Three brand new turntables rise to challenge the mighty Rega Planar 3. Will the long-time champ be bested?
The Rega Planar 3 has been the all-conquering champion turntable in its class for some time. In fact, we can’t think of another product that has dominated its market sector with so much authority. The original was launched in the late-1970s, and since then, through various iterations, it has remained the obvious choice at its level.
The Rega RP3s, as they were initially known, haven’t changed much in appearance since then, and in fact until 2016 the generational changes were always evolutionary, with the aim of simply improving performance. But the shift from the RP3 to the 2016 Planar 3 was seismic, and the king was crowned there and then. Just about every part was revised to give a proper jump up in sound quality, while Rega also went for a slicker look. Today the Planar 3 remains a simple, well-engineered deck that puts performance first and is the current What Hi-Fi? Award winner in its class. But now a trio of new decks on the block emerge to challenge the Rega’s throne.
New record players from Pro-Ject, Cambridge Audio and Dual enter the fray at the £650-£850 mark.
First up is the Dual CS 518. Dual dominated the budget turntable market back in the 1980s, but we need go back only a few months, to the company’s new CS 418, to find a terrific performer for its £499 price tag. The closely related Dual CS 518 (p32) is a litt
