Disappointed with Rega RP1 - what are the alternatives?

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Actually I think it's in this price range that Amazon is more useful than a dealer. With Amazon you get it in two days and if there's a problem just ship it right back and you'll get a refund very quickly and in the meantime you can order a replacement right away or get a Music Hall or Pro-ject or what have you also in 2-3 even next day delivery. In this price range I don't feel any desire to go 'old school' and drive out to a dealer who may or may not be near me, demo the table, come home, maybe still find an issue, call the dealer, drive back at some point when there's time, get into a back and forth with the dealer about what the issue may be, maybe have them replace or maybe get it fixed, etc, etc.

Amazon provides a far more hassle-free experience.
 
Actually I think it's in this price range that Amazon is more useful than a dealer. With Amazon you get it in two days and if there's a problem just ship it right back and you'll get a refund very quickly and in the meantime you can order a replacement right away or get a Music Hall or Pro-ject or what have you also in 2-3 even next day delivery. In this price range I don't feel any desire to go 'old school' and drive out to a dealer who may or may not be near me, demo the table, come home, maybe still find an issue, call the dealer, drive back at some point when there's time, get into a back and forth with the dealer about what the issue may be, maybe have them replace or maybe get it fixed, etc, etc.

Amazon provides a far more hassle-free experience.

Agree. Return policies are no longer a given at brick and mortar stores; in my experiences they've actually become rare.
 
I can't ever imagine buying a turntable online. Now I realize I am fortunate to have a number of quality dealers available to me. But given the choice, I'd buy from a professional who will do the cartridge and turntable setup for me also.
 
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If you are in Knoxville, Tenn., the local Rega dealer is Keasler Audio.

Terry Keasler runs it out of his house, but he has a listening room, so you could probably take a listen to his RP1 and compare. He's very accommodating.

Ah, nice to know.... for Rega alternatives there is Statement. They are Pro-Ject dealers. I don't think they have any in stock though. I did buy a nice one from them about 10 years ago when they were still over at Downtown West...
 
Holy cow.
How many comments from how many mods does it take to convince you that the OP does not want a used table. Show some respect to his wishes.
Next one to try it will spend Thanksgiving and the weekend on the bench.
 
There was absolutely no disrespect meant to either the op or mods in my statement, no matter what me or anyone says, the op can and will do what he wants, I was just participating in the thread. if anyone feels that I have disrespected them in my (now deelted) comment I do apologize.
 
I find the sound of that motor rather soothing.
(Age based joke in 3...2...1...)

Made my day! Very entertaining choice of word. Soothing... hahahaha:lmao:


ATLP120 had issues with "knocking" sound. Additional turntable mat might help with that noise.

or try this

Thorens TD 170-1 Automatic Turntable
http://www.amazon.com/Thorens-TD-170-1-Automatic-Turntable/dp/B00G159I2Y

i know it's beyond the $500 number but are you ok with the $649.00 + tax price?

I have amazon prime that I rarely use (what a waste of $70 ish a year for a prime membership) and I might be able to help you?
Shipping address to your's and billing address to mine but don't forget to send me the money first to me.

30 Days Window.

Go figure...
 
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Rega is junk IMO. Never owned one but know quite a few who do/have. Only my opinion but I find them very cheaply made. I think most could do better in their garage shop.
 
Great! Could you knock up a few tonearms for me that would outperform the Rega ones? I can give you around $25 each, if that's Ok :)
 
I can't ever imagine buying a turntable online. Now I realize I am fortunate to have a number of quality dealers available to me. But given the choice, I'd buy from a professional who will do the cartridge and turntable setup for me also.

See I look at it another way, if you can't do the basic's of setting up a table, your better not owning one. It is not that hard and who is going to want to have to package it all up every time you want to change to a different cart? Part of the fun of owning a table is changing out carts and trying out different things.
 
Rega is junk IMO. Never owned one but know quite a few who do/have. Only my opinion but I find them very cheaply made. I think most could do better in their garage shop.

There's no denying that Rega has made great arms, recognised by many.
 
Rega is junk IMO. Never owned one but know quite a few who do/have. Only my opinion but I find them very cheaply made. I think most could do better in their garage shop.

Another constructive comment. Where is your design? Roy Gandy and crew have designed some of the most successful and best sounding decks out there. They are designed to be lightweight...not because they are junk but because that is a part of their design philosophy. The RP1 is an excellent sounding deck for the layout. Has the OP returned the original for a replacement yet. That should be step one if you think you like the sound. Otherwise the options are very few in this price range and I have owned most of them. Pro-Ject Debut (in one of several variations), Music Hall MMF2, U-Turn Orbit and one of the inexpensive DD tables. The RP1 sounds better than the bunch of them to me. It is an ingenious design using lightweight inexpensive parts to great effect. Brilliant IMO.
 
See I look at it another way, if you can't do the basic's of setting up a table, your better not owning one. It is not that hard and who is going to want to have to package it all up every time you want to change to a different cart? Part of the fun of owning a table is changing out carts and trying out different things.

But it is not that easy either if you own a LINN LP 12 turntable.
It's not impossible. Just learn that many2 pages manual on how to properly calibrate the LINN LP 12. Go google that manual in .pdf.

Unless we have time and energy then why not? DIY is fun... i guess.
I did all the necessary modifications on my online ordered Panasonic 1210M5G turntable but with the remote help from a specialist through Facebook, who happen to supply the bearing (He resides in U.K.).

It's also more elegant for someone to take care of our things.
Like a chauffeur instead of driving your own car to go places, for example.
Because a specialist knows what he/she is doing.
 
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I certainly hope the OP gets the RP 1 sorted out. I've heard an RP 1 sound quite nice. If it were me I'd probably have sent it back and tried to worm my way up the ladder to an RP 3, but that's just me. QC issues aside, Regas are generally rewarding from a musical standpoint and that is the whole point, right?
 
I certainly hope the OP gets the RP 1 sorted out. I've heard an RP 1 sound quite nice. If it were me I'd probably have sent it back and tried to worm my way up the ladder to an RP 3, but that's just me. QC issues aside, Regas are generally rewarding from a musical standpoint and that is the whole point, right?

It could possibly be just that bad luck or bad day on getting a bad batch of beer?
Quality Control issues then...
It's all probability.

I was blown away by the rega turntable when I visited an audio store when I visited and play around Seattle, which happen to sell rega turntable. The turntable shapped like a skeleton (I lost my note on what's the number type of the turntable) and the Herbie Hancock's "The Egg" bass was so real as if the bass player is in the listening room. LP is RVG Blue note, old stuff but it's ok. The LP is not that appreciated but has collectable value. Amps were nain made in the U.K. (black boxes with green light, i forgot exactly).

This brings to a point that mega turntable is enjoyable, from my listening experience standpoint.

Even my humble and cheapskate setup, a heavily modified Panasonic 1210M5G couldn't replicate that very harmonious and holographic acoustic bass which REGA turntable gives effortlessly. WOW just WOW on rega.
Thumbs up on REGA! =)

Was wondering, do REGA outsource their turntable production plant to gain more profit or is it just me? Please don't sue me REGA corp whatever. I am just saying, i have no proof, and i have no intention to make your company go closure.
 
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See I look at it another way, if you can't do the basic's of setting up a table, your better not owning one. It is not that hard and who is going to want to have to package it all up every time you want to change to a different cart? Part of the fun of owning a table is changing out carts and trying out different things.

I can certainly do the basics of setting up a turntable. It's not that hard. I've been installing cartridges since the 1980's. But there are folks I have access to who are amongst the best in the country, and have far better, more exact and more expensive, set up tools then I have any desire to invest in. I'm also not a swapper of cartridges. I buy one cartridge that is the absolute best I can afford, rather then having a hand full of cheap ones. Switching out cartridges and trying different ones is not part of the fun for me. Getting the absolute best sound out of my records that I can IS the fun for me. And once I heard how much better my tables sounded when really precisely set up, I have no interest in going back.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
 
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I was blown away by the rega turntable when I visited an audio store when I visited and play around Seattle, which happen to sell rega turntable. The turntable shapped like a skeleton (I lost my note on what's the number type of the turntable) and the Herbie Hancock's "The Egg" bass was so real as if the bass player is in the listening room. LP is RVG Blue note, old stuff but it's ok. The LP is not that appreciated but has collectable value. Amps were nain made in the U.K. (black boxes with green light, i forgot exactly).

This brings to a point that mega turntable is enjoyable, from my listening experience standpoint.

Even my humble and cheapskate setup, a heavily modified Panasonic 1210M5G couldn't replicate that very harmonious and holographic acoustic bass which REGA turntable gives effortlessly. WOW just WOW on rega.
Thumbs up on REGA! =)
Was it RP8 or 10?
I suppose you have seen the price of that beast in the store?
Well, since they range from around $3000-6000, and for the truth, they're not a fair comparison to RP1 that is 10x cheaper than the first of 'skeletons' without cartridge btw.
For such prices these TOTL beauties must offer nothing less than superior quality and the sound, of course!
 
grottyash :Have you forgotten about the tens of thousands of happy customers? (...) no internet so problems weren't widely publicized as now

Couldn't agree more with that. And one must also understand that Google's search results are not scientific evidences. So many bias...

I am standing one step behind ergalthema in the quest for a reliable new entry level TT. I opened a thread a few days ago asking for opinions on two specific models. I stated right away that second hand was not an option. The first answer was "go vintage". :headscrat

Anyway, I should have known from the beginning that is was an intractable problem... I've been wanting to buy a new TT for more than a year now, unfortunately the more I read, the less I know !

Long story short, I stumbled upon StereoMojo's double review of the Edwards Audio TT1 (sorry for the repost, I am not intending to do free advertising). Nobody came back to me regarding the TT or the reliability of StereoMojo. I still think it's an alternative to the RP1.

I wish I could give a chance to the U-Turn Orbit, but they only deliver to Canada and USA...
 
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