Rega Planar 3

The Rega Planar 3 turntable, shown here without its felt mat.
The RB300 arm fitted has a non-standard counterweight

The Rega Planar 3, together with its successors, the P3 and RP3, is a well-known budget audiophile turntable by British hi-fi manufacturer, Rega Research available since 1977. It was a belt-drive deck that broke from convention, by employing a solid plinth in lieu of the compliantly suspended chassis or sub-chassis used in many quality turntables since the early 1960s.

The product has lived through several guises and name changes, any of which are often referred to simply as "Rega 3". It is highly influential,[1] and has made its small British manufacturer's name synonymous with hi-fi turntables, and gave the company the widest brand recognition in this product sector in the US.[2] Its relative simplicity and affordability made the Rega 3 a "bedrock of analog playback for well over 30 years".[3]

In 2016, Rega released its 5th generation of Rega 3 turntables, and returned to its original name, Planar 3. A significant redesign, the 2016 Planar 3 features almost all new parts but still shares its basic engineering with its older siblings.

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