I have to respond to Chakster's question about belt wear/speed of table.
There is an app (RPM) where you can test the rpms on your table. Mine is at 33.26 and 44.9 respectively, the slightly slower rotation due to the weight of my iPhone on the platter versus weight of a record I am sure. You know the physics fact that measuring anything reduces it's speed if some (even minuscule) weight is added to it. Even with that , it's off by about .2%. Exactly the same at both speeds.
The higher level Regas use 2 parallel belts so there is even less worry about elasticity of the belt. On my last Rega, after 9 years, they guy said it was fine, but just replace it for $30 since I was upgrading the arm. These are not rubber bands, but highly developed perfectly cylindrical belts that are short (unlike others I've seen that look stretched on unnamed belt drive tables made in NJ) and chemically manufactured to maintain their elasticity over great stretches of time.
The lower torque is all part of the Rega philosophy which makes sense. Lowest possible weight of the platter and table connection to the arm base and the highest rigidity will give you the least amount of effort possible to spin the platter. No record weights or big heavy contraptions to "add stability". With less force there is less friction, effort and torque which leads to much less internal noise absorbed by the arm/cartridge transmitted through the system. That's why they sound so completely transparent. Give it a try! You might see the light like I did 20 years ago.
There is an app (RPM) where you can test the rpms on your table. Mine is at 33.26 and 44.9 respectively, the slightly slower rotation due to the weight of my iPhone on the platter versus weight of a record I am sure. You know the physics fact that measuring anything reduces it's speed if some (even minuscule) weight is added to it. Even with that , it's off by about .2%. Exactly the same at both speeds.
The higher level Regas use 2 parallel belts so there is even less worry about elasticity of the belt. On my last Rega, after 9 years, they guy said it was fine, but just replace it for $30 since I was upgrading the arm. These are not rubber bands, but highly developed perfectly cylindrical belts that are short (unlike others I've seen that look stretched on unnamed belt drive tables made in NJ) and chemically manufactured to maintain their elasticity over great stretches of time.
The lower torque is all part of the Rega philosophy which makes sense. Lowest possible weight of the platter and table connection to the arm base and the highest rigidity will give you the least amount of effort possible to spin the platter. No record weights or big heavy contraptions to "add stability". With less force there is less friction, effort and torque which leads to much less internal noise absorbed by the arm/cartridge transmitted through the system. That's why they sound so completely transparent. Give it a try! You might see the light like I did 20 years ago.