Rega RP10 User Manual

Turntable

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CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION / EVOLUTION OF REVOLUTION 1

TURNTABLE DESIGN & MYTHOLOGY 2

DESIGN AND INNOVATION 3-7

SETTING UP YOUR RB2000 7

SETTING UP YOUR TURNTABLE 8

CONNECTING THE CUSTOM POWER SUPPLY 9

POWER SUPPLY FRONT PANEL CONTROLS 10

CARE OF THE TURNTABLE 11-12

TRANSPORTING YOUR TURNTABLE 12

OWNERS LOG 13

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INTRODUCTION

The RP10 has been designed and engineered to achieve outstanding performance.
Excellent build quality, reliability and ease of use combine to make a product which, if
used correctly, will offer you a lifetime of musical enjoyment.

The RP10 takes Rega’s design philosophy further than ever before. A radical new plinth
using custom designed materials, a new tonearm bearing assembly, a 24V low voltage
motor controlled by a hand tuned electronic power supply and a custom version of our
engineered hub bearing assembly. These are just some of the features of this amazing
new turntable designed to extract more music from your vinyl than ever before.

THE EVOLUTION OF REVOLUTION

Evolution is a well proven and documented process in many areas of our lives. This
applies in particular to design engineers and machines. Over the past forty years our
cars have become more reliable and economical whilst we take for granted the safety
and speed of modern aircraft. Rega is no exception to evolution. Rega’s experience and
previous achievements allows us to continually develop and produce better products.

The RP8 & RP10 represents probably the biggest step forward in the evolution of Roy
Gandy’s turntable design philosophies. Low mass, high rigidity plinths combined with
electronically controlled low vibration motors, high flywheel effect platters and lower
mass, higher stability tonearms. The RP10 is the second generation of our “skeletal”
design turntables offering groundbreaking levels of performance.

1

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2

TURNTABLE DESIGN & MYTHOLOGY

Today there are many approaches to hi-fi design which follow established and informed
engineering or electronic principles. Amplifier and loudspeaker design have been well
documented over the years with excellent technical publications. These subjects have
been based on tried and tested acoustic criteria and many computer software
programs now exist that enable a near amateur to design a passable working
loudspeaker based on known acoustic and mathematical parameters.

When it comes to turntable design we are limited to a few poorly informed articles
describing only very limited aspects of design. This is a subject full of mythology.
Designers propose theories that counter the basic laws of physics, use terminology
that doesn’t actually exist in the engineering world, build products that are more like
beautiful sculptures than acoustic reproduction machines and sell items costing tens
of thousands of pounds that hardly function as intended and often fail to work at all. For
instance, a very common myth is “the heavier the better”. Turntable bases weighing
tens of kilograms are not uncommon. The reality is that the base actually needs to be
as light as possible to prevent unwanted bearing and motor noise being transferred to
the turntable or record. Platters also fall under a similar myth with many platter
designs becoming so heavy that it is impossible to design a correctly functioning
bearing (and some so light that anyone can hear the speed inconsistency). The
turntable platter itself needs to be of enough weight to spin at a constant speed within
the confines of the chosen bearing and motor drive system. Many amateur designers
choose one component in a design and try to achieve an extreme in size, weight and
quality. They believe that by taking one theory to its extreme, the design will become
“perfect”. The reality of all engineering, design (and life) is that perfection is not
possible. Based on this reality, Rega’s goal has always been to optimise a mixture of
numerous “correct compromises” thus bringing the designer nearer to the
unachievable goal of perfection.

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3

DESIGN AND INNOVATION

SKELETAL PLINTH DESIGN WITH POLYOLEFIN FOAM CORE

Controversially, Rega has always researched methods of producing light but stiff and
rigid plinths. The technology is simple: unwanted noise at microscopic levels is
developed by the turntable motor and main bearing. The plinth can also pick up airborne
vibration from the music. From it’s beginning in the 1970’s, Rega pioneered the use of a
stressed skin structure for the plinth. This uses two layers of phenolic resin with a
lightweight particle or fibre board sandwiched between the skins. This technique has
been used in many applications where stiff, light structures are needed, such as an
aircraft wing or a Formula 1 chassis.

The current revival in turntables has allowed Rega to research and develop higher
technology structures for the customer who is happy to pay a little more for higher
sound quality. The RP8 & RP10 turntables utilise a unique stressed skin structure
produced from thin phenolic skins sandwiching a featherweight, nitrogen expanded,
closed cell, polyolefin foam core. This material has been developed exclusively for Rega
over a three year period. The RP10 plinth is seven times lighter than the weight of the
original Planar 3 plinth. In addition Rega has added even more stiffness in the crucial
area between the arm and the main bearing.

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