Best Turntable System 2024 - What Hi-fi?
The Perfect All-in-One Analog Music System
It's the perfect all-in-one analog solution. The Rega SYSTEM ONE is designed to be simple to set up and easy to use, and it deliver a true analog experience straight out of the box. SYSTEM ONE consists of the multi-award winning Planar 1 turntable, the Rega io amplifier, Rega Kyte loudspeakers and the cables you need to immerse yourself in the wonderful world of vinyl.
SYSTEM ONE is a unique, handmade analog audio hi-fi system designed to bring you the true Rega signature sound at an affordable price via a selection of Rega's most acclaimed products carefully in a single convenient package. All three products have a perfect synergy which promises to bring your vinyl collection to life.
"Gets The Basics Of Music Reproduction Spot-On"
"Judged as a complete package, the System One gets the basics of music reproduction spot-on, delivering musical cohesion and dynamic expression in a way that eludes most alternative set-ups," raves Becky Roberts in What Hi-fi? magazine, which named the SYSTEM ONE the Best Turntable System 2024. "Comprehensive, easy to set up and surprisingly compact in terms of what you actually get, this is a great way to get yourself a really solid hi-fi setup without tearing your hair out in the process."
"Its keen, zealous musical presentation especially makes it a great bet for those of us who like their music with plenty of vigour and spice."
Rega Planar 1 Turntable
The Rega Planar 1 is the most user-friendly Rega turntable to date. If you are looking to get back into vinyl and want serious performance that will last you a lifetime, then look no further than the Planar 1.
Every single aspect of the Planar 1 has been meticulously designed to improve performance. For the first time, the Planar 1 is now running a 24-volt, low noise, synchronous motor to reduce vibration transfer combined with Rega's brand new RB110 tonearm fitted with Rega's bespoke zero play bearings. Only sharing the drive belt, sub platter, and dust cover with the outgoing RP1, the Planar 1 is truly a new turntable for 2016.
"Probably the finest test of any product is how long we use it once having already come to our conclusion," notes England's What Hi-fi? magazine, which honored the Planar 1 with its Best Turntable Under £500 Award. "In this case, the Planar 1 is still playing and proving it can turn its hand to Dmitri Shostakovich as adeptly as it does Toots and the Maytals or Charlie Parker."
"Even as an entry-level turntable, this is the kind of player that could feasibly be the last of your system’s components you’d feel necessary to upgrade," concludes What Hi-fi?.
New RB110 Tonearm Offers Plug-and-Play Set-up
The Planar's RB110 tonearm is built with the new Rega-designed, bespoke, zero play bearings with ultra-low friction performance, new bias assembly, and integrated arm clip. The automatic bias adjustment negates the need for the user to set bias, making this the most plug-and-play turntable that Rega has ever manufactured.
Thanks to the ingenious preset bias force feature, the Planar 1 sets up in seconds after unpacking. Simply slide the balance weight onto the rear of the tonearm as far as it will go, remove the stylus guard, and start spinning your favorite vinyl.
Another tonearm feature is a new ergonomically redesigned and stiffer headshell for improved usability and appearance – plus a new 111g plug-and-play balance weight.
Includes Rega Carbon Cartridge
Rega designed the Planar 1 so that it's ready to go right out of the box. There's no cartridge to buy or specify. Included and pre-mounted is Rega's great-sounding Carbon moving magnet cartridge, supplied as standard.
Beautiful New Thermoset Plinth
The Planar 1 boasts a brand new Thermoset laminated plinth with vastly improved appearance and a new ergonomically positioned on/off switch located on the underside. Two stunning plinth finishes are available: black and white. Either one will look fantastic in your listening room or living room. Supporting the plinth, new improved feet increase stability and reduce vibration transfer.
A Brand New Platter, Too
A new Planar model deserves a new platter, and that's exactly what the Planar 1 gets with this innovative 23mm-thick (0.9"-thick), higher mass, phenolic platter with improved flywheel effect for improved speed stability. The re-designed brass main bearing, offering improved fit and removing stress on the bearing itself while minimizing the transfer of potential energy.
Spinning the platter comes another huge goodie. The Planar 1 is the first entry level Rega turntable ever to use a 24-volt synchronous AC motor along with a new motor PCB and aluminum pulley offering low noise and better speed stability. A new motor cover tray provides integrated cooling.
Rega io Integrated Amplifier
Rega's all new io amplifier is designed with every music lover in mind. Simple to setup and operate, the io is designed to integrate seamlessly into any hi-fi system.
The compact size allows the io to be used in a variety of systems and delivers a performance well beyond its price point. As you would expect, there is a high quality built-in MM (moving magnet) phono stage, two line level inputs, a redesigned mini wireless remote control and high quality headphone output that is cleverly integrated to deliver optimum performance without compromising the audio circuit. All of these features combine to deliver a powerful, well balanced musical performance at an incredible price.
"From the first bars of music, it is clear that the io is something rather special at its price point. Nowhere is this more obvious than in the top end - the treble is absolutely delightful," reports Adam Smith in his June 2020 five-star review for Hi-fi Choice magazine, which honored the io with a "Recommended" award. "There is no shortage of detail at all and the unit has plenty of insight to offer, but the smoothness, clarity, and lack of sibilance, even in less worthy recordings, is the real prize here. At the low end, the io may only have 30W to play with, but it works wonders with it."
"The Rega Io is a great little amplifier, it packs a punch that you don’t get from the far more highly featured competition that exists on the market and delivers music that you just want to keep playing," notes Jason Kennedy, the-ear.net, June 17, 2020.
Power Amp and Phono Amp Stages Borrowed from the Brio
The io uses the same power amplifier and phono stage as its larger brother, the multi-award winning Brio. The IO aims to deliver exceptional sound quality in a smaller and more cost effective package. The class A/B circuit shares its DNA with the rest of Rega’s amplifiers, and, as usual, great care has been taken in component selection. Onboard the io are Sanken output transistors, an Alps volume potentiometer, and a linear power supply that enables an output of 30 watts per channel into 8 ohms.
"Star of the Show" Built-in MM Phono Stage
Got a turntable or thinking of buying one? You won't need to invest in an outboard phono preamp with the io. The high-quality MM moving magnet phono stage is built in and it's designed to perfectly complement the rest of the io's circuitry. Just plug in your turntable to the phono input and get ready to find new reasons to enjoy your favorite vinyl.
If you're wondering just how good this phono stage might be, wonder no more. According to Adam Smith in Hi-fi Choice, "Rega is a vinyl specialist after all, and so the phono stage is as good as any standalone MM unit at the price… In fact, I would go so far as to say that it is the star of the show, revealing just how good vinyl can be at this relatively affordable level."
Two Line Level Inputs and a Headphone Stage
In addition to the MM phono stage input, the IO provides two line-level inputs for source components. There is a headphone output on the front of the unit for powering your headphones. The headphone output is driven from the power amplifier stage of the unit through relays to avoid signal degradation when headphones are inserted or when the product is muted, assuring you of the best possible sound quality at all times.
Rounding out this well designed product, a new wireless remote is included as well.
Rega Kyte Speakers
Become immersed in the stunningly natural sound of the Rega Kyte bookshelf speaker, which is meticulously designed to deliver the true Rega sound at an affordable price. Using Rega's own ZRR high frequency unit and a handmade pair of Rega MX-125 bass-mid drivers, this compact bookshelf speaker is designed to complement any hi-fi or audio system.
The Kyte loudspeaker system allows you to experience the true voice of Rega components as well as excelling with other high-quality audio components. The Kytes are hand assembled in-house using Rega's unique design phenolic resin cabinet. Internally they feature ceramic plates and carefully engineered cross bracing developed to make the cabinet extremely stiff. This prevents unwanted resonances interfering with the accurate output of the drive units and directly improves both dynamics and the bass performance from the speaker.
The Kytes are easy to position and are supplied with an optional foot to allow for various positioning, giving you greater flexibility. A custom designed stand mount adaptor is available (optional, sold separately) to allow use on a wide variety of third party stands.
It's All About R&D in Pursuit of Exceptional Sound
Rega has always questioned the marketing and science surrounding turntables. Experiments and research have allowed Rega to debunk commonly held beliefs and use real engineering to produce world-class sound quality at sensible prices. However, the loudspeaker market is very different, because a valid scientific and engineering discipline exists, which in turn has created hundreds of competitors in the loudspeaker marketplace.
The commercial success of many loudspeakers depends on powerful marketing, eye-watering advertising budgets, and financial inducement to retailers. The funds that most loudspeaker companies would spend on marketing Rega has put into research and development to create totally unique phenolic cabinet constructions, its own high frequency unit, and a bass/midrange driver incorporating a four- layer voice coil. Rega even manufactures and winds its own crossover components in-house.
Why a Phenolic Cabinet?
So why does Rega use a phenolic speaker cabinet instead of more traditional materials and design? Historically the accepted perception of a loudspeaker was a rectangular shaped wood veneered cabinet to complement household wood furniture. The market prefers loudspeakers to be furniture and since the '90s European manufacturers were left with the choice of Far Eastern manufacturing or inflated prices for home built wooden cabinets.
However, styling perceptions have changed in recent times and there has been a wholesale investment in modern molding shapes and the use of functional materials. Injection molded plastic loudspeaker cabinets are not new but flexible molded plastic has been reserved for the PA world or for small desktop loudspeakers where convenience and portability were a priority over sonic performance. This more recent domestic acceptance of non-wood functional cabinet shapes has allowed Rega to achieve a long-term dream.
Rega has made a massive investment into injection molding of stiff thermoset phenolic resin and collaborated with a British company to achieve it. The natural stiffness of phenolic resin is a big advantage which has been further enhanced with ceramic plates and a complex internal cross brace structure. This unique cabinet construction has been achieved at one third of the price of other British-made quality loudspeakers.
