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- Ultra lightweight plinth: The Planar 8 is the second Rega turntable constructed using the latest ultra lightweight Tancast 8 polyurethane foam core (a material developed for the aerospace industry). This material is sandwiched between two layers of HPL (high-pressure laminate). HPL is exceptionally thin and extremely rigid. This new construction makes the new Planar 8 skeletal plinth 30% lighter than the original RP8 while offering increased rigidity over the previous model.
- Double Brace Technology: A super lightweight plinth combined with a phenolic resin double brace mounted specifically where the increased rigidity is required (between the tonearm mounting and the main hub bearing) forms a structurally sound a oestressed beam" assembly. This rigid plinth design prevents energy absorption and unwanted resonances which will add unnatural distortions to the music. Equally, heavier mass can transfer more unwanted energy such as motor or bearing noise directly into the rotating record. The use of braces instead of the complete skin allows double thickness phenolic resin in these key areas while providing further weight reduction to the plinth, which directly addresses the issue of mass absorption and unwanted energy transmission.
- RB880 Tonearm: For the new RB880, Rega has introduced an improved vertical bearing assembly constructed using an aluminum and stainless-steel, low mass assembly with vastly improved stability and rigidity. This tonearm is using their advanced preloaded zero tolerance bearing assembly adjusted to less than 1000th of a mm, this gives friction-free movement and zero levels of unwanted play. This subtle but effective new structure is only visible via small windows at the rear of the new bias housing assembly. A thinner stainless steel balance weight is used, allowing greater adjustability and compatibility. Finally, the RB880 is terminated with a re-designed, low capacitance phono cable terminated with high quality, locking phono plugs to ensure the best possible connection.
- Hub bearing assembly: The Planar 8 uses a new low mass central bearing assembly. A single piece machined aluminum sub-platter and hardened tool steel spindle run inside a custom brass housing which is cleverly mounted within the chassis. This new mounting is designed to eradicate unwanted potential energy being transferred or stored in the plinth.
- Super flywheel effect triple layer glass platter: The Planar 8 uses a three-piece laminated glass platter which is the result of collaboration with a British glass engineering company. This brand new platter is constructed from two different high quality Pilkington glasses. As a general rule, the only part of a turntable that requires extra mass is the turntable platter in order to achieve constant rotational speed. However, a heavier platter creates more problems for the main bearing design so again an ideal compromise creates the best solution. Practically this means keeping as much of the mass to the outside rim of the glass platter to create more flywheel effect but keeping the inside of the platter as light as possible without sacrificing stiffness.
- 24v Low noise motor assembly: The Planar 8 uses Rega's latest generation, 24v, synchronous, low vibration motor technology. Uniquely mounted using the highest level of coupling while retaining higher vibration isolation than any previous model. This new motor mounting technique (mounted from the bottom) has been taken directly from the ultimate Rega turntable, the Naiad. This unique mounting method removes all stress on the motor body. The reduced vibration and more rigid mounting delivers superior drive from the new EBLT drive belts. Each motor is hand tuned to match its own custom Neo power supply before fitting to the turntable to optimize the anti-vibration circuit.
- EBLT Drive Belts: For three years Rega has been researching and developing with chemists the use of a bespoke new rubber compound for drive belts. Using a specialized curing system, the new drive belt offers superior consistency of modulus (a constant representing the degree to which a substance has a particular property, especially elasticity). These new belts are manufactured on Rega designed, state of the art, super-accurate tools which produce 'perfectly round' and 'dimensionally accurate' belts, critical for perfect speed stability.
| The C-Sharp packs one heck of a lot of technology into its price tag. First of all, the package price includes the $1000 Ortofon Quintet Black cartridge, praised by audiophiles all over the world for its natural sound. The heavy platter with a ceramic bearing, 10" carbon tonearm, and external speed control unit give you an amazing combination. EAT's special damping technology will keep both external noise and motor noise away from your records. Plus it will look like a true work of art sitting on your audio rack with its striking European styling. Just do some stretching before you set it up because this jewel weighs in at 30 pounds!
Design & Build Quality
When we first looked at the EAT turntables, two things really impressed us -- the great looking design and the superb build quality. They just exude European precision. Like many of our favorite turntables, the C-Sharp is a fully manual turntable. This means to operate it you’ll turn it on, manually lower the tonearm using the damped cueing lever, then at the end of your record, use the cueing lever again to raise the arm. At Audio Advice we prefer manual tables for their simplicity. There’s an argument to be made that the lack of mechanical parts also prevents issues such as resonance from affecting the tables great sound.
The look of the C-Sharp is quite stunning. Unlike many high-end turntables, the C-Sharp is elegant and relatively low-profile. The carbon fiber plinth sits in a high-gloss black base with a thin edge. The platter is much larger than a 12” record and tapers up to the high tech mat. A substantial record clamp is included in the box. The tonearm is also a work of art, constructed from carbon fiber and highly-polished aluminum components. The whole thing looks like something you would expect to find under the hood of a $1m race car!
As soon as you begin to interact with the C-Sharp it quickly becomes clear that build quality it is second to none. This is to be expected for it’s nearly $3,500 price point, but it’s just an incredibly well put together table.
Features & Technology
The low profile base of the C-Sharp is made out of the highest density MDF available. The ultra-low-noise motor is mounted to the base along with 10 cone-shaped damping feet made out of a new high tech energy absorbing material called TPE (Thermoplastic Elastomer). The plinth constructed from a sandwich design of carbon fiber over MDF. The base has three adjustable feet, which allow you to get things perfectly leveled.
The main platter bearing sits on the carbon fiber plinth which is supported by the TPE columns. This makes for a great isolation system. If you gently push down on the plinth, you can even feel the spring of these columns. The combination of these features limits the amount of noise able to get back into the system, maximizing the sound quality.
The turntable bearing is one of the most unique designs we have seen. It is an oversized inverted design with a resonance-free ceramic ball bearing on top. The larger inner platter has a massive brass bearing which sits on top of the ball bearing and also extends above the inner platter to provide a perfect fit for the substantial outer platter. Everything fits together with incredible precision! Any vibration noise that does make its wait though is just transferred out to the TPE columns. Quite a brilliant design.
The main outer platter is very heavy, coming in just an ounce shy of 11 pounds! When you flip it over, see why they made it larger than an LP. The outer perimeter is a weighted ring to give it a flywheel effect. The main platter itself is another sandwich-type design, this time with a very inert aluminum sandwiching some more TPE material. The part of the platter that contacts the record is constructed from recycled records! Topping the platter is a threaded spindle for the included heavy-duty machined record clamp.
To be honest, it’s a little scary during the setup process, trying to center an 11-pound platter on the inner platter. It’s a precision fit, so you’ve got to get it line up just right. Be careful not to mash your fingers as you lower it. The good news is that it fits perfectly and you should really only have to do this the first time you set it up. We recommend you attach the clamp, screw it on firmly, and then gently lower it down while holding it by the clamp.
Even the belt is a bit exotic. It’s constructed from a special antistatic rub, is round like many ultra-high-end turntable belts, and is polished for uniformity.
Like the rest of the turntable, the tonearm also has a ton of great technology buried inside of it. It’s a combination of a unipivot tonearm and traditional pivot design with the middle bearing being a unipivot. When you move it around, you can’t feel any play at all, which is something we look for. It also is virtually friction-free. The arm tube is made of carbon filled with a special silicone grease to damp out any resonances. This arm can fully support just about any type of high-end cartridge you would want to use, which our customers love.
The tonearm has fully adjustable vertical tracking height. You’ll need a stylus pressure gauge to set the tracking force as it is all gravity and there are no markings on the counterweight. Fortunately, a very nice one is included with the table. The anti-skating is a very clever gravity design as well, but you’ll need some pretty good eyesight to get it all set up properly. It has to screw into the side of the tonearm base, then wrap around. Once it's set up, there is no risk of it getting changed, like some gravity designs, but is just a little trickier to start with. Of course, if you purchase your C-Sharp from Audio Advice, we will do all of this for you.
The external power supply is fully isolated and easily allows you to switch between 33 and 45. It has an AC generator built in for totally clean and stable power to the motor.
Finally, the package we are testing comes fitted with an Ortofon Quintet Black. When you consider the C-Sharp without a cartridge is $2,995 and with the $1,000 Quintet Black, it's $3,495, you get a $500 savings buying the package -- an incredible value.
Performance
We had recently set up a nice system to run our new Golden Ear Triton Reference using a PrimaLuna Dialogue integrated amp and the Sutherland Duo phono stage. We decided that this would be a fun rig to use to test out the EAT C-Sharp. First off, that combo sounds just amazing! The Tritons have a powered sub built in and the Prima Luna had no trouble driving them. The system provided an incredibly warm, rich sound -- just as we would expect.
We set up the Sutherland for 100 ohms and set the gain to 60db and started spinning some vinyl. The first thing we noticed was the great deep bass extension. We had on a Norah Jones record with some acoustic bass. Not only was it deep and full, but you could hear all of the harmonics of the instruments. The way her voice floated dead center with such a great sense of effortlessness.
Dynamics were also outstanding, especially on an old Judds album, Why Not Me. This one was really fun to listen to. Changing over to some Miles Davis Kind of Blue was just stunning. Every instrument stood out in a huge soundstage, yet each one was the right size and precisely located, never wavering. We finally cued up one of our favorite LP’s for rhythm and pacing, John Cougar’s “Pink Houses” cut from his Uh-Huh album. The C-Sharp passed this test with flying colors as we had our feet tapping within the first few bars!
Using the C-Sharp is a great experience as well. You drop the weight on the center spindle and give the center portion a spin to lock it in. Push 33 or 45 on the speed control box, wait until the light stops flashing to indicate things are up to speed and then lower the tonearm. The Quintet makes cueing up songs very easy as its square body makes it easy to line up the groove you want to land in.
We just loved using the C-Sharp! |
The VT-E turntable proves that turntable setup doesn’t have to be rocket science. This great sounding belt-driven deck even comes in two separate versions for both left- and right-handed users. The VT-E can be positioned either free-standing on a table or wall-mounted using the included low-profile metal bracket. Installation is a breeze since everything is pre-adjusted out of the box – tracking and anti-skating force are carefully set so no further set-up needed! Sse both Bluetooth and RCA output at the same time.
Speed:
33 & 45 rpm (manual speed change)
Drive principle:
Silicone belt drive
Speed variance:
0.8% @ 33 rpm, 0.7% @ 45 rpm
Wow & flutter:
0.29% @ 33 rpm, 0.27% @ 45 rpm
Signal to noise ratio:
-65 dB
Platter:
300 mm composite wood (1.8 lb.) w/felt mat
Main bearing:
Stainless steel
Tonearm:
8.6” aluminum
Effective tonearm length:
218.5 mm
Overhang:
22.0 mm
Effective tonearm mass:
8.0 g
Compatible cartridge weight:
3.0 - 5.5 g (Otrofon OM5E included) 0 - 2.5 g (pre-adjusted at 1.8 g)
Tracking force range:
0 - 2.5 g (pre-adjusted at 1.8 g)
Included accessories:
power supply, record clamp
Power consumption:
4.5 W
Dimensions (free-standing):
16.9” x 13.6” x 9.6” (W x H x D)
Dimensions (wall mounted):
16.9” x 12.2” x 5.1” (W x H x D)
Weight:
6.2 lbs. (net)
| The new Planar 2 was developed over the past two years alongside the recently released Planar 3. Featuring the brand new RB220 tonearm which is packed with groundbreaking new features such as a new 24v low noise motor, acrylic laminated plinth, newly designed central bearing and so much more. Every feature of this innovative new turntable is designed to extract the maximum amount of information and detail from your vinyl collection.
- Re-designed feet - New improved foot assembly to increase stability and reduce vibration transfer.
- Carbon cartridge - supplied as standard on all Planar 2's for simple plug and play convenience.
- Motor cover tray - with integrated cooling.
- Optional lid / plinth protectors - supplied to prevent marks on the plinth and keep it looking its best.
- Instructions - Easy to use multi-lingual quick start guide for easy set up.
- Packaging - New improved packaging.
- Tonearm: Hand-assembled RB220 tonearm
- Cartridge: Factory fitted Carbon moving magnet cartridge
- Motor: 24 V low noise motor
- Dimensions (lid closed) (W x H x D): 447 x 117 x 360 mm
- Weight: 5.5 kg
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Now it’s time for the heavy lifting. The motor alone weighs in at over 5lbs. This massive AC motor sits to the side of the table, providing complete isolation, and has a pulley for the belt that is machined to .0005% tolerance to achieve perfect speed. If you find the motor heavy, wait until you pick up the platter. This 20lb. beast is made out of aluminum and damping materials. It’s 39” circumference is machined to a +/- .001” tolerance. Coupled to the hardened steel bearing, this system spins at a perfectly constant speed. We believe this characteristic is essential when trying to achieve the “live” feeling from music. If the speed is off, the music does not sound realistic. VPI’s method of mass is one of the best ways to accomplish this since the heavy platter will maintain consistency once it gets up to speed. The first time you flip the switch on the motor, you’ll hear it squelch as it torques up, but don’t let this worry you. While it sounds a bit odd, it’s normal.
The Prime’s 10” 3D tonearm is quite a feat. Ideally, a tonearm would be one single piece of material, yet until 3D printing, this has been almost impossible to manufacture. VPI was able to use anti-resonant materials, and the end result is an elegant one-piece tonearm.
The tonearm is a unipivot type, meaning it’s free to move around in all directions and only has one bearing. Many in the audio industry believe this is the most friction-free bearing around, allowing your phono cartridge to do its job. The unipivot bearing even has two side outriggers to fine tune its level position. VPI includes a 6” lightweight rod you rest in a groove on the top of the headshell section, allowing you to easily determine whether its level.
Another impressive tonearm feature is its fully adjustable VTA (vertical tracking angle), which allows you to move the tonearm in order to align the top of the phono cartridge parallel to the record surface in order to achieve the best possible sound. With most tonearms, this is done by loosening screws in the side or base to raise or lower the arm, which makes it difficult to fine-tune the height. With the VPI arm, however, you simply loosen up two large screws, then use a large round knob to move the height up or down in small increments. Just as coffee fanatics experiment with achieving the perfect grind, VTA allows audio fanatics to experiment with achieving the perfect sound. There is even the option to make minor adjustments based on the thickness of your vinyl records, and the arm has a scale so you can record the exact setting for each record.
Finally, to couple the record better to the damped platter, VTA includes a stainless steel and delrin record clamp, which simply drops down over the center spindle to hold down the record.
At Audio Advice, we’re very particular about cables included with turntables. Since the signal coming out of your phono cartridge is extremely low in output, it’s necessary to use a higher-end set of cables so nothing is lost in the transfer of the signal from your turntable to the phono preamp. The Prime does not come with cables, which we actually prefer, since it allows you to choose from any of the aftermarket cables on the market today. Your choices are unlimited and whatever model you select will fit firmly onto the high-end RCA jacks found on the back of your Prime table.
One final word of advice: you must ensure your Prime is set up by a professional. They can mount and align the cartridge perfectly, and should also preset the VTA to the right height for an average record. From there, all you need to do is put it back together and set the recommended tracking force.
Performance
To check out the Prime, we used it with the Soundsmith Zephyr MIMC cartridge. Like VPI, Soundsmith has been around for over 30 years and is actually made in the USA right down the road from VPI in Peekskill, NY. This is a $1,749 low output moving iron cartridge. The Zephyr was very easy to get setup properly with it’s square body. It also has very good channel separation.
One of our favorite test LPs is Cat Stevens Tea for the Tillerman and the Prime perfectly captures his somewhat gravelly voice. The first cut, “Where Do the Children Play,” has a variety of sounds and rhythm changes that are a noteworthy test for a high-end turntable. In the first 5 seconds, you can tell the Prime is special. we’ve never heard bass notes reach down so low while maintaining such a realistic tonal quality. This same track has some very close mic’d guitar lines throughout the song. There are actually two guitars playing which on some rigs is hard to distinguish. Not so on the Prime! They each stand out alone even when things really build up towards the end of the track.
The 3D arm really lets your phono cartridge do its job, too. Once everything was set up we were not able to detect a shred of cartridge mistracking. In terms of dynamics, the percussion sounds explode to life with the Prime. After critically listening to a few more tracks, we ended up turning off the lights and putting on an old favorite, the first Chicago Album, CTA. We were instantly immersed in the music. The 3D representation afforded by the Prime is almost spooky.
As we played more records, we found the presentation of the music on almost every recording was extending wider left to right than our speakers. We believe part of this is the outstanding audio quality of the Zephyr MIMC, but if the table and tonearm are not going a great job, you would never get that type of soundstage. The Zephyr is certainly a great match for this outstanding turntable. The combination produced deep rich bass, with a high-end extension that was never harsh -- always smooth and liquid.
Overall Recommendation
Listening to vinyl is a hobby full of fun and experimentation. If you want to dive deeper into this fun arena or are looking for a great table to jump in with, we think the VPI Prime is an amazing choice. To set it up right, you’ll probably be in the $5,500+ price range by the time you get an appropriate cartridge and set of phono cables, but we don’t know of another table offering more for the money. If you enjoy tinkering, you will absolutely love the adjustable vertical tracking angle.
Details & Specs
- 10-inch 3D Tonearm
- VTA Tower included
- Classic 20-pound platter and bearing
- Four solid Delrin corner assemblies designed for isolation and mechanical grounding
| The Prime is designed to offer hi-end sound while taking advantage in improvements in Turntable technology. The shape is designed to have a more aesthetic look, while having the footprint to accommodate the space needed for a 10 inch 3D arm.
- 10-inch 3D Tonearm
- VTA Tower included
- Classic 20-pound platter and bearing
- Four solid Delrin corner assemblies designed for isolation and mechanical grounding
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