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Rega planar 3 bearing and oil

I recently reoiled my rega planar 3 bearing. It had oil in it, and on the shaft of the subplatter, and the turntable had no obvious problems, but I figured it was probably due for it's 3000 mile change, and besides, I like to tinker !
I removed the ball, inspected and thoroughly cleaned all surfaces using isopropyl alcohol, and then added a few drops of castrol hypoid gear oil (as recommended by rega) and checked that the new oil was drawn to the very top of the subplatter shaft.

To my amazement this has resulted in a considerable improvement in the sound of the turntable. Gone is any hint of glassiness or sibilance in the high frequencies, that used to make the deck sound very very similar to my CD player. The sound is just as detailed but beautifully smooth. I wasn't expecting anything like this ... but for $4 of oil (and I have quite a bit left over :-)) I'm very happy.

So any brave owners with old rega decks try changing the oil ... you might be very pleasantly surprised.

On a related issue I noticed that some high-end decks come with ceramic or saphire bearings, of very high tolerance. I have found that www.bocabearings.com can supply such bearings for around $4. Can anyone think of a negative impact of trying a high-precision bearing in the Rega ? Should I stick with steel ? There is an aftermarket subplatter for sale at music direct that uses a ruby bearing.
seandtaylor99
seandtaylor99 OP
1,262 posts
 
Jason,
Boca bearings sells them. http://www.bocabearings.com/

I'm not sure if the silicon nitride bearing made much improvement. It certainly did not make the magnitude of difference that changing the oil to Mobil SHC634 did (that's a huge upgrade). I'd recommend trying to get hold of a quart of SHC634 and relube the existing bearing before trying a ceramic ball.
jasonh37
15 posts
 
I checked out the sight, I have no idea what size bearing is in my Rega Planar 2. When I purchased the table it was missing the bearing. I did not know that it was missing the bearing until I read this post and went to change the oil. If anyone knows what size bearing a Planar 2 would take I would greatly appreciate it.
stefanl
296 posts
 
Tes we should have told you.It is 3/16th of an inch size or the metric eqivalent.Look for a silicone nitride or "ceramic" type.Other boutique companies sell a manufactured "Ruby" bearing as well.The ceramic ball should be fine and is ten times stronger than the normal steel one.This link sells a metal sub-platter for the P2 with a "ruby" ball.http://www.groovetracer.com/subplatter_groovetracer.htm
seandtaylor99 OP
1,262 posts
 
The bearing is 3/16 inch.

From my confirmation email from Boca bearings :

3/16IN-C Si3N4 GR.5 BALLS (Ea.) $3.95

I've been using this bearing for about a year now and played probably several hundred hours on it. It seems fine. Like I mentioned above, not a startling improvement from the steel bearing it replaced (unlike the SHC634 oil).
jasonh37
15 posts
 
Hey guys thanks for the info, I am going to try this out. Like you said, for the money it can't hurt to try it out.
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