up as it gains traction (although I’d always recommend a light push start to the platter on any turntable as it prolongs the life of drive belts (etc) and solves this problem).


So far this is the best sounding drive belt I’ve found for Rega turntables, and a very worthy competitor to the upgraded white Rega belt. The gains include improved timing and imaging stability, with the whole sound becoming more precise and focused. Don’t be put off by its very reasonable price, this is a very beneficial addition to any suitable deck.


Edwards Audio TT-LB Little Belter drive belt: £ Currently unavailable


Edwards Audio Snake Oil

It may seem a little far fetched, but the oil in your turntables bearing not only is important for safe lubrication, but also for its sound quality. Different oils have very different sonic characteristics and are clearly audible in a well set up system. The amusingly titled Snake oil is the same oil that Edwards Audio use their more expensive turntables, and they are now making it available separately. This is a very high tech oil that is ester based (a true synthetic base oil) and it offers both extremely low friction, wide temperature stability and long life. Sonically it is simply very well balanced, having a slight calming effect on the sound compared to most standard oils but without the dynamic flattening you get with thicker oils. I find this is especially good when partnered with sapphire ball bearings or upgraded hubs.


It comes in a package including a bottle of TT-Clean alcohol and some cotton tipped buds for removing the old oil, as well as syringes for easy refilling with the new oil (supplied in a 5ml bottle). Enough oil is supplied for many refills, probably sufficient to last a lifetime!


This oil is suitable for many other decks too, please ask if in doubt.


Due to the restrictions on posting alcohol  recently introduced we have had a version supplied to us with everything except the bottle of cleaning alcohol included (which can often be easily purchased locally), we call this the teetotal version.


Edwards Audio TT-Oil teetotal bearing oil: £12.00

Edwards Audio TT-Oil bearing oil kit with cleaning alcohol: £15.00 (please note this cannot be posted by normal means)


Edwards Audio Acrylic Platters


These acrylic platters are a straight replacement for the Glass, wood and plastic platters used on Rega turntables. Following extensive listening we have found these to be the best platters for use on these decks combining great neutrality, speed and dynamics - making the wood platters sound muddled, the glass platter sound compressed and forced and the plastic platter sound bass shy and coloured. For me this is probably the biggest upgrade of all to Rega decks, and lifts their performance to a completely different level.  


They are intended to be used without a mat, so they will actually lower the LP height by about 3mm (i.e. the thickness of the mat), which is especially useful if you’re using a non-Rega cartridge (as almost everything else is circa 2-4mm taller) and both saves the need for fitting spacers to the tonearm and also prevents the arm then fouling the underside of the lid which often happens when spacers are fitted. If using a Rega cartridge, or other very short cartridges, we will shortly have some spacers available.


Three different models are available, please note that despite their different thickness the LP is at the same height on all versions, as the extra material takes the form of a flywheel underneath.


Edwards Audio TT-AP12: £54.95

12mm thick plain acrylic, this is the most reasonably priced option and offers excellent value for money. As pictured above.

Edwards Audio TT-AP18: £99.95

Fully machined platter made from 18mm thick acrylic, it has a flywheel effect underneath and a label detent in the centre. As pictured above.


Edwards Audio TT-AP23: £149.95

The highest mass of the Edwards Audio platter, this is a thicker version of the model above, at 23mm. As pictured above.


Edwards Audio TT-AH mk2 Aluminium hub

The TT-AH is an aluminium hub designed to replace all the plastic hub equipped Rega and Edwards Audio turntables. It is made to almost identical dimensions to the originals so is a straight swap. It features aluminium for the hub section which is profiled to ensure only a small contact at the perimeter to the platter and hand polished stainless steel for the bearing shaft.


Its less resonant nature and far higher mass brings improvement in solidity, scale, pitch stability and bass weight, to a degree that is highly beneficial, and following on from the acrylic platter listed above is another big leap forward in performance.


Edwards Audio TT-AH mk2 aluminium hub: £89.95

                  


Deco Audio Sapphire ball bearing

Rega turntables are supplied with a metal ball bearing as standard and following a lot of experimentation we found that we favoured using sapphire ball bearings due to their much higher quality surface quality (which noticeably reduces friction) and their mechanical composition which improved transient response and resolution. After fitting the leading edges of notes become much crisper and more precise whilst everything else snaps into focus.


We have run these bearings for very extensive periods during testing and have noticed no change in wear from the standard metal item, so we feel confident this will not reduce the life expectancy of the Rega bearing.


The quality of our ball bearing is amongst the very finest available, they are made to an incredibly high standard with an overall tolerance of +/- 0.0025mm and a sphericity of 0.0006mm, please don’t confuse these with the lesser alternatives on the market.


Deco Audio sapphire ball bearing for Rega turntables: £25.00


 Rega 24v motor upgrade kit

As mentioned at the very top of this page, Rega now use a 24 volt motor for some of their turntables, and this kit allows any Rega design (and the many derivatives) to be retro fitted with the latest spec setup. The kit includes a low vibration synchronous motor which is designed to be rigidly attached to the plinth, a hand tuned control board to reduce vibration to a minimum and a matching wall wart power supply (not pictured above). The reduced motor noise improves resolution whilst the rigid motor improves speed stability and dynamics, making the deck sound much more powerful and in control even when the music gets complex. This kit also means that you can easily add the Rega TT-PSU to get a further upgrade.


The kit does require some soldering (but not to mains voltage connections as on the previous motor upgrade kit as they’re safely contained in the wall wart), but we would still recommend it is fitted by someone who has experience of doing this type of work, and naturally we can fit this for a small labour charge if preferred.


Rega 24v motor upgrade kit: £150.00


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