The Rega Planar 6 is a heck of a turntable. Not just for the money but in the general scheme of things, only the obsessives like myself really need anything better. If it weren’t for the RP8 I would challenge you to find a better turntable and arm combo for less than three times the asking price here. Yes it needs decent isolation and a good cartridge and phono stage, but every turntable does, and the P6/Ania package is very competitively priced. The RP6 was a more powerful and lively version of a P3, the P6 is a whole other beast, one with considerably greater subtlety and finesse. So don’t let it’s discreet styling fool you, this is killer turntable that gets to the heart of the music in an effortless and high resolution fashion the like of which is still very rare.

Wrapping up, while the P6/Ania doesn’t deliver the ultimate punch, detail, or transporting emotional thrill of the very finest vinyl playback gear money can buy, that’s hardly the point, or the design goal. The point is that like all of the best and longest-lived audio gear, the P6 compels us to play record after record, to revisit music we love, and explore music we have yet to discover. To say that the P6/Ania sets a new standard for Rega ’tables at this price point is not damning with faint praise; it’s instead high praise for what Rega has accomplished, and continues to, as its Naiad technology keeps expanding throughout the company’s formidable lineup.

Rega aims high and scores with a wonderfully refined, articulate and precise turntable that's lovely to listen to