Regardless of what the manual says, experience confirms that gyroscopes on phones are inherently inaccurate. In fact, I've tested multiple phones on the same turntable at the same time and have had varying results so please buy a stroboscope which is THE accurate way to measure this. You'll see that the speed does not need to be calibrated for every play session at all. It's set and forget. You can check it out once a year if you feel like it but it takes a loooong time before belts loosen up. I've played mine for 2.5 years and the speed hasn't changed a wink. Setting that aside, the belt will loosen up a little bit over time and a very slight adjustment to the speed controller will be required to compensate. A couple more years later, another adjustment. Eventually, after many many years, the current belt will loosen up to the point where it will need to be changed. But that may be in 5 or 7 years or so.
@Strat-Mangler thanks that is helpful! I think I can feel better about returning the speed controller to factory settings and "set and forget it." I've owned the RP-10 for about 4 years and it was used too so I think I might go ahead and change the belts as well. I will be disregarding the RPM app moving forward which shows sometimes a pretty significant 1%-2% variation from desired speed. I can't bring myself to spend another $120 on a Rega strobe that I will only use 1x a year and likely not need anyway.
I can respect that. Truthfully, the idea of doing that wasn't fun for me but I felt a turntable of that caliber needed to run at 100% accurate speed. No regrets from me since I'm happy with the result and am delighted to know I now have access to an accurate measurement device whenever I feel like confirming whether it's still dead-on.
It'd need to be printed at 100% scale which some people are unaware of how to do. How would he check the speed once it's printed, though?
The vinyl engine version comes with a printed scale measure you can check with a ruler. Works with an incandescent light bulb.
It's possible, in a very, very dark room, for an incandescent lamp to work, but I've personally never been able to do it. In the absence of a proper handheld strobe, fluorescent lamps work best - a small handheld unit of some sort, not a ceiling or table lamp. Nope. The question is, what prompted you to check speed in the first place? If it was on the same whim we all get from time to time, well, understood. But as @Strat-Mangler posted above, despite what the Rega manual might say about the RPM app it's not reliably accurate at all, at least not where precise rotational speed measurement to two decimal places is concerned. Just when I think my iPhone is perfectly positioned to do yet another frustrating speed accuracy analysis of the RPM app vs. yet another turntable, I find that a slight repositioning produces a different result that tells me the turntable speed of (xxx turntable) that I thought was off is actually spot on. Then, during a third or fourth check, the RPM app produces yet more different results. Blech. The RPM app has several useful applications, but IMO checking turntable speed is not one of them. Here's a real good article on stroboscopes for turntables: All About Stroboscopes The one and only (best!) way to check rotational speed accuracy - because, as audiophiles, we sometimes just can't resist checking rotation speed even when we're not hearing anything wrong - is with the relatively inexpensive kit from KAB Acoustics here: KAB Electro Acoustics http://www.kabusa.com KAB is well-regarded and many SHF'ers own this $110 kit. I've got two - one that stays home, and one that is seriously beaten up stashed in my setup kit.
The one I describe and linked to in the 4th post of this mega-review thread, IIRC. Simple and useful product.
Hello, Has anyone with a P10 upgraded the power cord on the power supply? If so, which one and to what effect? Rega sells a cable so I suspect there may be some benefit with this tweak. Also, Does anyone add vibration control to power supply such as Herbies Tenderfeet? Thanks! Bob
Firstly, thanks for the incredibly detailed review, Strat. I upgraded to the P8 a year ago (with a Dynavector cart, as it would happen) and have been delighted with the results. Interestingly, as per your review, the thing that really jumped out was the naturalistic bass. Guitar is my first instrument, and so I do notice the presentation of string instruments - and particularly guitars. I can only imagine that the P10 improves on the P8. The biggest complement I can give your review is that despite being nothing but satisfied with the P8, you’ve now got me wondering One thing I did want to mention is that I live in an old Victorian house with sprung wooden floors. And so vibration and footfall are a real issue - particularly given the low mass of Rega TTs. For me, the Rega wallmount was a proper game changer. Not only did it address the risk of heavy feet, but it does seem to have reduced the noise floor - to a noticeable degree. Which I did find surprising. I fully get that it may not be necessary or practicable for you. But thought I would mention it. The only thing I would add is that it is a bit of a beggar to fit and get completely level. And the look is an acquired taste. But, I’d argue, it is a more elegant looking solution that a concrete block .
Fantastic thread creation and review Strat Mangler. Well done. The setup of this thing seemed like a bear and made me wince. Also made me happy that my setup was performed by an accomplished technician. How has stability been since initial setup? And have you compared this table to others in a similar price range? I recently upgraded to a Pure Fidelity with Origen tonearm and must say I am over the moon about it in a similar way you are to the P10. Or maybe more. I was really happy with my VPI Scout 50% of the time, somewhat happy 20% of the time, and ready to destroy it 30% of the time. I couldn't recommend that type of tonearm setup to anyone, but I'm sort of clumsy. I need everything to be bulletproof.
Firstly, thank you very much for the kind words. Oh, it is pretty straightforward but I wanted to explore and look into how things can be improved. Most people will likely just want to plug it in and perform the standard setup Rega suggests. From unboxing to playing a record, you're looking at roughly 20 min if you take your time so it's as plug & play as a TOTL turntable can be, really. Stability has been rock-solid, as I would expect it would be for a turntable of this caliber and price. There have been no comparisons done with other turntables in this price range for a variety of reasons. Firstly, my friend had experienced this specific turntable in contrast to the VPI Prime which we both owned and I was intrigued by a (somewhat guaranteed) significant upgrade in SQ across the board so I therefore was not wholly interested in hunting for merely the possibility of perhaps a slight SQ in some respects by looking at other brands/models. Secondly, no shop I've contacted in the last few years was interested in providing me with in-home trials, even on in-store demo units on display, regardless of approach. That meant that I was taking a flyer on the new turntable. Due to many factors, Canadians typically will pay through the nose on imported goods but it's only because I got such a steal of a deal on this model that I did it since I knew I'd be able to sell it at no loss if it didn't *greatly* impress me. It thankfully did which is how the VPI Prime was quickly put on the market afterward. With a (then) 4-year old son, a full-time job, and other commitments, I don't have time to spend driving to a bunch of stores and listen to many turntables. And in any case, all those systems would be wholly different from mine, making the comparisons more challenging to gauge anyway. This was the case of clicking the mouse a few times, having a new turntable show up that a trusted friend who doesn't exaggerate stated performed significantly better than what I had, and at a price I wouldn't lose anything on resell. The choice was easy to give it a try. Those types of situations almost never happen so it was a happy set of circumstances that led me to discover what is my endgame turntable. I completely understand and empathize. The VPI fought me in many respects and I didn't enjoy it a lot of the time because of how it was high-maintenance - it'd drift in setup, exhibit odd problems I'd have to look for solutions for, it had an odd tonearm, odd fishing wire anti-skate system, the belts' tension would drift needing me to constantly change where the motor would be next to the plinth, etc. Some may enjoy it and that's all good but the VPI and I were like oil and water. Every time I play music with the Rega, there's no stress whatsoever. Just smiles and enjoyment.
Thank you for these responses. I'm glad you didn't take my questions as combative, as I just went through a very similar process and am genuinely curious. I'm in a similar state of bliss, and I told my salesperson that the Pure Fidelity is the single nicest piece of audio equipment I've ever bought or owned. Your description of the vagaries surrounding keeping a VPI Scout tuned are spot on, it's interesting to me that about half the VPI owners I discussed this with state no issue at all, whereas the rest are like you and me.
In my audio journey, the VPI Prime with the unipivot tonearm was my 2nd turntable and I assumed the level of drift and the high-maintenance was par for the course. No other VPI user ever expressed anything I brought up as an issue as odd or something that should never happen. For some of those users experiencing a similar level of hands-on need for constant recalibration or experiencing issue with this or that part, it might just be all that they're used to and think it should be. Fiddling constantly is time that could be better served by *actual* music listening. My 2 cents.
