Product Comparison: Rega Planar 1 vs Pro-Ject Essential 2

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Best Pick

Rega Planar 1 Turntable Gloss Black

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Pro-Ject Essential 2

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General Specifications

Brand

Rega

Pro-Ject

Model

Planar 1

Essential 2

Origin

England

China

About the Product

The new Planar 1 is the most user friendly Rega turntable to date. Now with preset bias force on the brand new RB110 tonearm, the Planar 1 is set up in seconds after unpacking.

Unlike many other turntables around this price, the Pro-Ject Essential 2 has all the elements of a proper hi-fi turntable - just at a lower price. Starting with the deck itself, a new motor control makes the Essential 2 quieter and minimises unwanted vibrations.

Key Specs

Drive Type

Belt drive

Operation Type

Semi-Automatic

Manual

What customers say about "Key Specs"

Rega Planar 1 Turntable Gloss Black

As is typical on budget audiophile decks controls are super-rudimentary.
Smooth operation and easy to set up.
Easy set up and a great sounding deck. I can’t fault it as it’s as good, if not better than a lot of decks twice it’s price.
It was simple to set up, sounds and looks great.
Bought to replace an old Marantz deck. The difference is like chalk and cheese. With the Rega you feel you are involved in the music.

Pro-Ject Essential 2

Changing the speed to 45 rpm was easy and quick enough with a bit of practice.
This Pro-Ject Essential II is a completely manual turntable - no auto return etc, and probably all the better for it.
Plus you have to manually move the belt if you want to change from 45 to 33 RPM (its easy but don’t try it after a few beers!!!).
I had concerns about the belt being outside the platter but it works fine

Size & Weight

Height

4.5 in.

4.41 in.

Width

17.7 in.

16.54 in.

Depth

15.1 in.

12.99 in.

Weight

12.1 lbs.

8.82 lbs.

What customers say about "Size & Weight"

Rega Planar 1 Turntable Gloss Black

The only set-up necessary was to remove the packing from under the platter and fit the balance weight onto the tonearm.
The record player looks amazing too.
I love this turntable. It looks beautiful, is extremely easy to assemble and sounds amazing for the price.
The quality of the construction makes it a thing of beauty.
It's simple, elegant design makes it very attractive to me.

Pro-Ject Essential 2

As for the engineering, we have to presume it's robust, top quality and designed to last, only time will tell.
Bought as gift, excellent sound quality and great to watch the exposed pulley mechanism.
The construction of this turntable is first rate, the plinth is really solid, and the arm and cartridge feel really high end.
High build quality, beautifully minimalistic and easy enough to set up.
Very pleased with the sound for such a low price but very light weight.

Audio

Record Sizes

7, 12

Playable Record Speeds

33 ⅓, 45

Stylys/Cartridge

Rega Carbon MM cartridge

Ortofon OM 5E moving-magnet cartridge

Integrated Preamp

What customers say about "Audio"

Rega Planar 1 Turntable Gloss Black

The sound of this turntable compared to my previous setup is superb. Really notice the difference and even with using 'PC' type speakers
Still, it does a great job on factory fresh premium vinyl, my old records, and some bought from charity shops and record fairs.
The music felt totally stable, no obvious speed issues you hear on poor quality turntables but the balance of the sound, the separation and detail is fantastic.
This turntable provides levels of audio depth, clarity and subtlety which are simply amazing.
Great Turntable for the money. Plays my vinyls in a nice crisp sound.

Pro-Ject Essential 2

Ortofon cartidge and stylus produce detailed and well balanced sound, the main thing essentially.
Excellent record deck. Sounds fantastic. Easy to assemble the deck.
Definitely worth it, good sound through Nad system with KEF speakers.
Fantastic turntable, with an amazing sound for the price tag.
Yes, the anti skate weight can be a bit of a pain, but this is totally outweighed by the brilliant clarity of sound produced by this turntable.

Features

Control

On/Off switch

Start/Stop

Functions

Vinyl player

Platter Material

Phenolic

MDF

Dust Cover Included

Yes

Speaker(s) Included

Interfaces

Stereo RCA audio out

Extras

Re-Designed feet, Re-designed brass main bearing, Balance Weight

Special turntable feet for effective decoupling, Low vibration synchronous motor, Single piece aluminium tone-arm

Dust Cover Included
Speaker(s) Included

What customers say about "Features"

Rega Planar 1 Turntable Gloss Black

This is a sonically outstanding turntable for the money. The sounds is dynamic and detailed and been built by Rega, it looks and feels classy too.
Well, when it arrived, took about 10 minutes to set up, including the dust lid
Very pure and relaxing. the deck is a dream. Very sincere sound. Great depth of sound. Beautiful.
OK so it's very simple to set up and the sound quality is very good which is the most important thing i guess.
Really pleased with this turntable. Comes with phono cable and everything needed ready to go.

Pro-Ject Essential 2

An absolute first class record deck I,m delighted to purchase one for a knockout price, this will more than do justice for my small vinyl collection.
Great deck lovely sound quality, rich and detailed sound from the fitted cartridge
The included lid, which is hardly ever mentioned, is functional and smart.
Good quality wires and the Pro-Ject phono box certainly help get a good sound.
This initial trouble is worth it though as the Ortofon OM5e cartridge sounds incredible through Wharfedale Diamond 9.1s and adds a whole new weight to listening.

Warranty / Certifications

Manufacturer Warranty

1 year(s)

2 year(s)

Certifications