SCompRacer
03-06-2007, 10:06 AM
I don't have the original box and packing so LOCAL pickup only. [SOLD] There were no local buyers so a box was obtained and it was shipped to George.
For sale, one Rega Planar 2 with R200 arm, Grado Gold MM cartridge, Michell record clamp, a basic MM phono pre amp to get you going if you don’t have one, and an inexpensive stylus pressure gauge. SOLD. I log my playing time to keep track of tube hours, and the cartridge only had 28 hours on it before the table was set aside. I acquired a different table recently upon my return to vinyl and no longer need this one. I bought the cartridge new in 2006, and Grado does sell a replacement stylus for it should it become damaged or worn out. I don’t have the glass to take a good hi magnification image of the stylus but it can be visually inspected with a jeweler’s loupe I have here. The phono pre amp isn’t the best but wasn’t awful either. All can be demo’d here if desired.
The table has the original motor with o ring mounting, glass platter and felt matt. The o ring mounted motor can make a knocking noise on startup with these tables as it moves in the mounting from getting the platter turning, but this one doesn’t. I always gave the platter a slight spin with the Michell clamp knob before flipping the switch on as these motors don’t have much torque. I also believe it adds belt life if they don’t slip so much while getting the platter up to speed. To get 45RPM you need to remove the platter and move the belt on the motor pulley. I don’t have any 45RPM record adapters to include with the table. The sub platter is original and the belt is in good condition. The bearing is in good condition and was cleaned and re-lubed by me. If you try and pull the sub platter up, you would find a good suction holding it back. Per the Vinyl Engine, the R200 arm was made in Japan for Rega and has a removable head shell. You would find them installed on early Rega Planar2/3 tables. After ’83, Rega started making their own arms designating them RB (Rega Britian). The R200 was a great arm back in the day but IMO is not worthy of the best in cartridges today. There is no VTA (Vertical Tracking Angle) or Azimuth adjustments. As it is, there is a slight downward rake of the cartridge and it sounds pretty good. Aftermarket VTA adjusters are available, and a good used RB250 or RB300 arm would be a major upgrade for the table.
The tone arm bearings are not sloppy nor do they bind. The arm passes the swing and bob test. I upgraded the wiring in the arm with a larger gauge silver coated copper wire. Only the head shell connector was removed for the wiring upgrade, the bearings were not disturbed. I believe someone before me had upgraded the arm leads with good quality short coax with female RCA’s so you will need IC’s to connect the table to a phono pre amp. (A pair of generic IC’s are included with the phono pre amp). Cardas solder was used throughout. The included stylus gauge read 3 tenths of a gram light compared to my electronic scale, so I calibrated it by placing a mark on the plastic pivot scale using the X2 balance point that equals 1.5 grams on my digital scale.
I read that it is common to find the anti-skate knob belt broken on the R200 arms, but it is not broken on this arm. You can test the R200 arm anti-skate by setting the tone arm to balance evenly above the platter, and then turn the anti-skate knob from 0 to 2.0. The belt turns magnets at the base of the tone arm that will cause the arm to move. If the belt is broke, the arm won’t move. There is a tiny nub under the anti-skate knob that prevents the dial from spinning 360 degrees, so one should never force the knob counter-clockwise past 0 or clock-wise past 2.2.
The not so good. The dust cover had a piece broken out at the right front corner that was reattached by me. The glue job was nicely done, but the crack is still visible. When I got the table a terminal was broke off the bottom of the tone arm and I had to grind some plastic away to expose the remaining connector to solder to. When I removed the arm, I always supported the coax so it didn’t swing around in the breeze. I did replace one broken hinge on the dust cover. Also included are copies of the Rega manual downloaded from The Vinyl Engine. the dust cover has some swirl marks and the wood frame around the plinth has bears some scars. A Rega stylus setup gauge was downloaded and laser printed. I calibrated it to a “Once” set up protractor.
For sale, one Rega Planar 2 with R200 arm, Grado Gold MM cartridge, Michell record clamp, a basic MM phono pre amp to get you going if you don’t have one, and an inexpensive stylus pressure gauge. SOLD. I log my playing time to keep track of tube hours, and the cartridge only had 28 hours on it before the table was set aside. I acquired a different table recently upon my return to vinyl and no longer need this one. I bought the cartridge new in 2006, and Grado does sell a replacement stylus for it should it become damaged or worn out. I don’t have the glass to take a good hi magnification image of the stylus but it can be visually inspected with a jeweler’s loupe I have here. The phono pre amp isn’t the best but wasn’t awful either. All can be demo’d here if desired.
The table has the original motor with o ring mounting, glass platter and felt matt. The o ring mounted motor can make a knocking noise on startup with these tables as it moves in the mounting from getting the platter turning, but this one doesn’t. I always gave the platter a slight spin with the Michell clamp knob before flipping the switch on as these motors don’t have much torque. I also believe it adds belt life if they don’t slip so much while getting the platter up to speed. To get 45RPM you need to remove the platter and move the belt on the motor pulley. I don’t have any 45RPM record adapters to include with the table. The sub platter is original and the belt is in good condition. The bearing is in good condition and was cleaned and re-lubed by me. If you try and pull the sub platter up, you would find a good suction holding it back. Per the Vinyl Engine, the R200 arm was made in Japan for Rega and has a removable head shell. You would find them installed on early Rega Planar2/3 tables. After ’83, Rega started making their own arms designating them RB (Rega Britian). The R200 was a great arm back in the day but IMO is not worthy of the best in cartridges today. There is no VTA (Vertical Tracking Angle) or Azimuth adjustments. As it is, there is a slight downward rake of the cartridge and it sounds pretty good. Aftermarket VTA adjusters are available, and a good used RB250 or RB300 arm would be a major upgrade for the table.
The tone arm bearings are not sloppy nor do they bind. The arm passes the swing and bob test. I upgraded the wiring in the arm with a larger gauge silver coated copper wire. Only the head shell connector was removed for the wiring upgrade, the bearings were not disturbed. I believe someone before me had upgraded the arm leads with good quality short coax with female RCA’s so you will need IC’s to connect the table to a phono pre amp. (A pair of generic IC’s are included with the phono pre amp). Cardas solder was used throughout. The included stylus gauge read 3 tenths of a gram light compared to my electronic scale, so I calibrated it by placing a mark on the plastic pivot scale using the X2 balance point that equals 1.5 grams on my digital scale.
I read that it is common to find the anti-skate knob belt broken on the R200 arms, but it is not broken on this arm. You can test the R200 arm anti-skate by setting the tone arm to balance evenly above the platter, and then turn the anti-skate knob from 0 to 2.0. The belt turns magnets at the base of the tone arm that will cause the arm to move. If the belt is broke, the arm won’t move. There is a tiny nub under the anti-skate knob that prevents the dial from spinning 360 degrees, so one should never force the knob counter-clockwise past 0 or clock-wise past 2.2.
The not so good. The dust cover had a piece broken out at the right front corner that was reattached by me. The glue job was nicely done, but the crack is still visible. When I got the table a terminal was broke off the bottom of the tone arm and I had to grind some plastic away to expose the remaining connector to solder to. When I removed the arm, I always supported the coax so it didn’t swing around in the breeze. I did replace one broken hinge on the dust cover. Also included are copies of the Rega manual downloaded from The Vinyl Engine. the dust cover has some swirl marks and the wood frame around the plinth has bears some scars. A Rega stylus setup gauge was downloaded and laser printed. I calibrated it to a “Once” set up protractor.