Comparison Rega Planar 2 vs Rega Planar 1

Model of the tonearm — the movable lever on which the pickup is attached — supplied with the turntable. The tone arm is responsible for the correct position of the needle and the accuracy of its movement along the grooves, which is critical for sound quality. Therefore, many music lovers try to clarify not only the general data on the tonearm, but also its specific features in each particular “turntable”; in order to be able to find this information, the name of the tonearm is given in the characteristics.

The effective length of a tonearm in set is the distance from the attachment point (axis of rotation) to the stylus.

This indicator is important primarily for rotary tonearms: the longer the length, the lower the angular error, the smaller the discrepancy between the direction of movement of the track and the longitudinal axis of the pickup (for more details, see “Type”) and the lower the level of corresponding distortion. In addition, a longer length reduces the resonant frequency and reduces the likelihood of distortion. On the other hand, a longer tonearm turns out to be heavier, which requires certain technical tricks and can also negatively affect the purity of the sound. Therefore, a large length is not always a guarantee of high quality – you should also pay attention to weight (see below).

An external power supply is called a power supply unit (PSU) placed outside the player's case; such a unit can be connected to the outlet with a wire or plugged directly into it using its own plug. The point of this arrangement is to minimize possible interference from the power supply electronics by removing it to the maximum distance from the circuits through which the signal passes. Therefore, an external power supply is considered the best option for audiophile class acoustics.

A phono stage is a specially designed preamp used with vinyl record pickups. Initially, the sound on such records was recorded with a distortion of the amplitude-frequency characteristic, namely, with an increase in volume from low frequencies to high ones; this is due to the technical features of the recording process. Accordingly, the phono stage not only amplifies the signal to a level sufficient to supply power to the amplifier, but also corrects the frequency response, “pulling out” the bass and reducing the volume of the high frequencies. And the built-in phono stage allows you to connect the player to the power amplifier directly, without the use of intermediate equipment. However according to the characteristics, the built-in preamplifiers-correctors are inferior to external ones. Therefore, in some models with this function , bypass mode may be provided, which allows you to send a signal bypassing the built-in phono stage to an external, more advanced one. And also there are even vinyl players without a phono stage.

The material from which the turntable's platter is made is a rotating platter on which a record is placed. The general requirements for such disks are, firstly, the minimum tendency to extraneous vibrations (to avoid interference), and secondly, massiveness (in order to ensure a constant speed even with minor flaws in the operation of the motor). Based on this, manufacturers select materials for platters. Specific options might be:

— Metal. Durable, massive and at the same time very solid looking material, is one of the most popular among modern "turntables" of all price categories.

— Plastic. Plastic is generally inferior to metal in terms of weight and vibration resistance, however, these shortcomings are not critical, and some varieties of this material are completely devoid of them. At the same time, the cost of plastic discs is relatively low. They are found in both inexpensive and fairly advanced players.

— Acrylic. A somewhat more advanced material than plastic, making it more common in mid to high end turntables.

— MDF. It is also fiberboard — fiberboard. MDF is somewhat lighter than metal, but it is characterized by excellent resistance to extraneous vibrations, and in some models it is also used for aesthetic reasons — in pair with a body made of the same material (see "Bas...e material").

— Glass. Glass discs are massive and resist unnecessary vibrations quite well, besides, they can be completely transparent and give the “turntable” an original appearance. At the same time, they are fragile and expensive, despite the fact that glass does not have any special advantages over other popular materials. Therefore, this option has not received much distribution.

— Ceramics. Another rather exotic material used not so much for practical reasons as for design and marketing purposes. The specific composition of ceramics can be different, but all such disks differ, on the one hand, in massiveness and vibration resistance, and on the other hand, in high cost and fragility.

Note that discs made of the same material can differ markedly in quality — in addition to the composition, the properties of the disc are determined by its weight, see below. In general, manufacturers, usually, select an option that matches the price category of the player.

Also note that, in addition to solid discs, "sandwiches" are produced, made up of layers of different materials. For such cases, the main material of the disk is indicated in the characteristics.

The thickness of the disc on which the record is placed. Other things being equal, a thicker disc will be more massive and, accordingly, stable, and will also be better able to cope with extraneous vibrations. Therefore, in high-end models, the thickness of the disc can exceed 100 mm.