£1870
View online review whf.cm/Planar8
a gentle evolution of the previous (and still rather good) RP8, the Planar 8 takes its inspiration from Rega’s Naiad – the company’s spare-no-expense -deck. This skeletal player can’t but turn your head with its angular shape and aggressive cutouts. The idea is to minimise plinth mass while increasing rigidity; the plinth is 30 per cent lighter than that used on the previous model, and more rigid with it. Rega believes mass absorbs energy – and that ends up taking the life out of the music.