I tested this record player for a month — and it reminds me why I love vinyl in the first place

There’s something special about the Rega Planar 1 Plus. Yes, it sounds excellent, and yes, it looks lovely in the walnut hue that I’ve been sent to review. But now, as I box it up to send back to Rega, I feel refreshed in my love of the format.

There’s a tangible sense of a vinyl fanaticism that oozes from every pore of the Rega Planar 1 Plus. If you’re looking to get into vinyl, this is the way to do it.

As a completely manual turntable, the Planar 1 Plus isn’t going to please absolutely everyone. But at a relatively affordable $599 price, its excellent sound quality and simple styling are going to find a home on a number of sideboards.

You’ll need to add in some of the best bookshelf speakers, or even hook it up to a traditional stereo system, but the rewards for your work are plenty.

It’s one of the best record players that I’ve ever tested — let me tell you why.

Rega Planar 1 Plus review: Price and availability

As with everything at the moment, you’re going to spend more on the Planar 1 Plus in the US than you will in its native UK. If you reside in ol’ blighty, you’ll pay £399 — an incredible price for a very accomplished beginner turntable.

In the U.S., the turntable costs slightly more. It's $599. With other devices that have risen in price on their trip to the United States, I’ve said you should grab their cheaper US-based equivalents.

Not so with the Rega Planar 1 Plus. This thing is an absolute stunner, and it's worth every one of those five hundred and ninety-nine dollars. It outperforms the also excellent U-Turn Orbit Special, and costs around the same.

Rega Planar 1 Plus review: Design and build

• Solid wooden plinth
• Plastic platter
• Hidden belt drive

The Planar 1 Plus is about as simple as turntables get. There’s a wooden plinth, a tonearm and a plastic platter. All of the belt drive mechanics are hidden under the platter for a very clean, minimalist look.

It’s a sound design for turntables at this kind of price range, although it sets itself apart with the P1 branding in the lower right-hand corner.

You could say that the Planar 1 Plus looks boring as a result, but I think it’s a very attractive turntable. The simple design means it fits into loads of interior decor styles, and it doesn’t draw attention to itself with loud colors.

The other two color options beyond the walnut finish I have here are matte white and black. It’s a classy turntable, and that’s echoed in its color options.

The build quality here is brilliant. Everything feels very well screwed together, and the tonearm could easily have come from something far more expensive.

While the plastic platter and its shiny sides could take away from the premium feel, I find it’s easy to ignore in the grand scheme of what is otherwise a solid, attractive deck.

Rega Planar 1 Plus review: Features

• Built-in pre-amp...
• ...That can’t be turned off
• Manual operation

The Planar 1 Plus is a manual turntable, which means you have to change the speed between 33 and 45RPM yourself.

The belt drive mechanism is hidden below the platter, so you need to take it off to switch speeds. That’s slightly more annoying than other decks and their ‘around the platter’ design (like Pro-jects manual models).

The small drive wheels make it much easier to swap speeds in the long run. I didn’t spend 15 minutes changing the speed whenever I wanted to listen to a different record, as situating the belt is much simpler. Just move the belt from the 45 position to 33, and vice versa.

Other turntables at this price offer electronic speed control, which might be a consideration if you like easier operation. If you want the most analog device possible, however, the Rega Planar 1 Plus is more than happy to provide.

The headline feature is the built-in phone pre-amp. You don’t have to worry about buying a separate device to listen to records over some powered speakers or when connecting the turntable to one of the best Bluetooth speakers with an AUX cable.

The phono pre-amp is the Fono Mini A2D, a well-regarded model. Note that the pre-amp can’t be turned off, so if you’ve already got a pre-amp or there’s one built into your listening equipment, you’ll want the pre-amp-less Planar 1.

The pre-amp is excellent. It delivers boundless energy and dynamism while still carrying the signature vinyl warmth that draws so many of us in.

Vibration-dampened feet round out the feature set. They make sure that unwanted vibrations in the room don’t make their way to the cartridge as it skirts your record. The feet work well — I could jump up and down on the other side of the room, and I didn’t upset the stylus during playback.

Rega Planar 1 Plus review: Sound quality

• Loads of energy
• Incredible detail
• Solid low end

As always, the Planar 1 Plus was tested with Tom’s Guides reference system. That’s a pair of KEF LS50 Metas and an NAD C399. The built-in pre-amp means I didn’t need to use my own phono stage.

What I heard was nothing short of remarkable for the price. I was immediately struck by the energy of the music, with plenty of “get up and go” to even the laziest of tracks. Mix it with excellent high-end detail and top-notch spatial imaging, and you’ve a recipe for success.

It’s more dynamic than the similarly priced U-turn option, with Rega’s homemade carbon cartridge outperforming the Ortofon 2M Red. Perhaps a little low end gets lost when things get busier, but that’s nitpicking when the rest sounds so good.

While not as forward as other options from Pro-ject or U-turn, the low end is still tight and effortlessly controlled. I loved every second of my testing with the Planar 1 Plus, and it makes me wonder what the rest of the Planar lineup sounds like.

There’s something intangible about the sound. I could write thousands of words about how the turntable performs, but there’s perhaps more interest in saying how it made me feel. It was like I was discovering my favorite vinyl all over again.

Bloodbath’s Zombie Inferno sounded as good as it ever has, with blistering distorted guitars picked out with stunning detail and a driving drum beat that shook the floor. I couldn’t hear anything new coming from the track. I’ve listened to it hundreds of times on more expensive hardware than this.

But as Nick Holmes and Blakkheim growled at me about being eaten alive, I forgot I was supposed to be testing. Critical listening went out of the window, and I became lost in the music. Before I knew it, the stylus was in the run-out groove.

Eagerly, I placed Dua Lipa on the platter. The same thing again. The pulsating bass lines may not have been the lowest, but they were dynamic and fun. Dua’s voice was crystal clear…

I got lost again. There’s just something about how the package of the Planar 1 Plus comes together when playing, and it makes for an engaging, enjoyable listen.

Rega Planar 1 Plus review: Verdict

Looking for your first serious turntable? This is it. Rega just seems to get vinyl. Pro-ject makes similar-looking equipment, and the likes of the Debut Evo 2 are excellent, but they’ve never managed to make me forget that I was testing something.

The Planar 1 Plus whisked me away to a place where there was nothing but the music. Are there some slight problems? Of course there are, nothing’s perfect. I’d like to be able to turn the pre-amp off, and electronic speed control would be nice.

But I’ve never been taken aback by something quite like the Rega Planar 1 Plus. More expensive options will obviously outperform it, but there’s a soul living inside the deck that I just can’t ignore.

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