Rega Planar 2 Record Player Arrived Today - Initial Impressions After Unboxing

That looks very handsome indeed.

The rule of thumb is to set the bias to the same value as the tracking force, so 2 in your case. You will see conflicting advice online, and it is a rather inexact process, with lots of different suggested ways of finding the "correct" setting, but I wouldn't stress too much over any of that and just roll with the value of 2.

The Kallax is decent support to start out with. If you can fit a light but rigid wall shelf it will be an improvement, but if you can't I wouldn't stress it either, and just enjoy the music.

I bought my brand new P2 about 6 months ago when my Technics SL-5 died. I had the original carbon cartridge replaced with an AT-VM540ML and had it set up before I picked it up from the dealer, and I've been thrilled with it so far. The only thing I wished for was that the RCA plugs coming out of the unit weren't permanently installed. I ended up having to buy a phono stage due to my AVR's phono input was so wimpy. It just happened to be the Rega Phono MM Mk5, but it was worth it! Since then, whether it made any real difference or not, made an isolation base with 2 Walmart cutting boards and a couple sets of Home Depot rubber bumper squares. Total cost less than $35.

all to play a sheet of plastic lol

Nice table! Rega recommends setting your bias and tracking force to the same number. You set your tracking force to 2 grams, so slide your bias adjustment aka "anti skate" to 2. I had a Rega P2 for a while. I quickly swapped the stock carbon cartridge out for an Ortofon 2M Blue. Results were night & day awesome! You may want to check out the Steve Hoffman Forum. There are a lot of Rega owners/enthusiasts and many knowledgeable audiophiles who reside there. Check out the "Rega appreciation thread" if you head over there. Enjoy your vinyl on your new Rega!

Nagaoka make amazingly well balanced cartridges for speed and detail, I also love Grado for their warmer and more relaxed sound. I had a second hand 1982 Rega P3 for over a decade until the motor died, it had worked perfectly for 35 years. There is a huge variety of parts available for upgrades (feet, sub platter, dc conversion kits, tonearm wires etc) that can make Regas punch far above their weight. The only reason I didn't replace like for like (or repair) is that I got an outrageous deal on a michell gyrodec SE. Happy listening!

I bought my P2 25 years ago and never looked back...nice unit. I run an Ortofon Bronze and I'm very happy with the sound.

Great choice of turntable! But were you not tempted by the Planar 3? When I auditioned mine, I could hear an obvious improvement from the 2 to the 3 so pushed out my budget and got the 3 with a cheaper cart. The 3 is now running a Stanton 680MKII professional DJ cart and sounds better than ever.

Hi, hope you like the 2, I had 2 long time ago but have the 3 and got 2nd hand only 4 months old with brand new Elyis 2 cartridge for £499, but was originally going for the 2 , happy listening, regards mark

i owned a Rega Planar turntable some years ago, i must say the sound was very good despite the clunky design with plastic support base and a glass platter! it soon broke down and i sold it but i am convinced the magic in these lies in the fixed headshell tonearm, i used one of these tonearms in a Roksan Xerxes which sounded much much better, not in the same ball park as my Linn but a lot better than the Rega.

did you set the bias slider to 2 in the end ? its so confusing I balance to tone arm on 0 and then twist the counter with and then select2?