Dear wonderful, beautiful wife; for Christmas I would like a Rega RP6 turntable, in piano red.
As you know (i’m sure i mentioned it??!), we have a Rega RP3, but I think the extra few hundred pounds is an investment we should make in our audio future and the Rega RP6 compliments the principles we are trying to instil in our children, that of striving for the best music possible, both in source and musical style (!).
I thought it would be useful for you to understand how the Rega RP6 differs from our current record player and improvements we could expect.
Rega RP6 out of the box and set-up
Out of the box, I would use my Audio Pro soft white gloves, as I always do these days, for unboxing the Rega RP6, so there would be no finger prints on the assembled turntable. The Rega RP6 needs assembling although the tone arm and cartridge is fitted by Rega. The cartridge itself represents an improvement on our Elys2 cartridge that is standard with our RP3 and this is the first point of improvement. The improved moving magnet Exact cartridge comes on the Famous RB303 tonearm that is hand assembled by Rega. I would need to place the stainless steel weight on the tonearm and adjust the bias and tracking weight for the cartridge, which is 1.75g.
The vinyl rests on a Dual layer platter that I will assemble using my soft gloves. The dual layer provides increased speed stability, accuracy and consistency.
There is a separate low noise 240V TT-PSU power supply for the Rega RP6. This will be a new small box in our lounge but this affords power supply and also speed control, so we can switch between 33 1/3 rpm and 45 rpm when we are switching between Ed Sheeran’s two albums on a quiet Tuesday night. Overall, I will spend a loving 25 minutes setting up the tonearm, power supply and cables in the lounge if we do invest. Darling, we can still use the Naim Stageline phono stage which integrates with our system for this new turntable, you’ll see that the interconnects from the Rega RP6 are of a higher quality than our RP3.
Performance
Listening/review set-up: Rega RP6, Naim Stageline, Naim Uniti2, Naim NAP 250, KEF R500/CM7s
Without wishing to prejudge your decision, I have listened to our set-up with the Rega RP6 and the results are magnificent. First of all the Rega RP6 looks the business, it’s really nice to look at and is very shiny indeed, especially in piano red.
Resolution and Soundstage
As with our current RP3, the detail from our system is terrific. It is slightly improved, in my view, although not a great deal. I think the silences in recordings, for example on Coldplay’s ‘Parachutes’ are quieter. I think, based on my listening, that the soundstage is improved with the Rega RP6. Ed Sheeran’s voice comes forward and seems to more immediate on ‘x’ when I listen to ‘Thinking Out Loud’. I think he sounds a bit richer and more musical in the room
Dynamic Range
The main difference I can hear is the improved depth in listening compared to the RP3. On Parachutes, “Everything’s Not Lost”, the piano is just about perfect and Chris Martin’s (dodgy) voice is really rather good. This depth is amplified when you listen to Dire Strait’s “Telegraph Road”, which is a wonderful experience. Lower frequencies are, maybe softer and less harsh. Rhythmically, Jesus and Mary Chain’s ‘April Skies’ from the Darklands album and Dylan’s Highway 61 Revisited have rarely sounded better.
In Summary, RP3 v RP6
Although the combination of the RP3 and the Elys2 has won What HIFi awards for the last five years I think the RP6 is a worthwhile investment if we can afford it (I think we can make it work). In the long run we will be more satisfied with the slightly greater depth, but softer output from the Rega RP6. Additionally, I think we will prefer the flexibility of the separate power supply, as moderately frequent users of vinyl. Finally, it looks great. Happy Christmas, darling……!!?!
More information from www.rega.co.uk/rp6