Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
I have owned this table for almost a year now. It has performed flawlessly in every way. Those who bash this table may want to look elsewhere in their system for shortcomings. My Planar 3 is equipped with an
RB-600 tonearm and Denon DL103 Cartridge. The motor runs extremely quiet. Speed accuracy is right on(stock motor) and I have never had any hum or wow/flutter issues. Mine sits on a target wall mount shelf.
If yours is sitting on the top of a stereo rack, I am sure this table, as anything other than megabuck tables, will have wow and flutter issues from floor vibrations. I chose this table over the much touted music hall MMF5 and 7 and the project xpression 1&3. It just sounds RIGHT!!!

Price Paid:  $240.00 from ebay

Summary:
The Planar 3 was my first introduction to vinyl. I spent some time finding a turntable that not only would suit my pocket but one that could grow with my new found taste for records. I searched hard and eventually bought a pristine Planar 3 with RB300 and new Goldring 1012GX cartridge, however I initially had some problems with set up - the speed just seemed to be too slow. I later found out that not only had the motor pulley had not been correctly fitted (It needs a good hard push onto the motor spindle to spin at the correct RPM.), a third party pulley had been supplied with the deck. Rega originals are the only belt to use - third party ones can put too much strain on the motor and and slow down the RPM. I bought a new Rega pulley, and everything sounded great from there on.

Nirvana unplugged just never sounded so good. It is such a simple deck to use, just one button, on and off. I don't like the idea of extra circuitry for 33/45 rpm switches. On the rare occasion I play a 45 it is no real hassle to lift the platter and put the belt onto the larger pulley rung.

The Planar 3 is a budget turntable at it's roots, but it has such huge potential. I started to tweak things as I began to hear some weaknesses in comparison to other decks. I bought best quality military grade coax cable, rewired the RB300 and extended the RCA leads so that I could isolate the turntable several meters away from my amp and speakers. The Planar 3 is fairly unsubstantial in weight so it can suffer badly from vibration. The answer was 12kg of granite and isolation pods. The next move was an Expressimo VTA adjuster from Elusive Disc, which with some experimenting helped balance the over-heavy bass. The addition of an Iron Audio acrylic platter finished the job, with a fuller and more coherent presentation to the music. Miles Davis' - Someday My Prince Will Come had so much more instrumental separation and depth.

If you are considering getting into vinyl I wholeheartedly recommend this turntable. A true bargain and with so many third party upgrades it is possible to make substantial improvements over the standard deck.

Strengths:
Price
Ease of use
Superb arm (RB300)

Weaknesses:
none at this price

Similar Products Used:
Michell Gyrodec
Linn LP12
Garrard 401

Price Paid:  $500.00 from Audio Alternative, L

Summary:
I am fascinated at the trouble people have had listed in the recent reviews. I bought this thing used with the standard cartridge from my favorite audio shop per their recommendation. It has performed absolutely flawlessly for three years. It has been absolutely stable with no (audible at least) wow, absolutely quiet, wonderful tone - certainly compared to the Garrard I had before as well as a decent Technics that I hooked up to a/b with. Oh yeah - not a scratch or a finish problem anywhere, except for a few on the cover from being 'pre-owned.'

Strengths:
Like I said, flawless.

Weaknesses:
Don't know how long the belts last - but easy to replace. I've heard a better cartridge would improve things.

Similar Products Used:
Garrard, Technics, Philips

Price Paid:  $1195.00 from local audio shop

Summary:
Functionalist belt-drive TT with basic features and timeless "elegance".

Strengths:
-Build quality,
-Legendary tonearm,
-Performance, (punch)
-Soundstage,
-Value-for-money.

I bought this TT in the early nineties as an cheaper alternative to a Linn (which in my opinion are quite overpriced). Price in Dutch Guilders in early nineties.

In the last fifteen years, my system has been upgraded, quite substantially, from tube-orientated to what it consists of today.
To be more specific; the Planar 3 is now part of a system of components comprising such as; Krell Class A pre- and power- combo, Sonus Faber monitors, Cardas Cables etc.; most of these components costing many times the P3's price.

However, I still regard the Planar 3 of very good quality with depth, attack, soundstage & clarity. I suspect this TT to perform well above and possibly to multiple times it's price. (indeed the RB300 is mounted to many such TT's)
I own a very respectable Naim CD-player/FlatCap combo, but this TT competes more than favourably with it... (and that is understated)
But getting into a "CD-player vs. TT" discussion is not the reason for this review.

Possibly, just this combination of RB300 with the "budget" Elys cartridge by Rega performs to a level "more than the sum of it's parts", due to the 3 way mounting to the one-piece arm/headshell construction?
I also suspect this rigid one-piece construction to be the strength of the RB300. To me, a dismountable headshell should always be of a lesser construction than this? But then, I'm not a mechanical engineer.

I simply can not relate to the less-favourable reviews below, having owned this deck for over 15 years; A damaged deck should not be accepted and I suspect the Planar 3 not to respond as it should on so called "tweaks". I do not see the need for such "tweaks" anyhow; just play the darn thing!
Realistically tweaking the Planar 3 will quickly amount to prices which can better be spent on a Michell or Transrotor TT IMHO.

I am now contemplating on a Gyro SE by Michell; with my OWN RB300 to be mounted on it. I hope this TT to be of the same level of value-for-money as my Planar 3...

Best Regards, Jilles.

Weaknesses:
-Signal cable is somewhat "cheapish" and not to be switched-sensibly.
-Drive belt can feel a little "loose", with the need for assisting the platter in starting up. (has never needed to be changed up to this date)
-Dust cover hinges look quite weak as they do not hinge, but fold. Have been performing flawlessly for almost 15 years, though.....

Similar Products Used:
Multiple TTs, multiple price ranges.

Price Paid:  $550.00 from Audio Renaissance

Summary:
Very minimalist belt drive turntable with manual tonearm and nice styling.

Strengths:
Excellent tonearm, reminiscent of a Rek-O-Kut but without a removable headshell, that makes all my cartridges sound wonderful!

Weaknesses:
Audible flutter and wow because of underpowered drive mechanism ruins the sound of the wonderful tonearm, flimsy construction overall despite solid appearance, changing speeds is too cumbersome to be practical, glass platter rings, and the tonearm needed an improvised ground wire to reduce hum. Yes -- this turntable hums badly and needs a ground wire! No VTA adjustment. Cartridge clips break easily during installation.

Similar Products Used:
RCA 70D, Yamaha YP-D3, Dual 1249, 1225, 1218, 1214 and 1009-SK. Revox B795. Bang & Olufsen Beogram 4004. Even the RCA 70D blows it away -- and the RCA was made in 1940 and is driven by a worm gear! The only turntables I've owned that the Rega beats is the Dual 1214 and 1009-SK! All the others beat the Rega easily!