Article by: Dick Tan
On one of his periodic visit to the Pacific Rim region Roy Gandy, founder of Rega Reseach gave an insight on what it takes to produce a truly effective, high performance turntable. And with over 40 years” know how in turntable design and manufacture few would dispute his elementary yet rational engineering principles.
According to Roy, Rega which makes a wide range of turntables from basic entre level to mid priced and then the high end, the basic engineering premise has always been to keep the engineering level simple yet effective.
“Take our recently introduced RP-8 and RP-10 series which feature the new, much lauded “skeletal” plinth design made from a composite of phenolic resin and magnesium. This compound, though difficult to work with is both immensely rigid yet light. As such we are able to dispense with unnecessary mass allowing us to come out with the unique, skeletal plinth” says Roy.
Roy also points that in yet another area where Rega tends to think “out of the box” is in the crucial area of platter design.
“The contemporary school of thought is to produce a platter that is as rigid and massive as one can possibly make it to keep resonances to a level where it would not intrude into the music.”
“While we agree that platter rigidity is critical, absolute mass is not necessarily so. A huge, heavy platter imposes a lot of strain on the motor hence it has to be powerful, which unfortunately adds significantly to the cost” adds Roy.
Rega, according to Roy devised a unique method using glass platters where the outer edge feature an even thicker glass ring. This, says Rega, has the positive effect of increasing mass, where it counts, away from the motor. It also has the added benefit of achieving a much more consistent flywheel effect and hence a more accurate speed.
In closing Roy says “Selective but effective application of solid, proven engineering principals is what makes Rega turntables unique.
It is strong yet acceptably light, easy to set up and much less costly to ship to where it counts, to the user”
As for 2015 Roy says the company is working with a highly respected audio reviewer to produce a limited edition book on Rega”s 40 years in turntable and other audio product design achievements. It is expected to be available sometime towards the middle of the year.
For further details contact :
Asia Sound Equipment Sdn Bhd.
Tel: 03-79552091
Kim: 012 2702208
Adrian: 017 2677579
Article by Dick Tan
