REPRODUCED FROM HI-FICHOICE
Sound quality The latest Planar 3 is com fortably the best-sounding turntable in this group by som e distance;the only deckshere to rival it are the Edwards Audio and Roksan oferings,though these provide a diferent sound ratherthanasuperiorone.Keyto the Rega’sperform ance isitssense oftidines , orderand poise,plussuperforensic detail retrievaland vanishingly low surface noise. Itcom esacros asa m uch m ore expensive deckthan itrealyhasanyrightto. Noteveryone wil ike to hearrecordsin this way;itm ightbe too analyticalor‘hi-fi’for som e,yetthe Planarrealy getsthe basics right.The Kraftwerktrack,forexam ple,isa revelation; I’ve heard poorly setup Linn LP12s do worse.Through a good system , you can hearrightinto the recording and get vast am ounts of inform ation out.Yet thisdeck neverm achine-gunsdetailoutat you,being com posed ataltim es. Its slightly cerebralcharacter fals behind justa touch with the louche jaz ofDave Brubeck,however.W hileitdoesaltheright thingsand ofersup an expansive and tidily organised soundstage,itdoesn’tquitehave the swing of the Roksan or even the EdwardsAudio.Itsoundsm ore controled than any other deck in the group and at tim es that’s highly satisfying,butatothers you wish itwould letitshairdown abit.Al the sam e,it’s a hootwith a wel recorded rock track like Don’t Stop, giving a very sm ooth but nuanced sound to al the instrum entsand speeding along withlotsof gusto –staying calm and com posed on the dynam ic clim axes.Bas is taut,tight and strong,butnotbloated;treble isverysweet and crisp yet not rounded of. The end result is a suprem e turntable that’s m ore than happy in the com pany of far m ore expensive am psand speakersthan itsrivals. “The latestPlanar3 is com fortably the best-sounding turntable here”
MUSICATHOME+ 17
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