Electronic Speed Change, Anti-Vibration Control, NEO Outboard Power Supply: Rega Planar 6 (P6) Turntable with Ania MC Cartridge Is an Instant Classic

The arrival of a new Rega turntable is always treated like an event in the audio community, and in the case of the Planar 6 (P6) with a factory-mounted Ania MC cartridge, the excitement surrounding its performance and design has seldom been more justifiable. Taking many cues from Rega's flagship – not the least of which is the NEO Power Supply Unit, which affords advanced anti-vibration control located beneath the 'table, and user-adjustable electronic speed adjustment – Planar 6 specializes in playing back vinyl with exorbitant accuracy, fine detail, attention-grabbing dynamics, and Rega's famed realism. Built upon a high-stability crystal, NEO PSU's DSP generator divides the accurate signal from the crystal to the exact frequency needed to turn the platter at the given speed. It also produces near-perfect sinusoidal waveforms to drive the motor, ultimately generating a 24V AC balanced signal with amazingly minimal distortion. And that's just the basics behind the beguiling sound mustered by Planar 6.

This handcrafted analog instrument bows as the first Rega constructed with an ultra-lightweight Tan-Cast 8 polyurethane foam core plinth. Created for the aerospace industry, the material is then sandwiched between a high-pressure laminate renowned for its thin yet rigid structure. A single-piece, machined aluminum subplatter, revised 24v motor hand-tuned to match its personal NEO power supply, and custom-machined high-precision drive fully complete with an enhanced white drive belt also do the heavy lifting. Rega's outstanding, handmade RB330 precision tonearm and signature double brace technology further contribute to the pinpoint extraction of information from LP grooves. Planar 6 also comes with a clear, flywheel-effect float-glass platter, ultra-low-friction central brass hub, aluminum-trimmed Planar-style feet, and a dust cover. Saying this turntable is special is an understatement. Hearing it in action is both believing and inspiring. Planar 6 has the sound, appearance, and engineering of a component that will be in the future known as a forever classic. Experience it in your home today, and understand why everyone's raving, with the security of Music Direct's 100% Satisfaction Guarantee.

"Also significant is the new sub-platter. Fabricated from a single piece of machined aluminum on which the glass platter sits, this is a serious step up from the injection-molded plastic sub-platters found on earlier mid-level Rega models. As reviewed by [Wayne Garcia], and outfitted with Rega's outboard Neo power supply and Ania cartridge, the sound of the P6 provides extra degrees of bass depth, weight, and tonal richness previously only heard from Rega's upper-end models, without trading off any of Rega's classic musical agility."

—The Absolute Sound, 2021 Product of the Year Awards: Turntables of the Year

"The Rega Planar 6/Ania's masterful handle on rhythm and subtle detail is better than before, with refinement adding to the deck's customarily musical and insightful performance. We're impressed with Rega's new level of performance. The Planar 6's balanced, mature presentation is something you'll appreciate the more you listen to it. So get listening." – What Hi-Fi?, 2020 Best Turntable €1,000-2,000 Award

"Partnered with Rega's Ania moving-coil cartridge it delivers a level of performance that is pretty much untouchable for less than [$2,200]. It may have seemed as though it took forever to arrive, but the resulting Planar 6 is a simply outstanding turntable that's well worth the wait."

–Hi-Fi Choice, Recommended review

"[The] P6 compels us to play record after record, to revisit music we love, and explore music we have yet to discover." – Wayne Garcia, The Absolute Sound

 Rega Ania MC Cartridge: Factory-Mounted on Your Planar 6

The Rega Ania is not your ordinary high-end MC phono cartridge. It represents the end-goal of an ambitious quest by a proudly British company with more than four decades of analog experience – namely, to create an entry-level MC cartridge stunningly close to the performance of its flagship Aphelion and Apheta 2 models. Available for less than half the cost of the latter, Ania benefits from Rega's complete overhaul of its cartridge-manufacturing facilities as well as the nearly 10 years it invested in developing Aphelion and Apheta 2. Hand-built in England with precision, reliability, and cutting-edge expertise, and offering musical playback defined by richness, elegance, effortlessness, and front-to-back dynamics, Ania changes what's possible in the world of sub-$1k phono cartridges. Designed with the assistance of CAD technology, Ania features a body comprised of PPS-Forton – a sophisticated polymer-glass amalgam whose complex shape helps keeps strength high, mass low, and debilitating resonances to a minimum. The tie-wire-less Ania also boasts a floating iron cross generator, hand-wound to the cantilever's inner tip with ultra-high-purity copper wire. Ania's iron cross is actually half as small as that of the original Apheta and one of the lightest generators in the industry. Along with the powerful neodymium magnet, many of Apheta's parts actually come straight from Apheta 2. An elliptical stylus and CAD-designed plastic case complete a musical instrument that invites you to see right into the heart of its performance – offering a clarity on par with the transparency of its sound. Involving, fun, and authoritative, Ania reminds us that it's a great time to be an analog lover.