Rega Planar 3 Turntable with Nd3 Cartridge

Rega Planar 3 Turntable

The Rega Planar 3 is the turntable that keeps showing up in serious systems because it gets the fundamentals right. It is a modern rework of an icon, developed over two years under Roy Gandy and rebuilt so thoroughly that only two components carried over from the previous RP model.

Rega’s approach is deliberately different to the heavy plinth school of turntable design. The Planar 3 uses a lightweight, highly rigid structure to minimise energy storage and reduce unwanted resonance that can blur timing and add unnatural distortion. The acrylic laminated plinth is strengthened with an improved double brace system positioned between the tonearm mounting and the main hub bearing, forming a stressed beam style assembly exactly where rigidity matters most.

This is also one of the most decorated turntables in its class, recognised by What Hi Fi with Product of the Year awards across 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, and again in 2024.

Engineering highlights that matter in real listening

The Planar 3 is built around the RB330 precision tonearm, designed using modern CAD and CAM methods and refined to reduce resonance, increase stability, and retrieve more information from the groove.

Under the platter, Rega has re designed key components to improve rotational accuracy and reduce noise. The brass main hub bearing housing is reworked for improved fit and reduced stress on the bearing itself, and the sub platter is redesigned for improved accuracy and stiffness.

Drive and speed stability are handled by a 24V low noise, low vibration motor, controlled by an updated motor control PCB. The Planar 3 is compatible with the Rega Neo PSU, adding electronic speed change and an improved anti vibration circuit when used with the Neo PSU. A motor cover tray with integrated cooling is also part of the design.

Isolation is not an afterthought. Rega specifies an improved foot design to increase stability and reduce vibration transfer into the plinth.

What is included

• Dust cover: Clear dust cover included
• Plinth protectors: Supplied to help prevent marks and keep the plinth looking its best
• Setup guide: Easy to use multilingual quick start guide

Finish options

• Planar 3 without cartridge: Gloss Black, Gloss White, Light Oak 
• Planar 3 with Nd3 factory fitted: Gloss Black, Gloss White, Light Oak 
• Planar 3 with Nd5 factory fitted: Gloss Black, Gloss White, Light Oak 

Cartridge options 

The Planar 3 is available as a platform without a cartridge, or as a factory matched package with Rega’s Nd series moving magnet cartridges factory fitted and aligned.

Planar 3 without cartridge
This is the pure platform choice for listeners who already know the cartridge they want, or who are voicing a system around a specific phono stage. You still get every mechanical and structural upgrade that makes the Planar 3 special, with complete freedom over cartridge selection.

Planar 3 with Rega Nd3 moving magnet cartridge factory fitted
Nd3 is the entry point to Rega’s Nd moving magnet platform, developed over a decade and built around ultra high powered neodymium magnet technology. Rega uses a new generator geometry with symmetry for accurate channel balance, plus an optimised pole gap to improve linearity and reduce crosstalk, which helps soundstage width and separation. The Nd3 stylus is a bonded elliptical profile made from polycrystalline diamond, bonded to a round titanium shank, and mounted on an aluminium cantilever. Rega also uses miniaturised parallel coils wound in house with very fine wire and a specific turn count to produce a low inductance, low impedance generator that improves high frequency response. The body is a rigid glass filled PPS design, keeping mass low and helping the tonearm bearings move freely.

• Nominal output voltage: 5 to 6 mV
• Stylus: Bonded elliptical
• Fixing: 3 point fixing
• Coils: Miniaturised parallel coils
• Tracking pressure: 1.75 g

Long term ownership: Rega’s pivot pad design removes a mechanical joint between stylus housing and body for improved tracking stability, and Rega supports a rebuild scheme via dealers when the stylus is worn or damaged.

Planar 3 with Rega Nd5 moving magnet cartridge factory fitted
Nd5 takes the same Nd platform and pushes resolution and tracking confidence further by using a perfect elliptical nude diamond stylus. Rega describes it as a true ellipse created by an elliptical grinding process from polycrystalline manmade diamond. As with Nd3, the generator geometry is designed for accurate channel balance, and the optimised pole gap improves linearity and crosstalk characteristics. Nd5 uses the same miniaturised parallel coil approach and the same rigid PPS body concept, with a neodymium N55 magnet that Rega describes as the most powerful commercially available magnet, enabling this moving magnet design.

• Nominal output voltage: 5 to 6 mV
• Stylus: Perfect elliptical nude diamond
• Fixing: 3 point fixing
• Coils: Miniaturised parallel coils
• Tracking pressure: 1.75 g

Long term ownership: Nd5 uses the same pivot pad concept and rebuild scheme approach described by Rega for the Nd range.

Technical specifications

Turntable and chassis

Tonearm details, RB330

Warranty*

Rega provides a lifetime limited warranty covering confirmed manufacturing defects, with exclusions for wear and tear and consumable parts, and notes that terms can vary by country

*https://www.rega.co.uk/warranty