Beer Budget Turntable Challenge: Can Pro-Ject's E1 BT Match the Mighty Rega Planar 1 Plus?

Who said Mike and David are hi-fi snobs who care only about expensive kit? In this episode the guys pit Rega's cheapest vinyl-spinner against its Pro-Ject rival. Both agree that either of these entry-level decks should make any aspiring analogue addict happy, as they're way better than most other similarly priced bargain basement rivals.
Also in this episode, David deprives Mike of Tea again, so Mike rummages around in his bathroom to see what he can discover.
Every episode of Hi-Fi Riff features Mike and David's unedited, unexpurgated views about all manner of weird and wonderful hi-fi designs. Business executive Mike has a wealth of knowledge from previous hi-fi retail experience, and David has written about hi-fi for thirty years. Now Editor-in-Chief of StereoNET, he's picked up a few things along the way.
So relax and enjoy some one-take hi-fi riffing - and please leave your comments below. And don’t forget to hit the Subscribe button, this one goes up to eleven!
The eighties-tastic title tune is called ‘UFO/Mike’s Jumper’, and used with the express permission of our old pal and rights holder Simon Lythe.
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[@jozefserf2024]

It's high time everyone abandoned the old Linn style lifting the platter to change speeds. Total vibe killer.

[@TommyDucks]

Great advice on piano for checking turntables. Eno's Music for Airports will wow those wows and flut them flutters with long sustained notes.

[@stevehollingbery9744]

Great riff again, good to mention the piano test, I always used Patti Smith Because the night track, for piano, heavy drums and guitars with dynamics. Something newbies should learn about. Cheers chaps.

[@attrktmarketing4582]

A few friends of mine have been asking about what started deck to get. I always recommend these two. They generally prefer the one with the more convenient speed selection. That appears to be a deal breaker.

[@alexandervaneijken7741]

Enjoyable as ever. Perhaps in the near future you grant us a peek at your stereo equipment. Both of you clearly enjoy your hobby very much and being such experts in the field I do get a bit curious about your personal favourites . Thanks in advance

[@jimsregaturntableshifijukebox]

Another interesting and informative one guys ⭐ Jim🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🙂

[@A115RAT]

Love the Hesketh F1 Mug, I have the T-shirt 😉👍

[@MacsMachines]

I liked it before even watching it…you guys are just great 👍

[@asrarul12]

You learn something new each time you watch an episode. 1. PIANO vinyls to test a turntable. 2. In the good old days, not back in the day. BTW: WHY didn't David make a cup of tea for Mike?❤ 😢

[@Hi-FiRiff]

Yes, yes and YES please! Mike

[@jonathandiamond-ns5df]

Great video guys and so entertaining and humorous. Bought my daughter an inexpensive project. Great value and cracking turntable. But in no way can they even try to compete with higher end models like my Michell Orbe but to expect it to would be totally missing the point. Great review.

[@gavinhardy75]

I had the AT lp120x, not bad, great sound when I upgraded to the microline stylus. Yet I later felt it too ‘plastic’ and hollow. There was noticeable hum when I listened via headphones with headphone amp, with usb power cord plugged into amp , a ground loop forming perhaps, or the hollow space meaning more interference? Now have the Pro-Ject essential 3 with an OM 20 stylus, noise free and great sounding. It looks elegant too.

[@brucevair-turnbull8082]

I was fortunate to pick up a Rega Planar 25 when they deleted the model at a very low price. Matched with a Goldring 1042, I've never been tempted to change.

[@MrVinylista]

I'm still kicking myself that I never bought a Planar 25, back in the day. Would be a lovely thing for my turntable collection.

[@brucevair-turnbull8082]

@@MrVinylista I had the late great Len Gregory (aka the Cartridge Man) set up my turntable and suggest the cartridge change. Massive improvement!😇

[@owenoneill5955]

I have to give a rating of 10 out of 10 to Dave for saying ''In the old days'' not ''back in the day''.....what ferkin day FFS......I do miss my ''crackling'' vinyl though.

[@christopherrigby2798]

Look at the likely scenario: Mia and her mates love Taylor Swift, attending her shows and have bought some records although they have access to streaming on their smartphones and a smart speaker. Some months on, Mia now in the Sixth Form has a birthday and thoughts had turned to those records and being able to play them with her friends. She's intelligent, certainly computer savvy having grown up with smartphones but not really mechanically or engineringly minded. They go into HMV and see a turntable, the Pro-ject that says all she need do is unbox it, take off the stylus protector and press to pair with her smartspeaker so she buys it. Soon Mia and her friends are enjoying playing their vinyls, admiring the art, singing along feeling involved listening to music as a social thing. In time she might want to her a bit more depth and solidity and get a managers special amp and speakers set up at Richer Sounds as she's fell in love with playing albums. That's the beauty of this: Bringing new people into audio and the joy of listening to albums.

[@MrVinylista]

Spot on, Christopher. And that's why we audiophiles with our £10,000 turntables should never sneer at these things.

[@oliverbeard7912]

Talkin' 'bout revolutions.. 😊 How big is Dave's bathroom? Full of various treasures by the looks of things. Thanks as always.

[@martinmorgan7921]

Great riff lads

[@Shanachie707]

The Rega is of course the much better package. The tonearm is so much better, that’s a completely other dimension. Also both cartridges are really rubbish, but I would absolutely prefer the Audiotechnica.

[@Ricky-cl5bu]

Brilliant

[@roryyoung6192]

Quality Riff. Just love your music tastes! Personally I think that Pro-ject beat Rega hands down at the lower end of the range. I bought my daughter a Pro-ject debut carbon and it sounds great. I just don’t get the hype about Rega. I bought a new P3 from AudioT in 2017 and sold it within 12 months. Sterile and just couldn’t warm to it. I Went back to a Linn Axis for everyday use and it sounds so much better IMO.

[@robertgough5804]

Yep rega not for me

[@gdwlaw5549]

beer bugets are more P3 and P6 these days 🙂

[@kjbunnyboiler]

Evening Gents 👍👍👍

[@Hi-FiRiff]

Evening KJBB

[@englishrogue2649]

Regarding the final comments about buying one of these instead of the same amount of money on a streamer. Sorry guys, that is a horrible suggestion. With the streamer, I have a world of music for free just from listening to Internet Radio (Radio Paradise or JB Radio2 are standouts). If I spend the money on a turntable, then there's nothing to listen to without spending hundreds more on a load of snap, crackle and pop.

[@MrVinylista]

Well it depends if you've got a stash of old LPs in your attic, doesn't it? Many people have, of course, and these decks are aimed at these sort of 'returners' to vinyl - as well as newbies of course, who actually want physical media and treasure the big album art. But my real point was that cheap turntables like these sound better than cheap streamers - indeed it's surprising just how musical they are.

[@ashleycox432]

It doesn't take much to beat a P1 (or P1 plus) at £400. Flimsy arm, poor phono stage, decent drive system but the cartridge isn't good enough for the price. You can buy an AT-LP120X for a lot less money and kit it out with the VMN-95ML stylus for around £400. You can buy the AT-LP1240 and a VM95E cartridge for £400. Rega have some incredible engineering talent no doubt, and do some wonderful and quite unique stuff at the high end. But I will never understand the hype around the P1. They don't even get the nominal vertical tracking force right for the 3600L stylus! The Pro-Ject is fine though a VM95E would blow the OM5 away without any trouble.

[@tonyjedioftheforest1364]

Got to disagree on this one. I bought the P1 green grade for £199 and it beats the AT LP120X that I bought for my son hands down sound quality wise. The AT is good though. It is also much better than the Pro-Ject Juke Box that I also bought for another son that cost more than twice the price.

[@TriAmpHiFi]

U-Turn Orbit II with Ortofon 2M Blue... $413 USD... we have the Winner.

[@richardsinger01]

​@@TriAmpHiFi that's very cheap. The cartridge alone costs £165 in the UK. That only leaves £150 for the turntable. Is it any good?

[@TriAmpHiFi]

@@richardsinger01 . Reviewers seem to like it. There's plenty of reviews here on U-toob. Remember this is the new version with a black tonearm, not the first version with the silver colored arm. I want one just because it's pretty sweet. Peace. 👍

[@gavinhardy75]

I had the AT lp120x, not bad, great sound when I upgraded to the microline stylus. Yet I later felt it too ‘plastic’ and hollow. There was noticeable hum when I listened via headphones with headphone amp, with usb power cord plugged into amp (a ground loop forming perhaps?). Now have the Pro-Ject essential 3 with an OM 20 stylus, noise free and great sounding. It looks elegant too