Best TT under $1k

“Once burned, shame on you. Twice burned, shame on me.” 
At least you did better than George Bush!

No one expects you to sample every table Rega makes. But to make such derogatory comments like “ I’ll take my chances on REAL (my caps) tables” when your experience has been somewhat limited, seems to me excessive and unfair. Many vinyl enthusiasts try different tables, some to their liking, some not. But I’ve rarely seen someone denigrate a whole company and its products with the fervor that you have. 

Thanks anyway for “softening” your opinions though I think comments like the above do not exactly qualify!

Awhile back, I was thinking about either selling my upgraded Rega P5 or continue to add mods to it and even posted a thread here on AudiogoN asking opinions/suggestions on which way to go.
I`ve added a number of upgrades since and I`m no longer looking to sell at the moment.

In car terms, if my stock Rega P5 was a Big Block Chevy 454" the current version is like a  540" and now the only thing that originally came from GM is just the block.

So it`s not really a Chevy motor anymore but what a massive improvement in performance !

Same thing now goes for my P5, about the only thing left that`s Rega is the plinth/motor with the upgraded Rega TTPSU.

It`s technically no longer a Rega but who cares..it`s been fun building it little by little and hearing what each addition 'brings to the table'...pun totally intended :)
Doing it that way, made for a nice learning experience and each step showed improvement. Some subtle, some NOT !

In it`s current form I`d put it up against a VPI or Rega RP8/10 though I`ve heard neither :) 

In short....The Rega tables have a great aftermarket upgrade path that will allow you to move up at your own pace and enjoy each step of the way.




 

My opinions and observations...

The AR-ES was stock, including a stock arm.  The regas were beaten using both a Shure V15/IV and an Audioquest 404.  As I recall the AR-ES arm needed some blue damping material in the headshell for both carts and more mass for the 404.  The regas never came in.  

That's apples to apples.    

But let's compare a couple of stock rega tables to other stock tables at their price points....  

A stock Rega RP8 to a stock Clearaudio Performance, stock VPI Prime/3D arm or stock VPI Classic 3.  Does the RP8 belong anywhere but a DISTANT 4th place against these truly excellent tables?  

Stock RP6 to a stock Clearaudio Concept, stock VPI Classic or stock VPI Prime Scout.  RP6 in 4th place against these fine tables?    

I have moved on several times since the AR.  The AR-ES with that Shure V15/IV is on "long-term load" to a friend who loves it in his system for over 20 years.  I donated the 404 to another forum member in need of a cartridge.  

I do try to remember to open and close most of my comments with the statement "My opinion" or something similar.  

Sorry you have that kind of problem with the AR-ES arm. But as someone else criticized me for only using three regas to form my opinion, a single arm is not a very good sampling to form a final opinion. Maybe you had a particularly bad arm.   Maybe I was just lucky. Who knows.  

Like you said, your mileage won't vary.  Good for you.  Mine won't either.  That gives us the opportunity to agree to disagree since we are expressing OPINIONS.  

That's my opinion.

+1 for the GEM PolyTable.