For me the Rega has better rhythmic timing and subtlety which meant that the tracks made more 'sense' because it was easier to pick up and follow the flow and 'pulse' of the music.

I would hope that after 40 years since the SL1200 mk2 was first released that the now 3 year old Planar 6 would be considerably better. Whilst I think the Rega sounds slightly better I certainly don't hear 40 years worth of improvement! Great selection of tracks btw.

Added another Rega vs Technics Shootout video here kzfaq.info/get/bejne/qM54oNBhqcu3nnU.html. This one with Jazz, Soul and Rock. Enjoy!

The Rega P6 was far superior in detail and micro dynamics. The Techinics sounded slightly smeared compared to the Rega. Thanks for the comparison - I have the same phono cartridge and it is my hands down favorite under $1000.00.

Agree with the general consensus that the p6 sounds better than the technics. However the technics can be modded easily to outperform the p6

Thanks for putting this together. For me, the Rega has slightly better control of the bass and there was more of a slam, but the Technics sounds clearer than the Rega. It shines a bit more. I'd go with the Technics personally.

I agree with your revue .. and i also notice a lot more dept channel separation on the p6

one of the best sounding videos ive ever heard off of utub....!

Track 1 the highs and detail retrieval were the same, with the Technics being a smidge clearer.

Thx for this great comparison. To get greater results such as thighter bass response and clearer mids on the Technics, It could be helpfull to experiment with the platter mat and the turntable feeds. Change the rubber mat to cork/leather or polyethylen and the feeds to antispike or cerapuks. This may can increase subsonic and therefore using device bases (coupling TT on it and decoupling form the rack) could be even an further step...

The Technics sounds very impressive - the full picture. The Rega sounds like a turntable - excellent within its narrower remit.

Everything in the performance on record players is one word "matching", I own a Dual CS 505-4 audiophile edition and a Technics SL-1300 MKI, on the dual I use an Ortofon Super OM30 with wonderful results, the same cartridge same phono-stage on the Technics sounds awful, same thing happens when I use the Shure V 15 Type III with Jico SAS on the DUAL. That is the reason that you must not trust cartridge tests performed on the same turntable.

Actually, I’ve just tried them through my hifi and found the difference even greater! The Rega is far crisper and firmer to my old ears even through an MP3 file. The Technics is muddier though again it’s got punchier but definitely not cleaner bass. My setup is an Onkyo streamer, an Audiolab 8300a and Wharfedale EVO 20 speakers.

I like Rega, but the clear winner here is the Technics. Classicaly trained singer here, I have sung on a recording picked by a NY Times critic as the #4 classical release for the year, and the Rega is playing too slow. The pitch is under, maybe a half cent, maybe a cent, but it is not right on. There are 100 cents between pitches. Get the speed tested, and I am sure you will find it is slightly under.

Thanks very much for your video. I can hear when the drums kick in on the first track an extra detail on the Rega but I couldn't tell the difference on the second track. I listened through my hifi. I agree with the others some classic rock may be better material to compare.

I have both tables. I’m currently using a Technics 1200 stock. I have another mint 1200 in the process of being modified. The stock arm has been replaced with a Rega 330 on a stainless steel armboard. The main bearing is new from an audiophile supplier in the UK and is made to much higher tolerances. The feet have been replaced with Isonoe sprung feet. The Funk Firm mat made for the 1200 is used instead of that bouncy rubber one. I realize I could have bought Planar 8 for the money spent on this upgraded 1200, but I already had the table and I wanted to try the experiment.

Surprisingly I preferred the Technics - more natural, dynamic and weighty. The Rega sounded more hifi - clinical. I wonder how the Rega would've performed on a dedicated (Rega) shelf. My experience of Planar 2s and 3s in the past is that they really come alive on a light stiff shelf or Rega bracket. Heavy cabinets and shelves just lead to a 2D and lifeless sound.

P6 vs the 1200GR would be a great comparison since they are similarly priced. I found similar results comparing my 1200MK2 to the Rega back when the P3 and the P6 came out. The 1200MK2 bettered the P3, but not the P6. At the time I could not justify spending $2K on the P6.

Another great video of comparison, I stand by my findings that the Technics is cleaner and clearer with a wider sound stage and a touch less lower bass resolution. The achilles heel of the Technics is getting a really accurate allignment with no company as yet manufacturing a good mirrored protractor, you can get greater accuracy of allignment with the Rega. The Rega is let down by poor motor and lots of noise and vibration from the unit, try a good MC on the P6 and turn up the volume near the inner tracks, particularly if there are very quiet passages on the inner tracks, you will hear the hum.

On first listening via just notebook speakers and find it very hard to tell the difference. Will try again with proper headphones next time.

Thank you for this comparison, I have been tossing up between Technics and Rega. Cheers

Are the turntables level matched here? You really need to match volume to within in 0.1dB really for a a/b of two devices to be useful. Otherwise it's likely the people are just going to go with the loudest one (without knowing it's louder). The slightly louder tactic have been used by hifi salesmen forever and infamously by Audioquest. I'm not saying you're anything such thing here on purpose of course. Just that if there is a difference it might influence the outcome. Also, Regas are know to play slightly faster than they should.

Rega wins and so it should, the technics should be compared to the rega 3, the technics mk2 was under £500 in the mid 90s and in now being compared to a much newer turntable costing more than twice it's price, i would still have the Technics just for durability, put the right cartridge in the technices, may be something to bring out abit more midrange as we no it has plenty of punch, as it was built for dance music etc.

Great video. I'm looking at getting the Rega 6 with MC cartridge but stuck on an amp. Is the Pro-Ject Tube Box DS2 that you use the phono stage and the amplifier in one, and MC enabled at that? I have a pair of Klipsch Rp500M's, so wondering if the Rega 6 MC, Pro-Ject Tube Box DS2 and Klipsch speakers is enough to play vinyl on. I'm definitely sold if this is the case from the level of detail coming from what I've heard you capture in this.

Epic. I love it. I love your mat as well.

Rega all the way 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼

Thanks for the demo! Please make other comparisons with jazz and classic music! ; )

Rega is dryer. it has much more space and quietness between sounds - this is, i think, because rega's turntable does not vibrate as much as technics.

Ah, here's the compilation! Rega have a precise sound going upper details and focused in center- really great linear detailed sound! Technics more sides and vibe, relaxed, but not so crisp. Good at clubs :) BTW That Crystal Method track is really cool at Technics. It's got to sound like that. Rega was a bit disturbing and and not smooth vobes. But first track Rega wins with that sparkles by far.

I own a Rega P5 with the Exact cart. My assumption is still that the Technics should sound better due to lower wow and flutter. Specs for the Techie says 0.025 wrms but real world measurements differ of course and an old player might not be fully up to spec. It does however seem like most SL's keep the w&f below 0.045 wrms. Rega doesn't even publish the w&f specs, and apparently the inhouse tolerance for even their best player, the RP/P10 is 0.1 and 0.2 and higher for the lesser models. Still, Aussie Hifi News posted measurements by a lab (Newport lab or something like that) who measured the Planar 6 to 0.08 (2-3 times that of the SL). I agree however that the arm on the Rega is most likely better. Are you shure that the output is exactly the same from both players? If one is louder and both keep the w&f below 0.1 most people is going the choose the louder one as sounding better (the frequency response we perceive actually change with the sound level). Amyways. If were to buy a record player today (below $2000) it would definitely be a SL-1200 (the GR or 2nd hand MK2-MK5). I actually kinda regrett that I didn't do so back in 2008 when I bought my P5. The Technics would probably give me more peace of mind knowing that rumble and w&f is not an issue. Still, I'm happy that the it's kinda hard to hear any differences at all here. Both players are most likely good enough, so it might not be necessary to upgrade from a Rega P5 (or similar) to a SL-1200.

Great video with great analysis. I’m now stuck in a choice between the Planar 6 and maybe the Technics SL1500C. Thoughts?. As well can you speak to and comment on the slip mats you used in the video?

So if you put the rega arm on the technics, what then?

rega is slightly better defined and i found the bass go deeper - get the rega arm onto the technics and you have a winner

I feel like for this music Technics takes this one i have to say. Also it comes down to preference, Technics being more energetic and Rega is more detailed to which would be great for classical. Technics dj tables are made to make this type of music LOL

The technics dazzles with surface details and lacks ebb and flow. It really misses decay tails and highlights attack instead. The Rega is more mature. It opens up space in the mix and shows us the structure underneath. We get how each phrase differs from the one before and the space allows decay tails to play out. The Rega is a more refined turntable nodding in the direction of what you pay for in high-end turntables. The Technics with a better arm and higher platter inertia might be a better proposition.

The frequency response of one of them is wrong. I'm putting my money on the Rega - sounds too dark and bassey.

Nice demo... Rega sounded more natural, better focused... Less distorted. I just bought a giant killer TT; a Crosley C6... Mass production goodie, but with a few upgrades, excellent for the money.

I surprised my 75 year old ears by finding a clear preference for the Rega : it seemed far more detailed to me and I found the Technics a little more thumpy and clumsy. I listened by Byerdynamic earphones fed through an in-line DAC from an iPad - not top-of-the-line by any means. I doubt I’d spot so much difference through my hifi. The Technics arm was built for heavy duty use and maybe it’s simply not as good as a modern Rega arm? The cartridge sounded crystal clear.

P6 wins by far ... But, you could not use it for live DJ sets ! (where actual sound quality does not really matter at mental sound levels)

The Technics has better drive and punch but the Rega has much better musical flow and is superior in revealing the subtleties and nuances of the music. Makers of CD players and other digital playback systems have tried to make them sound more analog. It seems that Technics (Panasonic) is trying to make vinyl sound more digital.

Rega is way ahead of Technics. Technics stresses the sound. Rega is relaxing because Rega is stay out of the sound picture. I hear music on Rega but I hear stress on Technics. The detail that some hear is undesirable peaks influences the sound. Thank you for this faithful comparison.

Of course the Technics with its very pretty strobe lights direct drive and fine speed adjustment is much better! All so called high end turntables with belt drives and no strobe lights are only bought by silly fools.

Technics is more engaging , better channel separation, the sound has more weight.

The Rega is much more open with a wider soundstage.

I'm primarily hearing the difference between the two different recording sessions- not necessarily the turntables.

Both of them sound like my iPad.

I’ll go ahead and agree with many saying the Rega is more detailed, but with that detail comes a lack of energy… a bit thin and clinical. It’s like digital vs film photography… whether people realize it or not, what makes an image shot on film better than a digital (of course not always the case) is often not the quality, it’s the energy. It’s likely the imperfections are the drawing factor, because it captured what’s real. Imagine going to a concert and hearing a set identical to the album, you’d be pretty disappointed. We actually want imperfection.

Rega Planar 6 wins by far ... even with the atrocious youtube compression playback. (Technics is great for nightclubs and that sort of thing though!)

Technics has punchier bottom end than Rega. Rega sounds o feeling clearer in the high frequencies but the overall sound of Technics is more rich.

Technic is quicker, more defined with better leading edge, Rega slower, warmer with more extended bass, sound better with vocal and Jazz.

Wonder how a technics sounds compared to a P2. The 6 smashed the technics here

Drama and the punch goes to technics, much more grandiose bottom, - what it lacks in clarity it adds for up weight and scale! I mean just compare this drum-roll!!! 1:16 1:53

technics all the way

Now swap arms

Technics not techniques

Technics forever

It’s not even close, REGA wins.

Rega 6 is the best.

Technics sounds miles better on my system

You're appealing to the vain belief that nothing has more authority than our subjective apparatus, when the truth is that subjective memory is completely unreliable. Could you tell that the Planar recording was .5 dB louder than the Technics? No. I couldn't, either. But it is. You certainly could aid in accurate judgment by splicing small sections of these tracks closer together, even repeating them, five seconds A-B-A-B, mixing them up. Could you then tell the difference? I seriously doubt it- the notion that in a situation where the cartridge and amp are the same that the turntable could have an easily heard impact on perceived sound is quite a claim. What is true is that each turntable will have its own resonance signature, and that can be seen in a program like Audition where you can view a spectral analysis of recorded frequencies. This assumes that we can't hear pronounced motor noise, which you certainly can encounter in cheaper turntables. In better turntables that present no motor noise, there will still be resonances, but a turntable's resonance signature will likely be almost entirely subsonic- no other difference should be visible unless there is a pronounced mechanical failure. There are other relevant differences between turntables, such as the ability to hold pitch constant. I recently compared my SL1200-mkII to a friend's Rega Planar 3. The Technics had more pronounced resonances, if not by a lot. The Rega had an issue with the platter speed where it would speed up and slow down over 20-30 second cycles. This speed difference was very very small. So did the characteristic matter? Probably not. For the record, the MKII also had speed irregularities, but at much closer intervals- under a half-second. Another area of potential difference between turntables is how much they transmit environmental disruptions like footsteps. How much vibration isolation is there? That could be measured in a relatively objective fashion. But again, this is not a characteristic that is likely to matter much unless you are recording the playback. I have listened to recordings I've made of from my turntable and heard myself "walk through the room" when my residence had a wooden floor and I forgot to walk gently. Is this a characteristic that is likely to matter much for listening to LPs for pleasure? No. What is true is that absolutely no modification of the playback is possible in the manner you describe in this video, where one turntable makes "ends of notes" clearer. Have a friend splice, dice, mix and obscure these particular sections at close intervals from your two recordings here and you will find that they are perfectly identical. You may find it harsh for me to assert that your analysis here is colorful fiction caused by the fact that imagination cannot be tamed, but I don't see much effort here to bring exactitude to your analysis. Your setup is great and I do appreciate the effort. You can do a lot more than what you've offered here to objectively identify the differences between turntables. You just have to recognize that the differences aren't what you think.

the difference in sound is all between your ears.. your interpretation ......... i'm musician for over 45 years.... ........ you are not.......... blindfold yourself. you can't hear any difference. try it. and be honest.

No doubt that Rega beats Technics .....

CD player is much clearer. It's stone age technology. It's only a fad like buying old cars from the 90s. It's a phase. Going retro is just plain bull! It's like buying a square wheel and saying it's much better at rolling than a round wheel....doh! If cds were crap, why were radio stations turning to cds asap ? They always go for top quality sound.

I own 2 1200’s but the rega has more separation. On and its Technics, not Techneeks😉