The Rega Planar 1 turntable is a great turntable that can get a music lover into high-fidelity vinyl enjoyment in an affordable manner. There are a few nits to be picked; however, at $595.00 it’s unrealistic to expect a turntable to do it all.

Despite a number of modifications to the Planar 1, Rega stays true to its sound: a spritely, entertaining turntable with no obvious flaws

If you can find one cheap enough, grab a RP1, it sounds excellent and will serve you well. That said, if you can save up for a new Planar 1, go for that instead. The more I used the turntable, the more I realised that this is not just a budget turntable, it’s the ultimate budget turntable. It does everything that a budget turntable can do and should do in terms of its consideration towards the customer but also its respect for the ears of the same in its search for top quality sound for the asking price.

If we’re being picky (and we usually are), the PL1 is a little too ready to indulge lush or luxuriant recordings. The Simon & Garfunkel album, for example, can sound a little less perky than is ideal – the Rega seems seduced by the warmth of its sound. But let’s not get carried away, this is a minor shortcoming, one we mention really for no other reason than it doesn’t suit us to be utterly uncritical.

The Rega Planar 1 may be an entry-level turntable but, with such a long and proud reputation to uphold, Rega was never going to churn out any old rubbish. The Planar 1 still exceeded our expectations, though. Set-up is a piece of cake and the sound quality is absolutely fantastic for the money – no wonder it sits at number one on our list of the best budget turntables. A built-in phono stage would've been the icing on the cake, but you can get one of those by opting for the slightly more expensive Rega Planar 1 Plus.

Yes, a Rega turntable is the safest of bets – but that doesn’t mean the Planar PL1 isn’t always satisfying and intermittently thrilling.

The music has a warm tone in the bass and the midrange has good focus on details. The soundscape does not seem so messy on the Rega turntable, which is often the case with cheap turntables. If one can live with the fact that it is completely manual, it is the best option out there currently in the budget range. It sounds fresh, open and detailed. Perhaps not with the same convincing deep bass as the more expensive NAD C558, but it is clearly the best buy among turntables under 400 euro.