Rega P6 vs Pro-ject X8?

[UncleE]

I went by a sweet audio shop in Houston today looking for a turntable (maybe too nice, the cheapest turntable they had on display was a $5K McIntosh) and there were $30K D’Agostino and McIntosh components aplenty, so I was pretty impressed. The only table I was mildly interested in was a McIntosh table with everything integrated into the turntable (preamp with tubes AND an amp right in the table, just add speakers, and it’s a legit brand- McIntosh) for uh… $7K. Sigh. This doesn’t seem to make sense.

But, the nice guy there said they could order me a turntable in my budget. He suggested a Rega P6. I’m trying to compare it to the Pro-Ject X8.

Project looks like it MIGHT have better build quality, it adds balanced outputs, and a machined aluminum platter (no subplatter), and better wow and flutter specs. But it weighs 3 times as much as the Rega…

In the Rega’s favor it weighs a third as much, has an external power supply (I don’t know how much I care about the external PSU if the X8 is balanced, maybe someone can opine). The Rega has a subplatter and the X8 doesn’t. I don’t really know if that matters but it would seem that no subplatter would be better.

I’d have to spend a bit more on the X8 to get a MC cartridge, but the delta isn’t huge. The P6 is $2,245 with a MM cartridge. The X8 is $2500 with a MM cartridge. (why in the world they don’t sell it with a MC cartridge as a balanced table, beyond me). I might ask if they can keep the MM cartridge and just give me a credit.

The only other tables that have been interesting were the much cheaper Orbit Theory (which seems like a nice table and a nice company to support, but I would probably give it to my niece after a while), and maybe the Pro-next x2b (but the X8 upgrades seem to make sense over the x2 B… at least they make more sense than a $7K McIntosh.

He didn’t have any of the “budget” ($2.5k) tables to play, and I haven’t found anywhere in Houston that has them in stock (if anyone has a shop they would suggest in Houston, that would be righteous too).

Am I missing anything? Seems like a bummer that a nice shop like this can’t stock a couple of examples in my budget that I can listen to. What should I expect from these turntables?

 

[Another Johnson]

Call these guys.

Turntables

High-fidelity music systems. Precision selected rare tubes. We treat your system like it's our own. This is Music Illuminated.

upscaleaudio.com

FWIW, they will hold your hand, give you good budget friendly advice, and they will set it up if you ask them to (for free).

FWIW#2, I would go with a Rega over a Pro-Ject. The latter appear to offer high quality, but in reality there is more variability than I’m comfortable with.

 

[mtemur]

I do too go for Rega instead of Project. Maybe Project is a better turntable I don’t know but IMHO Rega offers better arms bundled.

 

[UncleE]

Thanks Gents, I'm curious if you've actually seen an X8 in person and can compare the two or if it comes more from general brand knowledge/loyalty... I know Rega is hugely popular and well-loved, but looking at it, it's just hard to feel like there's a ton of value in a 5 kg table with a glass platter and a "polyurethane core" plinth (which has had sagging issues). I did call the shop in California and the guy was nice to talk to and generally answered my questions, and I have no doubt they'd take care of me if I buy a table from them, but it was hard to feel like there wasn't some Rega fan-boy stuff happening or, maybe worse - pushing the Rega because he makes more money on the Rega.

His first knock on the Pro-Ject was that when you buy it, you're "just paying a lot of money for high-end materials." Well frankly, that seems like a better value proposition than paying a lot of money for the Rega name and low-end materials. He also said that Rega is known for higher quality tonearms... but let's compare these two specific tables in a detailed way...

- The Rega RB330 tonearm sells for $675 separately, while the Pro-Ject adept EVO 9cc tonearm sells for $1150?. The Pro-ject arm is all carbon. I know price isn't everything, but is Rega really so good that they can produce a better tonearm than a much larger manufacturer at a price that's ~40% less?

- The Rega platter sells for $365. I cannot find the aluminum Pro-ject platter for sale, but a similar aluminum platter from VPI is selling for over $1200, just for the platter.

- Wow & flutter specs on the X8 say 0.11%. Wow and flutter on the P6 isn't provided by Rega but folks seem to test it and get closer to 0.2%

- They both have AC motors.

- Both are made in Europe

Rega has the better cartridge I think, a separate power supply. These are the two clear advantages I've found for the Rega... this and a loyal fanbase and dealers that are willing to push them... Other than these points, unless there's really something magical about the tonearm, it kind of seems like a lot of the enthusiasm for the Rega might unearned.

Edit: another interesting point - the Rega is marked up significantly in the US. The P6/Exact is GBP £1,154.17 right now from premiumsound.co.uk (or $1,430.72 USD). The same turntable is $2,245 USD in the USA, that's a markup of $815.00. If the rega were say $1,700 USD with the exact cartridge, I'd probably but it... but an $815 markup for shipping it to the US doesn't seem legit, I call "shenanigans." This silly mark-up also contributes to my thinking that it's probably substantially more profitable for dealers to sell, which is likely why they all push it.

 

[UncleE]

In all this searching I did notice some other tables that might be interesting, if anyone has comments on these... (all are stereophile Class B, so I think we're at least in the same ball-park of features/quality.

1) Mofi UltraDeck (discontinued so there are some frankly VERY large discounts available right now), but I'm not sure I want to buy a discontinued table, or how difficult it would be to repair it in the future if I have issues. It's got a 10" tonearm. Nice Delrin platter (it's rated Stereophile class B... but so is the Rega P3). How hard is it to fix a vintage turntable that is discontinued? Can it take a different motor if the motor blows up? Assume the tonearm should be replaceable?

2). Music Hall mmf 7.3... dual plinth is kind of ugly, but it serves a purpose. Damp acrylic platter, and a nice cartridge (ortofon 2m bronze) under $2K. Roy Hall seems like kind of a wiseass, I think I like him haha.

3). Music Hall Stealth - direct drive, maybe less fiddly than a belt-drive, made in Taiwan, motor is supposed to be great, ortofon 2m blue cartridge (I'd probably replace, but it's cheap so...), some folks like a removable headshell (I don't know if I'd really care one way or the other, probably won't change cartridges all THAT much).

 

[Another Johnson]

Rega is known for consistently good quality control. The others you are attracted to are not.

Roll the dice. You may get lucky.