Comparison Rega Planar 2 vs Rega Planar 1

Model of the tonearm — the movable lever on which the pickup is attached — supplied with the turntable. The tone arm is responsible for the correct position of the needle and the accuracy of its movement along the grooves, which is critical for sound quality. Therefore, many music lovers try to clarify not only the general data on the tonearm, but also its specific features in each particular “turntable”; in order to be able to find this information, the name of the tonearm is given in the characteristics.

The effective length of a tonearm in set is the distance from the attachment point (axis of rotation) to the stylus.

This indicator is important primarily for rotary tonearms: the longer the length, the lower the angular error, the smaller the discrepancy between the direction of movement of the track and the longitudinal axis of the pickup (for more details, see “Type”) and the lower the level of corresponding distortion. In addition, a longer length reduces the resonant frequency and reduces the likelihood of distortion. On the other hand, a longer tonearm turns out to be heavier, which requires certain technical tricks and can also negatively affect the purity of the sound. Therefore, a large length is not always a guarantee of high quality – you should also pay attention to weight (see below).

An external power supply is called a power supply unit (PSU) placed outside the player's case; such a unit can be connected to the outlet with a wire or plugged directly into it using its own plug. The point of this arrangement is to minimize possible interference from the power supply electronics by removing it to the maximum distance from the circuits through which the signal passes. Therefore, an external power supply is considered the best option for audiophile class acoustics.

A phono corrector is a specially designed preamplifier used when working with vinyl record pickups. Initially, the sound on such records is recorded with distortion of the amplitude-frequency characteristic, namely with an increase in volume from low to high frequencies; this is due to the technical features of the recording process. Accordingly, the phono corrector not only amplifies the signal to a level sufficient for feeding to the power amplifier, but also corrects the amplitude-frequency characteristic, “pulling out” the bass and reducing the volume of the HF. And the built-in phono corrector allows you to connect the player to the power amplifier directly, without using intermediate equipment. True, in terms of characteristics, built-in preamplifiers-correctors are inferior to external ones. Therefore, some models with this function may provide a “bypass” mode, allowing you to pass the signal bypassing the built-in phono corrector to an external, more advanced one. And there are also vinyl players without a phono corrector at all.

The material from which the turntable's platter is made is a rotating rim on which the record is placed. The general requirements for such disks are, firstly, a minimal tendency to extraneous vibrations (to avoid interference), and secondly, massiveness (to ensure a constant speed even with minor flaws in the operation of the motor). Manufacturers select materials for support disks based on this. Specific options could be:

- Aluminum. Durable, massive and at the same time very solid-looking material, it is one of the most popular among modern “turntables” of all price categories.

- Plastic. Plastic in general is inferior to metal in terms of weight and vibration resistance, however, these disadvantages are not critical, and some varieties of this material are completely devoid of them. At the same time, the cost of plastic discs is relatively low. They are found in both inexpensive and quite advanced players.

— Acrylic. A somewhat more advanced material than plastic, due to which it is more common in mid- and high-class players.

- MDF. It is also known as fibreboard - fibreboard. MDF is somewhat lighter than metal, but is characterized by excellent resistance to extraneous vibrations, and in some models it is also used for aesthetic reasons - in conjunction with a body made of the same material...(see “Base material”).

- Glass. Glass discs are massive and resist unnecessary vibrations well; moreover, they can be completely transparent and give the “turntable” an original appearance. At the same time, they are fragile and expensive, despite the fact that glass does not have any special advantages over other popular materials. Therefore, this option was not particularly widespread.

— Ceramics. Another rather exotic material, used not so much for practical reasons, but for design and marketing purposes. The specific composition of the ceramics may vary, but all such discs are distinguished, on the one hand, by their massiveness and vibration resistance, and on the other, by their high cost and fragility.

It is worth considering that discs made of the same material can differ markedly in quality - in addition to composition, the properties of the disc are determined by its weight, see below. In general, manufacturers, as a rule, select an option that corresponds to the price category of the player.

We also note that, in addition to solid discs, “sandwiches” are produced, made up of layers of different materials. For such cases, the characteristics indicate the main material of the rim.

The thickness of the disc on which the record is placed. Other things being equal, a thicker disc will be more massive and, accordingly, stable, and will also be better able to cope with extraneous vibrations. Therefore, in high-end models, the thickness of the disc can exceed 100 mm.