Rega Announces Planar 3 Turntable

While I was busy from February to March, something great slipped my attention. Rega announced an update of their award-winning turntable RP3, which they called the Planar 3 2016.

I guess by now, you have guessed that I am actually looking for a new turntable to upgrade my Rega RP1 with.  I love my RP1, but I feel that I have outgrown it.  It still is running very well, but I did give it the performance pack as a minor upgrade.

Rega explained on its website that it took them two years to develop the new Planar 3, rebuilding it practically from the ground up and with only two components being carried over.  The improvements promise to bring "improved ergonomics, usability and first and foremost, sonic performance."


Here are the details of the Rega Planar 3 2016 straight from the Rega website:

RB330 tonearm - Designed using the latest 3D CAD & CAM technology, the new RB330 is the culmination of more than 35 years of tonearm design experience.  Featuring a brand new bearing housing and our latest tonearm tube designed using intelligent redistribution of mass ensure this arm will exhibit fewer points of possible resonance. Extreme stability with almost friction-free movement from the new high precision bearing assemblies guarantees to gather more information from your vinyl than ever before.

•  Featuring a new bias assembly, re-designed stiffer vertical bearing housing, integrated

•  arm clip and an improved spring housing with easier-to-read numbers.

•  Rega made, new low capacitance phono cable with Neutrik plugs,

•  Improved lower friction, precision horizontal and vertical bearings

•  New design 100g mild steel balance weight.

Plinth - High gloss acrylic, laminated plinth, stiffer and vastly improved appearance, ergonomically positioned power switch. Two plinth finishes at launch: gloss black & gloss white.

Double braces - Improved thicker 3mm phenolic bottom brace and new metalized skin phenolic top brace.

Bearing housing – Re-designed brass main hub central bearing, improved fit and construction reducing stress on the bearing itself.

Sub platter - Re-designed sub platter, improved accuracy, and improved stiffness.

Platter - New float glass ‘Optiwhite’ polished rim 12mm – Improved accuracy in manufacture and stunning looks.

Re-designed foot - New, improved foot to increase stability and reduce vibration transfer.

24V motor - Improved new motor control PCB with integration for the addition of TT-PSU for electronic speed change and improved advanced anti-vibration circuit (sold separately).

Motor cover tray with integrated cooling.

There are still no details on how much this baby will cost. I hope it will be within my budget so it can be my early bonus for myself.  As to when it will reach our shores, I asked a local dealer, and he gave me a "probably by June" period.

Where Have You Been All My Life? by Villagers

This is not a review, just my impression of this album.  However, I have to confess that its title might also be my initial reaction after hearing this album from the Irish band, Villagers.

I didn't know anything about this band until Spotify recommended them - this particular album -  since I listened to Sufjan Stevens. I don't even know the kind of music they make until I listened to it and instantly liked them.

I found out later that the album is actually a re-work of materials from their first three albums.  Now, what band would come out with a compilation of limited earlier works?  And they even completed the album in one day in London.

The 11 songs on this album are stripped-down versions of the original release, but they worked for me.  Besides, I am not particularly fond of music with too heavy production and overdubs.  Here, the voice of the singer, Conor J. O'Brian, was pushed front and center with only a minimal number of acoustic instruments backing him up (although in some songs, there was quiet electronic music). The effect was a quiet, introspective album that makes its listeners focus on the lyrics.  It was as if O'Brian was confessing to his listeners.  In some songs, he openly talks about his sexuality.

As it is, I think this is a good introduction to the band. My copy is green-colored vinyl with a voucher to download its digital version with three bonus tracks. This is one album that I could listen through from start to finish.  The album closes with one of my favorite country songs, "Wichita Lineman," and I have no complaints about their version.   

I will also listen to the records where these materials came from, though I already listened to Darling Arithmetic, where I believe most of the songs in this album came from.

The X-Mini II : Big Sound in a Small Package

I just bought a second generation X-Mini Capsule Speaker for my MacMini today.  I wasn't too  happy with the sound output of my Mac Mini so I checked the Internet  to see what speakers would go with it.  I was intrigued with the X-Mini's promise of "sound beyond size" so I thought of giving it a try.  It's good that it's available locally.

I was skeptical when I first saw the X-mini.  It was too small and I thought that with that size, it wont be able  to deliver sound any better than the built-in speakers of my Mac Mini or even those on a laptop. But when the sales clerk tried it on a Macbook,  I was pretty surprised by the volume and the vibrant sound that was not at all metallic. 

It also performs well with my Mini.  The sound is loud enough to fill my room while the bass is quite decent considering the size of the speaker. Sound distortion only occurs when volume is set way too high but still, it is not grating.   However, the sound produced by the speaker is not stereo but only monoaural.  Perhaps this is why the makers of this gadget decided to include a feature called buddy jack.  Two or more X-Mini capsules can be interconnected through this jack to make it a chain of speakers, thus extending the sound.

The speaker has a short connecting cable that can be neatly folded into the base.  It also has a USB connecting cable for charging the internal rechargeable battery and for the sound jack of any device.  The manufacturer claims that the speaker coulld run up to 7 hours when used on a portable device like the iPod or a laptop computer. I haven't tried using it for that much time but maybe I would next weekend. I am just a bit worried with the cables because they look a bit flimsy.  Hopefully it would withstand the heavy use I subject most of my gadgets to.

Overall, I am happy with this X-Mini in terms of the sound it produces.  It's size and design are quite impressive too.  It even comes with a pouch which makes this tiny wonder a great companion for my portable gadgets.