New Rega Motor, glad I waited

[JohnMichael]

Well I ordered the new motor today and it will be here Friday. Tomorrow I am off to Radio Shack to buy all the soldering equipment I will need. I will spend several days reading the instructions and looking at the new parts to make sure I fully understand. Monday my next day off I will be doing the install. Of course once I have it installed I am sure I will be working towards the Rega TT PSU.

I bought the table new on 08/14/1998 and it has served well.

Rega Planar 2 $450
Incognito Rewire w/install $295
Deepgroove subplatter $179
Michell Technoweight $179
Ceramic bearing $ 29
Funk Firm Achroplat $200
RDC cones Gift
Rega Motor Upgrade $225

Total table with mods $1,557

In the future another $400 for the TT PSU. Since the table has been modded over almost 14 years it has been painless buying a tweak at a time and a lot of fun. I am looking forward to hearing the performance of the table with the new rigid mount motor. One day I would like to compare mine with a stock Rega.

[JohnMichael]

Well now the motor will not arrive until Monday. Since I have Monday off it will give me plenty of time to do the mod and give a listen. I thought about removing the old motor early but I want to listen to the table with original motor so I have the most recent audible memory. I will be playing a classical recording and a jazz vocalist for the before and after.

[JohnMichael]

The motor will be here and I am as nervous as a pregnant nun. I have not soldered in years but I think I can, I think I can. I have read and reread the instructions. I have everything I need.

[JohnMichael]

The new motor is in and the table is sounding good. More info and pictures to follow.

[JohnMichael]

Here are some pictures of the mod. The first is the table without the platter and next with the subplatter taped down so the subplatter does not fall out along with the bearing and oil. The third picture shows the old motor and board. Then I have a picture of old and new. Lastly the area for the motor is empty and I have the double faced mounting tape in place and the two wires are the switch wires that I need to solder to the board.

[JohnMichael]

The rest show the newly mounted motor and the pcb. The last is the subplatter and new shiney pulley for the belt. The soldering was the least of my worries and the centering of the motor was a little tough. Turning the table up and down to mount and check was frustrating. A stand that would allow you access from the bottom while you worked would have been nice. I also did not press hard enough for the motor to adhere to the plinth and at one time it was loose so I opened it back up and really pressed it down.

Since there have been manufacturing variations through the years with Rega I had to remove the bearing shaft and place a washer underneath. This raised the subplatter so it was in better alignment with the belt. Not every Rega needs this but lucky me mine did. Of course then I needed to remove my rubber triangles you saw in the first picture.

I am glad it is finished.

[JohnMichael]

Initial listening notes are the Telarc recording of the The Rite Of Spring with Lorin Maazel conducting is not as agressive as I am used to it sounding. Bass is better and easier to tell the bass drum from the tympanis.

Diana Krall's Quiet Nights is more focused and seperation from jazz players to the string section is greatly improved.

Back to listening.