When faced with the same sort of choice a couple of years back I did my due diligence and from what I was able to glean from users and reviews spread over the net the equivalent Pro-ject won hands down on build quality for starters. If you're not averse to buying used/refurbished you could probably pick up a Debut Carbon for around the same price as a new Essential III

Now if you'd asked me this a year ago, I'd have said Project are cheaply built tat compared to Rega. Having bought an RP1 a few months ago it fell even below the standards of the project deck I'd owned. It also had a misshapen hub and platter and marks on the plinth that should have been picked up by QC. Loads of them have apparently left the factory like this which tells me all I need to know about Rega today. The build quality was also terrible. The materials used fell below any piece of audio equipment I've owned or encounter. Frankly it was so far downmarket from previous Rega's it should never have left the drawing board IMO. After this experience, I will never buy another new Rega product and I won't even buy any of their newer stuff used.

If you ask me about buying new, I'd say both brands lower level offerings are best avoided. Buy a used Rega 2 or 3 instead and enjoy something properly built.

One suggestion from me is for an Acoustic Research EB-101 if you fancy going for a secondhand belt drive deck. Cheaper than a new Rega and better sounding than most.

Just buy an old planar 2. If the new ones are crap, go for an old one with an rb250 on it.
Pre rb251, proper rb250 and stick that 1042 in it. Job done, no need to maintain it for them, just plonk and play.
Id rather get a proper planar 2 than an new one with a warranty, they are as simple as it gets, a monkey can use one without breaking it.

I like project decks, they are good value for money but if it gets broken its broken full stop. Damage a planar 2 and you can get the spares for them from anywhere.

Interesting posts. Thanks.
Especially the one about Rega build quality.

Any thoughts on this ?
 
www.wilkinsons.tv/?product=jvc-jla20



It world fit with her fear of queuing a bouncer.
 But is the sound any good ?

My take as a retailer, hands on with both makes, which is now receding into the distance admittedly, was that project decks lacked finesse in both finish and engineering, the results being variable. My cousin gave me a little used Debut II to play with and I couldn't believe how noisy (through the stylus to the system) the motor harmonics were. I bought the motor mounting kit they sell and it was improved but not eliminated. Apparently *some* of the dearer models aren't so dissimilar and of the ancient ones, I did like the Pro-ject 2 model, while finding the top models never quite 'made it' in musical terms for whatever reason.

As for Rega, this firm was once self-satisfied and insufferably smug, this going directly to Roy Gandy himself imo, but that changed for the better a good few years ago when competition started up. They make thousands of decks a month now and yes, the odd quality control issue got through, BUT, I have to say that any problem at all is immediately resolved with their apologies. These things shouldn't get through to the end user anyway, as the dealer should be setting every one up and doing a check before the client takes it away, as we used to - goes with the 'slurp' we were supposed to be wallowing in - cough -. Planar 1's and previous cheapest models go out through all manner of electrical stores though, so anything can happen. Planar 2's upwards though, should be dealer checked and set up at point of sale in my experience although I don't think this happens much now

I was chatting to my old Rega dealer pal this afternoon about this as some negative comments came my way this week about a couple of new Rega decks set up and running on dem at Audio T in Brighton with various 'faults' as observed. Apparently, other forums have had posts about posters' 'friends' with Regas with various complaints - platters not true as they rotate and noisy motors and so on. Sales manager Paul Darwin immediately replied to offer free replacement for any faulty parts and all he needed was the serial number. Apparently, NONE of these supposedly faulty-deck owners has come along to get their decks 'fixed.' Make of that what you will.

As someone professionally dealing with Rega from around 1978 to 2004, I have to stand up for their wonderful caring service which ALWAYS puts the end-user first! I didn't mind the sonics either and mid models were sold first with Linn K9's and latterly, Goldring 10** models (1042 in a RB300-Planar 3 was excellent I remember) and if you want beefier/softer, Grado Prestige or Sumiko Pearl, which is so similar in every way to the dear old R100 and A&R E77 we used to sell. I also set up a 2M bronze in an RP3 last year and it sounded really excellent I thought - VTA  can be fine tuned with downforce you know, not just messing around with tonearm height - been there and done it many times

I think you might have been expecting too much especially as I know you have owned some really good turntables. The issue you had is certainly common and reported on the Hoffman forum. I can't see it possible to build a decent product for £180 retail in the Uk and I know Gandy uses every engineering trick to achieve a low price. Situation with the P1  may be a lot better. I refer you to the Rega Tour video from Analogue Planet which I have posted on HFS. It appears that a lot more QC goes into the more expensive models and I doubt you would be disappointed with an RP8 or 10. However the Ultra lightweight construction they use for their take on achieving top sound does raise a lot of fit and finish issues to which a lot of attention can be applied on the high cost models. Personally I think you might be better off with a cheap Direct Drive with the USB bits disconnected than a bottom of the range Rega. If you want Planar 3 quality I suggest ponying up for a P3. Anyway I have ordered a Michell Orbe and SME arm as they provide a more solid balance between price and outright engineering quality.

It does look like a rouge batch got out of RP1. Looking at the Fremer video and way parts are supposed to be checked something went very wrong here and some people didn't do their job properly. I wander if there were inherent problems with the design and need to use cheaper materials to achieve a price. It is notable that the RP1 was relatively short lived and first to be replaced with the revived Planar name. I have not seen the same complaints so far about the new model. It is their biggest seller by far and demand is such they are knocking them out in large quantities, which with a hand assembled item can't be good for maintaining quality. Frankly never been a great fan of their turntables but liked what they can achieve with a modest priced arm. Also have had a used Phono for many years with issues eventually likely as a result of pulling tight interconnects on and off. If you check Hoffman you would steer clear of the cheapest Rega and Project models. The previous Carbon (pre DC) had horrendous noise issues that some could not cure even with extensive modifications. I'm pretty wary of the quality of decks that cost much less than £400 these days. At that price vintage may be a better option. I can heartily recommend the PLX 1000  that I bought as a stop gap. It is well above the cheap Regas and Projects in terms of build and sound.