Rega Planar 1 / 2 (RB110, RB220) Anti-skate (Bias) Adjustment Hack

[@theprettydamned]

Great hack, I love this. My dad is having some tracks skipping and if we rule out alignment, tracking force and the tt being level, this will be our next step.

[@vinylholicsanonymous3871]

Ok, I just finished this project on my P1. I had switched to a Nag MP 200 and it tracks at a max of 2 grams. I'd always felt my alignment and vertical must have been off so I installed washers and made sure my alignment was as perfect as I could get it. And my right channel still had slight distortion and my female vocals always sounded sibiliant. I'm going to order a proper anti-skate record with actual tracks, but on my groove less disc it sat in place wherever I dropped it. I wish I'd had a black screw like yours but I had to settle for silver. I went with a 6-32x1 1/2 and matching bolt. Super glued the bolt in and I'm thrilled with the results. I may go back and get a 1 inch machine screw instead as its little long, but I'm happy with it for now. Thanks for the video, much easier than messing with the blue tac.

[@Audiorevue]

It is important to note that the planar two since the end of 2020 has come with an adjustable bias slider. The old model featured the RB220 arm which much like the planar one that you have here and are demonstrating had the fixed bias or anti-skating as standard. At the end of 2020 the RB220 arm that comes on the planar two was upgraded to include the adjustable anti-skate. I know this because I just bought one and I owned one back in 2018 and I ended up selling that and upgrading to a planar 6 that I use currently as my main deck. I decided to get a second turntable and decided to go with the planar 2 because I'd had such a good experience with it prior. Lo and behold when I opened it up and took it out of the box I noticed that in the instructions as well as on the tone arm itself it had the adjustable anti-skating. I contacted Rega about this and they told me what I just told you, that at the end of 2020 they decided to upgrade the arm to act as a better differentiator between the entry level P1 and the step up P2, so they made the decision to include the anti-skate adjustment. It actually came as quite a surprise and a welcome one at that because on my planar two that I had in 2018 it had the non-adjustable anti-skate, so I was thrilled to learn that they're including it now on the revised model. It opens up so many more possibilities for cartridges and of course adjustment. It is important to note however that the planar one or P1, like you are showing here, still comes with the automatic or non-adjustable anti- skate. Sorry to be long-winded I just felt I had to be clear, and thanks for the demonstration I know other people who have done similar videos and it is very informative.

[@TurntableGuy]

Yes, I was aware that Rega has now starting shipping the 2 with adjustable bias. For the price they charge for their products, all the units should have adjustable bias.

[@Audiorevue]

@@TurntableGuy I agree, however I also think at that price point regardless of what it's lacking the P1 is a fantastic turntable and in spite of what it's lacking it produces what I consider to be the finest sound of any turntable at its price.

[@naibafabdulkobor4301]

@@Audiorevue It's pretty nice of you calling the adjustable bias on the RB220 an "upgrade". I'd rather call it fixing a disgusting mistake. RB220 is the successor of the RB202, which was the successor of the RB251, which was the successor of the RB250. ALL of these tonearms (and thus the corresponding P2 model, however it was called at that point in time) did ALWAYS come with adjustable anti-skating ... for decades! The ONLY exception was that short period between 2017 and 2020 when Rega went mad. Luckily they did regret how stupid they had been and went back to their own standards. I agree on everything you say about the P1.

[@helfire156]

I feel your pain brother, I had the same issue with R300 tonearm on my Michelle Gyro SE. No matter what adjustments I tried on the anti skating magnet, the arm refuses to stay in place, it just drags outward. I had to finally remove the magnet completely. I find this tonearm a clumsy design using cheap materials. The plastic arm base, the arm lock and the arm lift, they all are substandard. I am replacing it with an Audiomods series 6 tonearm.

[@fullblastman]

This is great, thank you so much! I cannot believe a company that sells a table that is over $500 dollars not include an antiskate adj. Who's great idea was that? Even with the simple anti-skate of the more expensive arm you could have included but pre-set for the customer. Not to mention the fact that the magnet seems like it will simply fall out during shipping.

[@ColtLuger]

I think if you used a finer thread there would be less wobble where the bolt contacts the magnet and you could do finer adjustments.

[@larryhoffman7471]

I may do this to my P2. Keep in mind that as long as the cartridge being used tracks well at 2g, the bias seems fine the way Rega set it up. I have a Nagaoka cartridge tracking at 2g and it works beautifully. It would be nice to be able to fine tune it though. As many have said, to remove adjustable anti-skate off their new tables, especially the P2, was foolish on Rega’s part. Fixing the problem after so many paid hundreds of dollars for their P2 doesn’t help us.

[@stephenfurley1025]

It's designed as a "plug & play" item, so designed with features to match. The classic Acoustic Research XA turntable arm had no user bias adjustment relying on the lead out wires to apply bias at a fixed value. The RB300 arm appeared 39 years ago this year and subsequent Rega arms are a derivative. It used a tapered cast one-piece aluminum arm tube/headshell, which, at the time was pretty radical and unheard of in a £89 budget tonearm. The headshell has never been replaceable. The arm used on the original Rega 2/3 was the R200, a version of the Acos Lustre and a Japanese bought-in item. It did a removal headshell, which was the norm then.

[@vicg5323]

What is the best or most expensive tone arm I can upgrade with as an exact replacement?

[@stefanoserra3861]

Hello Turntable Guy, thank youm very interesting video. May be I am wrong but it seems that you left the cartridge mounted in the arm. Am I right? Did you take some precautions or have some recommendation to avoid damages in moving it during the entire process fixing the bias?

[@TurntableGuy]

I removed the stylus. It's pretty hard to physically damage a moving magnet cartridge with the stylus removed.

[@Vintageelectronics2296]

I love this video I have watched it over ten times My Rega sucks worse turntable I have

[@jameshutton5979]

An excellent idea. A grub screw instead of a pan head screw will avoid the adjustment problems.

[@TurntableGuy]

Good suggestion

[@toneyisaiah3556]

You are doing an amazing job.

[@Vintageelectronics2296]

Hi I have a planar 1 and replace the cartridge with a different one Ortofon and the stylus would miss the record when you dropped the tone arm I watch this video and done this mod to mine and found out the stylus was pulling almost side ways still so I remove the magnetic all together now the stylus runs great and sounds so much better if anyone is running a stylus less than 1.8 grams there better off just to remove it

[@CLee-oy1li]

Hey i noticed you have rewired with an external ground from the tone arm was it a hard process and exactly where did you wire it at the tone arm end?

[@TurntableGuy]

It's a tricky job. You have to remove the plug at the bottom of the tonearm and connect an external wire to the two tiny black wires attached to the tonearm. If you snap the tiny tonearm wires, you'll have a big problem.

[@ianbarnes961]

In the great majority of instances you are wasting your time, as the ground lead is connected to the RCA -ves anyway.

[@toneyisaiah3556]

Sir, what turntable are you working on now?

[@fernandogari5690]

Congratulations for such an interesting and instructing video! I see you don't use the blank track of your test record to check bias adjustment. Why so?

[@TurntableGuy]

A bias test record is more accurate because it has actual grooves.

[@maat8249]

The magnet on my RB110 won't come out for some reason

[@TurntableGuy]

It's glued in. Try soaking it with a solvent.

[@maat8249]

@@TurntableGuy It worked with a bit more force, cheers. I tried the mod but no amount of adjusting fixed it for my newly purchased Denon DL60. Terrible inner groove distortion. I'll just get a better stylus for the AT3600L cart until a change out the tonearm. Thank you anyways. Really dumb from their part leaving out the option to adjust it. The RP1 I used before had it and sounded better in general.

[@bobisyouruncle1]

It's sad that an expensive brand has such issues. The manufacturer misleads public with the poor quality.

[@marktubeie07]

Agree, Rega can look stylish but they are a pain in the neck. Too limited giving you no options.

[@Poppinwheeeeellllllieeeeez]

You going to finish the Marantz?

[@TurntableGuy]

Uploaded video today.

[@Nccr3-ht8gm]

That auto Bias did Was a dumb idea So thay discontinued It on the p2 But not the p1

[@BlueRococoFox]

A great video but it's made me realise that I'll just have to get a replacement carbon cartridge and not upgrade 😅

[@ianbarnes961]

Any cartridge which tracks at about 2g would be fine. I've used Audio-Technica VM95 and Rega Ania. Although you might need to adjust the counterweight position.

[@VinylRescue]

Thank you, thank you, thank you! I have the Planar 2 and did take the magnet out once to see about adjusting and saw no way to do so at the time. I've done plenty of mods on my Planar 2: replaced the attached cheap audio cables with RCA jacks on the back, replaced the plastic sub-platter and bearing set, and placed Sound Coat on the sub-platter for more dampening to the glass platter as can be seen in my video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/d5KQnp-DftVnpKs I will be doing this mod really soon! Thanks!

[@TurntableGuy]

To think I traded a beautiful Technics SL-1600 mkI for my Planar 1. I'm going to take that mistake to the grave...

[@VinylRescue]

@@TurntableGuy I have Technics SL-Q2 I refurbed a few years ago and have modded it pretty well also. I won't be parting with it anytime soon!

[@VinylRescue]

@@TurntableGuy I tried this mod, but unfortunately, the epoxy didn't stick even after curing overnight. I'm gonna try again after I get the new Cardas Litz wiring in for it. I think I need to sand off the paint where I need to epoxy it. Rega is known for using cheap tonearm wiring so I'm going deep into the rabbit hole! When I ran my test LP the left channel was a bit high, but not audible. If I had known this TT would be this way with the anti-skate and cheap tonearm and audio cables I would have bit the wallet more and bought what I really wanted and that was the Planar 3!

[@toneyisaiah3556]

@@TurntableGuy you didn't have to give the Technics away, why?

[@jasonemanuel9070]

Hi fi forums are full of Rega owners constantly upgrading no matter which Rega they have.I had two in the past they were OK but nothing amazing like my technics mk 2, don't buy into the hype folks.

[@705johnnyboy]

they shot themselves in the foot by reducing there quality ,i had one ,very disappointing ,now i have a linn lp12 ,very satisfied ..

[@TurntableGuy]

Indeed. Going from a Rega to a LP12 is like going from a Chevy to a Mercedes...

[@tonyjedioftheforest1364]

£10K difference in price so you should be satisfied. I love my LP12 but for the price Rega takes some beating, in fact I would say they are unbeatable at their price point. I use mine with a dedicated mono cartridge for my 1960’s records and for this it’s excellent.

[@bobisyouruncle1]

Cheaper brands can perform better the these misleading supposedly hi end brands.

[@tima.478]

I agree...I bought into the hype and purchased a P3 50th edition. And as stated in the video, I did not receive the type of quality I was expecting to receive for $1,700. It came with the exact2 cart which I eventually replaced with the Nagaoka MP-300...which I LOOOVE!!! It has taken me about 3 months and a lot of trial and error to finally get this TT to sound as wonderful as it does now. I am by no means a novice in the vinyl game so I can confidently say that it has taken WAY to much to get my P3 tracking/sounding like it should!