Have you changed your mind about a brand? Was it you, or them?

Probably gonna get slammed for this - but the following is MY experience...

Way back in 1981 - I read up on turntables and scoured the local stores - to be told Rega was "the best" bang for the buck

So I ended up with a Rega Planar 2, with the glass platter and the "S" shaped arm - it did me proud for a few years - then along came CD’s and the TT got moth-balled

Fast forward to around 2007 - I decided to get the Rega out of the box and had it running nicely with some of my new vinyl.

BUT it didn’t really come up to the sound quality of my digital gear.

This was when I started looking on Audiogon - to see if there were any tweaks I could implement

So after 13 years I’ve tweaked my turntable to the point where it now sounds AMAZING

BUT - the only thing left from the original turntable is the plastic cover and the ON/OFF switch.

Over the years I have installed (in chronological order) ...
- a metal subplatter (not Rega)
- a Rega RB240 tone arm
- a Mitchel Techno weight (not Rega)
- a one piece harness in the RB240 (not Rega)
- a ceramic bearing (not Rega)
- a new Rega motor
- an Acrylic Platter (not Rega)
- a custom built plinth (not Rega)
- and finally an Audiomods ToneArm (definitely not Rega)

And let’s not forget about the two Rega Cartridges, which were far from "adequate"

Obviously - I could not expect all of the "refinements" listed above in an entry level turntable, but there have been some developments over the years that I think Rega SHOULD HAVE taken note of and implemented in ALL of their turntables...
- the metal subplatter
- the one piece harness
- the acrylic platter
- the lower center of gravity balance weight that the Mitchel Techno Weight provides

These are pretty basic "developments" that other manufacturers have adopted in their turntables in the last 20 years.

As much as it pains me to say it - because being of British heritage, I am normally proud to promote British products.
- I HAVE changed my mind about Rega products.
- Rega, you a living off past glories
- there are much better alternatives to your products available

I’ve also changed mi mind about NAIM - don’t get me wrong - it is GREAT sounding gear, but I have a problem with the way the NAIM company tries to indoctrinate their customers into thinking that...
- their cables provide the Best performance - Hmmm - NOT EVEN CLOSE !
- replacing power supply Capacitors every 10-12 years is "NORMAL" - REALLY?

NAIM - you are also guilty of living off past glories

BUT - even worse...
- you are guilty of indoctrinating your customers with utter nonsense !

Don't believe me? - take a read of their forum - some of the content is laughable !

Other than my mongrel of a turntable
- the rest of my system is Canadian made
- Bryston, Bluesound and Gershman Acoustics

And so far - I am extremely happy with it’s performance

Regards - Steve

I never had much of an impression of Rega, and when I tried a headphone amp I was severely disappointed. The Project I ended up with was nearly an identical circuit, but with a far better power supply filtration. One cost $90, the other $300.

Steve - give the NAIM Atom a listen :-)

@tomic601 - I have no doubt the Atom sounds good - most NAIM gear sounds great. Dynamic, detailed, neutral etc...

But due to their design "direction" with their amps
- i.e. having to replace the power supply capacitors after 10-12 years
- I’ll never buy another Naim product ever again - it left a BAD Taste.

BTW - 10-12 years is not just a "recommendation" as in...
- "it will keep working but might not sound as good" type of recommendation - noooooo
- My NAIT 5i stopped working completely - KAPUT !

So after 10 years I was left with a couple of options
- a boat anchor (but I don’t have a boat)
- or pay the $430 CDN to have it fixed

So after I had it fixed, I sold it for $650 CDN - that’s a whole $220 back on my original investment of $1700 after 10 years. What a BARGAIN - I THINK NOT

BTW - Naim also tells you to leave the gear powered on 24/7
- well I did that - look how well that turned out.:-(

I would recommend all NAIM owners TURN OFF your Naim gear after every session. You might just get 12 years out of your NAIM gear.

AND what's with the NAIM power-on thump? - almost every other amp out there has "soft start" circuitry which DOES NOT impair performance. Naim are just too lazy to include it - it's part of their "brand identifiers" - a very bad part.

There is no longer any reason to get hooked on NAIM
- it used to be one of the most dynamic amps out there
- but things change and there are always new companies snapping at your heals in the hifi game.

There is a huge selection of gear than can compete with NAIM these days.
e.g. Bryston
- sounds better than my NAIM and comes with a 20 year warranty
- yes, that's a 20 year WARRANTY, not a "recommendation"
- and they live by it and will fix it if it should fail.

As said above - NAIM is living on past glories - they really should wake up and smell the coffee !

BTW - I’m not bitter - but I am a whole lot wiser (and poorer)  :-)

Regards - Steve

Steve - yowsa, your experience would have me in same place. I have a lore hate relationship with my Unitiserve and so far ( 3 years ) a love relationship with the Atom. Best wishes to you kind sir!