Rega calls the Replay its audiophile gateway drug, and the target is plain enough: someone who wants a proper turntable and has no appetite for learning what anti-skating means. The company says it spent three years developing the deck from scratch, and that it draws on more than 50 years of engineering. It is handmade in the UK.
The look comes first. Where most budget decks use a slab plinth, the Replay has a low-mass skeletal frame, a laminated shape around a black MDF core that carries the platter, the arm and the motor and little else. A removable clear dustcover follows the outline of the frame, with a device to stop it rotating. The platter is 23 mm of phenolic resin, higher in mass than before, which Rega says gives a better flywheel effect, and it wears a white mat that is textured on one side.
Setup is where it parts company with most decks at the price. The RB110 tonearm arrives hand-assembled, and the Rega Carbon moving magnet cartridge is fitted and aligned at the factory. Bias is preset and cannot be adjusted. The owner slides the counterweight on until it stops, connects the leads, removes the stylus guard and plays, a job Rega puts at under a minute. A 24V low-noise synchronous motor turns the platter through an EBLT belt, fed by a small external PS2 power supply.
The compromises are the usual ones for the money, and they are stated plainly. There is no phono stage inside, so the Replay needs an amplifier with a phono input or a separate phono stage. Speed is changed between 33 1/3 and 45 RPM by moving the belt by hand, not with a switch. The stylus can be replaced, but the arm leaves no room for fiddling with alignment or tracking force, which is the point for some buyers and a frustration for others.
It measures 115 by 415 by 320 mm with the cover on and weighs 2.2 kg, so it fits on a shelf without argument. The main bearing is a factory-sealed brass unit, and the feet are a new design meant to isolate the deck from vibration. A lifetime limited warranty covers manufacturing defects, which is a generous promise at this price.
- Cartridge fitted and aligned, with setup done in about a minute by Rega's account
- Skeletal low-mass plinth and a higher-mass 23 mm phenolic platter, handmade in the UK
- Light and compact at 2.2 kg, with a lifetime limited warranty against manufacturing defects
- No built-in phono stage, so it needs a phono input on the amplifier or a separate phono stage
- Bias is preset and speed changes by moving the belt by hand, so there is little to adjust
The verdict
A sensible first turntable for anyone who would rather play records than tune a deck, provided there is a phono input to plug it into.
Best forFirst-time vinyl buyers who want a proper deck with no setup anxiety.
Photographs courtesy of Rega
