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The perfect all-in-one analog solution. REGA SYSTEM ONE™ is designed to be simple to set up, easy to use, and deliver a true analog experience straight out of the box. The REGA SYSTEM ONE™ consists of the multi-award-winning Planar 1 turntable, the io amplifier, Kyte loudspeakers, and all the cables you need to immerse yourself in the wonderful world of vinyl.
REGA SYSTEM ONE™ is a unique, handmade analog audio hi-fi system designed to bring you the true Rega signature sound at an affordable price. A selection of Rega's most acclaimed products is carefully selected in one convenient package. All three products have a perfect synergy that promises to bring your vinyl collection to life. The io amplifier has a high-quality built-in phono stage, two line-level inputs, and a headphone socket offering plenty of connectivity options to expand your system even further if you so wish.
This package includes:
- Planar 1 turntable - This multi-award-winning ‘Plug and Play’ design utilizes Rega's handmade RB110 tonearm, with pre-set bias and a factory-fitted Carbon cartridge. Set-up is possible in under 30 seconds and delivers incredible performance well beyond its price point.
- io amplifier - The io has been designed to offer exceptional Rega performance at an affordable price. It uses the same amplifier stage as the legendary Brio amplifier now re-designed to run at 30 W per channel into 8 Ω. The io features two line-level inputs, a high specification Rega moving magnet phono stage, and a high-quality headphone output. The io amplifier is the heart of REGA SYSTEM ONE™ bringing all three components together with perfect synergy.
- Kyte loudspeakers - Become immersed in the stunningly natural sound of the Kyte loudspeakers system. Meticulously engineered to deliver the true Rega sound at an affordable price. Using Rega's ZRR high-frequency unit and a handmade pair of Rega MX125 bass-mid drivers, this compact bookshelf speaker is designed to be the voice of REGA SYSTEM ONE™.
- Cables - 2 x 3 meter Rega specification multi-strand (56 per core) copper cable is included in the pack.
Details & Specs
- Planar 1 dimensions (lid closed) (W x H x D) 17.6 x 4.61 x 14.17" (447 x 117 x 360 mm)
- Planar 1 Weight: 9.26 lbs (4.2 kg)
- io Amplifier Dimensions (W x H x D): 7.09 x 2.68 x 11.42" (180 x 68 x 290 mm)
- io Amplifier Weight: 6.39 lbs (2.9kg)
- io Power Output: 30 W per channel into 8 Ω
- Kyte Loudspeaker Dimensions (foot fitted) (W x H x D): 12.8 x 7.4 x 9.13" (325 x 188 x 232 mm)
- Kyte Loudspeaker Weight (each): 8.16 lbs (3.7kg)
- Kyte Power Handling: 80 W per channel (this figure is intended purely as a guide as it depends on the quality of amplification used).
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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 C-Major is EAT's best value turntable, incorporating many of the design features of the more expensive C-Sharp. You'll get a heavy platter for great speed stability, a solid record clamp, and the C-Note 9" tonearm, which uses very precision bearings. Combine this with the included $500 Ortofon Quintet Blue cartridge and fitted dustcover, and you will be getting a real value. This package will bring all your vinyl to life and give you many years of listening pleasure.
Design & Build Quality
The first time that we had a chance to play with the EAT turntables there were a couple of things that really impressed us right off the bat. Their striking appearance will obviously catch your attention. We’ve even had several happy EAT customers tell us that when they first got their table out of the box they just stared at it in awe. Once you start to put the table together, however, you will immediately get a great sense of the superb craftsmanship.
The EAT C-Major has a very similar look to the C-Sharp -- the same low slung body and mix of high gloss black, carbon fiber, and brushed aluminum which make many of the other tables on the market look chunky in comparison. The plinth is made of carbon fiber and is nestled on some floating isolators inside a thin, high-gloss black base. The C-Major’s 9” tonearm features a carbon fiber arm tube and the heavy platter supports a special mat that is made from recycled LPs. It’s then topped off with a substantial record clamp. The whole combination just looks fantastic!
Like all great turntables, the C-Major is a fully manual turntable. You might think that a high-end table like this would be difficult to use, but we were pleasantly surprised to discover that it’s just the opposite! You simply turn it on, move the tonearm over the record, lower it down, and enjoy the tunes!
Features & Technology
We’ll start from the bottom of the table and work our way up. The sleek and slim base is made out of a super dense MDF material. Inside, the low-noise motor is mounted to the lower sub-chassis which is isolated from the upper plinth with eight cone-shaped pieces of a high tech damping material called Thermoplastic Elastomer, or TPE. These provide great isolation from the motor and really do a great job damping out external vibrations. If you want to feel the damping effect, simply push down gently on the plinth.
The plinth is made from an outer shell of carbon fiber sandwiched over MDF. The C-Major has three adjustable feet which make leveling everything a snap. The feet are also internally damped to reduce any external noise from getting up to the table. The EAT also includes a low profile dust cover with the C-Major, which not only protects it, but also matches up with its sleek appearance.
The bearing for the inner platter is pretty similar to what you find in most turntables in this category. The inner platter has a shaft that drops into a bronze bearing well where its tip spins on a special plate made of a near friction-free, teflon-like material.
The outer platter weighs in at a stout 4 lbs and has a great design. The top part that touches the record is made out of recycled vinyl, while the rest of the platter is a sandwich design of an aluminum/magnesium alloy with TPE in the center. EAT puts more mass on the outer edge of the platter, which helps to give it a great flywheel effect. This combination of bearing and platter is one reason the EAT tables all have great speed consistency. Like the more expensive C-Sharp, the C-major also comes with an aluminum record clamp.
While there are lots of things we love about this table, one of our favorite aspects is the carbon fiber tonearm that we mentioned earlier. It’s incredibly adjustable, allowing you to use a wide range of phono cartridges on it. These adjustments exude European precision.
The design of the tonearm is a combination of a uni-pivot and a more conventional Carden type.
Uni-pivot arms can move freely, not only across the record and up and down, but also rotating on the horizontal plane. Imagine an airplane coming in for a landing when you see the wings move up and down on each side in relation to the ground. The theory is there is some movement like this in the record grooves and being able to have freedom of movement allows the cartridge to track better.
The downside of uni-pivots is they are a royal pain to adjust. EAT came up with a brilliant solution that gives you the best of both worlds and we can attest to the fact that it works great! You get a small amount of movement where the arm can tip left to right, but it behaves more like a traditional pivoted arm.
The rear counterweight has an additional weighted insert that you can install for cartridges that are heavier than normal. The counterweight doesn’t have any markings like a lot of high end tonearms, so you will need a stylus pressure gauge to set the right force, but luckily EAT includes one in the box.
You also have azimuth adjustment which allows you to adjust the tonearm left and right. When you look at your tonearm from the front while sitting on a record, the headshell should be parallel to the record surface. EAT lets you really fine tune this if you desire. Finally, you can even adjust the height of the tonearm rest and the cueing cylinder, allowing you to really dial things in for your cartridge.
For anti-skating, EAT uses a gravity-based system which we really like. It is a little bit of a pain to set up, but we’ve been able to help everyone through it, so if you purchase one and have any trouble, just give us a call.
Finally, to change from 33 to 45, like a lot of tables out there, you simply lift off the outer platter and move the belt on the motor pulley.
Please don’t let all of these adjustments make you think this table is finicky or hard to set up. The best way to buy it is with the deal EAT has on the Ortofon Blue, Black MC, or their own JO5. These all come preset up and you save quite a bit with the package -- $250 or $500, which makes the table an amazing deal!
Performance
To test out the EAT C-Major, we set up what we thought might be a typical rig. We used the Cambridge CXA80 integrated amp, a Sutherland KC Vibe phono stage and a pair of Paradigm’s new Premier 800F towers. The table used the Ortofon Blue, which we think is probably the best way to go for the money with the C-Major.
First up was the classic Landside from Fleetwood Mac. When you have a great system that is well set up Stevie Nick’s voice should be dead center while the guitars float in between the speakers. This combo aced this test!
Next up was Robbie Robertson’s Somewhere Down the Crazy River from his first solo album in 1987. We look for two things on this one. First, there are some very dynamic bass attacks as the track begins. Then later on, you can hear lots of emotion in his voice when he says "Why do you always end up down at Nick's Cafe?" , "I don't know, the wind just kind of pushed me this way." It’s in the first “why” and “pushed me this way” on a great system you’ll hear all kinds of subtle inflections in his voice. While we have heard more on much more expensive rigs, this combination once again, really drew us into the music. Plus, it nailed the bass attacks.
After hearing this, we wanted to pull out our favorite cut for testing speed stability. This is Pink Houses from John Cougar's Uh-Huh album. If the table has great speed stability, you’ll be tapping your foot to the music. Once again, the EAT was very impressive.
This is one very special table. It has the ability with its precision tonearm to track really well and its isolation system helps it provide that great bass impact. EAT designs are also winning us over for their speed purity. Finally, with its jewel of a tonearm, it's just fun to use!
- The C-Note tonearm on the C-Major is 9" in length instead of 10" on the C-Sharp
- There is no separate speed control
- The main chassis has a more compact footprint
- The platter clamp is smaller
- The platter is smaller
| 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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The B-Sharp sheds all of the non-essential cosmetic adornments of the C-Major without compromising performance or mechanical integrity, providing vinyl enthusiasts with a superb playback option at a more affordable price.
- Features the new B-Note tonearm, made from a carbon fiber alloy that is light yet rigid with a black anodized aluminum headshell. The B-Note tonearm provides all of the key features for cartridge alignment and adjustability: VTA (Vertical Tracking Angle), SRA (Stylus Rake Angle), VTF (Vertical Tracking Force), azimuth and a slotted headshell for overhang / offset angle.
- The anti-skate mechanism has been engineered for more intuitive calibration, making setup of the B-Sharp notably easier than competitive products.
- A proprietary low noise motor, floating chassis, aluminum platter and a high-density MDF low profile base are included as standard features of the B-Sharp. Like the C-Major, the B-Sharp uses a high-tech TPE (thermoplastic elastomers) suspension system that works in concert with adjustable feet that provide levelling ability for the table.
- Comes equipped with a factory installed Ortofon 2M Blue Cartridge, hinged dustcover, low mass aluminum record clamp, and a felt platter mat-all included.
| The word "Ultra" is synonymous with Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab's philosophy. It represents their extreme pursuit of the highest level of reproduction of recorded sound-beyond the status quo-to provide music lovers with the experience of hearing the Original Master Recording in their home. Whether you're enjoying a standard LP or one of our UltraDisc One-Step limited-edition records, UltraDeck will deliver faithful playback of what's in the grooves.
Ultra Tonearm
Custom-developed and manufactured in the USA, the 10-inch Ultra tonearm uses smooth, high-quality ball bearings for low friction in the vertical and horizontal plane so all you hear is what is in the grooves. Cardas Audio wiring maintains signal purity from the headshell leads all the way through to the high-quality, gold-plated RCA connectors.
Isolated AC Synchronous Motor
Their stepped-pulley AC motor provides excellent speed stability for pitch accuracy and rhythmic drive. The Delrin pulley has two positions for 33 1/3 and 45 RPM speed selection. Motor vibrations are kept away from the platter and stylus by using advanced dampening materials that decouple the motor from the rest of the turntable.
Constrained Layer Dampening
UltraDeck features three aluminum plates carefully bonded to an MDF body to add mass and eliminate tonal coloration, maintaining the true sound found on the record.
Anti-Vibration Feet by HRS
Any vibration of the stylus that is not created by the grooves in the record is a distortion that will mask musical detail. Developed in conjunction with the engineering team at Harmonic Resolution Systems, the world leader in vibration isolation for audio equipment, the included MoFi anti-vibration feet isolate your turntable from bad vibrations.
1.3-Inch Derlin Platter
UltraDeck features a massive 1.3-inch Delrin platter. The increased mass creates blacker sonic backgrounds and a lower noise floor. Delrin is a next-generation polymer developed by Dupont. In the world of audio, Delrin's highly crystalline structure presents a wonderful impedance match to vinyl records, effectively grounding unwanted noise and keeping it away from the stylus.
Hardened Steel Inverted Bearing
Our hardened-steel inverted bearing system is designed for smooth, quiet rotational stability. The extremely low tolerance combination of steel, bronze, and sapphire-found in much more expensive turntables-will provide you many years of high-performance playback.
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