Has anyone ever seen anything like this before?
Posted by: Thorsten on 01 September 2002
curiosity got the better of me,
in 1992 i auditioned a project tt, a linn basik and the tt i eventually bought. a s/h rega in the same price region. on the bill it says it's a "split slap". well it's obviously split. does anyone know anything about this tt? i never saw a second one or heard someone refering to it. it came with isoda cables.
i am pretty satisfied with this tt. i prefered it to the others mentioned above and till this day i prefer it's sound to my 3.5. unfortunately most of my music is on cd. unavailable on vinyl.
in 1992 i auditioned a project tt, a linn basik and the tt i eventually bought. a s/h rega in the same price region. on the bill it says it's a "split slap". well it's obviously split. does anyone know anything about this tt? i never saw a second one or heard someone refering to it. it came with isoda cables.
i am pretty satisfied with this tt. i prefered it to the others mentioned above and till this day i prefer it's sound to my 3.5. unfortunately most of my music is on cd. unavailable on vinyl.
Posted on: 01 September 2002 by quickie
Hi,
If my memory serves me right(no chance!)it was made by C.S Audio by a guy called Chris Smeeton.
Came out about the same time as the PT Little Pink thing 1989? and was similar in design to it.
The two companies had quite a close working relationship.Got a write up in an old Hifi Review someware,thought it was quite a bit better than the cooking Rega.
Cheers,
Paul.
If my memory serves me right(no chance!)it was made by C.S Audio by a guy called Chris Smeeton.
Came out about the same time as the PT Little Pink thing 1989? and was similar in design to it.
The two companies had quite a close working relationship.Got a write up in an old Hifi Review someware,thought it was quite a bit better than the cooking Rega.
Cheers,
Paul.
Posted on: 01 September 2002 by quickie
The kit was
Posted on: 01 September 2002 by caddyman
Yes! My friend had one. It was a modification kit to a standard rega. It was I think called a split 'slab'. I can't actually remember who manufactured it, perhaps someone else on this forum will? His sounded pretty good though, how it compares to a standard Rega I've no idea! That's all I can tell you!Enjoy it!
Posted on: 01 September 2002 by Thorsten
i seem to remember that i auditioned a rega 3 too ten years back. obviously i liked this one better. thanks for your first help. maybe someone else knows someone who has one. :-) thanks to all
<i>The most important upgrade: Forget about your system. </i>
<i>The most important upgrade: Forget about your system. </i>
Posted on: 03 September 2002 by Thorsten
sorry, could not delete this one any more. see below.
Posted on: 03 September 2002 by Thorsten
hi guys, (and occasional girls)
is this all? honestly, i had hoped for some more information. if this helps matters at all i am willing to disclose the secret of my birth-name (which is so far not known to anyone on this forum) for more substantial information on my tt.
thanks to caddyman and paul anyway. they have helped already.
p.s. my deepest apologies for the unforgivable amount of grave spelling and grammar mistakes. it was late on sunday. i am ashamed but aware that it is far too late for editing.
<i>The most important upgrade: Forget about your system. </i>
is this all? honestly, i had hoped for some more information. if this helps matters at all i am willing to disclose the secret of my birth-name (which is so far not known to anyone on this forum) for more substantial information on my tt.
thanks to caddyman and paul anyway. they have helped already.
p.s. my deepest apologies for the unforgivable amount of grave spelling and grammar mistakes. it was late on sunday. i am ashamed but aware that it is far too late for editing.
<i>The most important upgrade: Forget about your system. </i>
Posted on: 03 September 2002 by Craig B
I've not seen or heard one but the Split Slab kit seemed an interesting prospect when it appeared in the British press some dozen years or more ago.
The kit consisted of an alternative two piece plinth to that of the Rega Planars. The plinths design paid homage to that of the Roksan Xerses (as did the PT LPT) with its recessed main plinth 'frame' and an isolated top plate with saw cut extending round the main bearing and arm base in an effort to reduce standing waves (you can just make it out in the photo above). Unlike Roksan's top plate the Split Slabs saw cut wasn't all the way through the board at all points so that sagging wouldn't be an issue.
Assembly required that one transfer all of a Rega Planar 2 or 3s parts except for the plinth and power switch (the switch being the only part that is difficult to remove intact at it's an interference press fit).
According to its designer, Chris Smeeton, the Split Slab sounded best with a Planar 2 platter as the Rega motor was better able to drive its lower mass and therefore more quickly compensate for dynamic drag affects. This claim led me to experiment with running Planar 2 glass on a Planar 3 for a while (I use a 2 in my second system nowadays).
The kit received a couple of favourable reviews in the British press and then seemed to disappear from sight. AFAIK there were only one or two dealers carrying it so for the most part one had to trust the manufacturers claims and magazine reviews as pre-sale dems would have been difficult.
A positive selling point of the Split Slab was that one could easily restore the Planar if one didn't like the result as only the AC power cord need be cut in order to transfer the motor and PS board. On the other hand it had to be a tough sell to convince a Rega Planar owner to dismantle his deck just to give the CS a go.
CS claimed that the Rega's motor drive and main bearing were the limiting factors in preventing the Split Slab from competing fully against the next rung up the vinyl spinner ladder (i.e. with the likes of the Manticore Mantra, PT LPT and Linn Axis). They reportedly intended to provide upgrades in the form of an uprated main bearing and quieter motor but I don't recall hearing anything further since.
The two reviews that I happened across rated it somewhat above the Planar 3 and claimed that it represented good VFM if purchased as an upgrade by an existing Planar owner (or by someone intending to mod a used Rega). One mag reported that they asked for Rega's comments and that Roy Gandy claimed to have tested a Split Slab and declared it to be inferior to the 3. Ironically Rega has since approached somewhat the same issues from a different angle with their framed plinth design for the P25 and P9 designs.
Certainly an interesting niche market product.
Craig
The kit consisted of an alternative two piece plinth to that of the Rega Planars. The plinths design paid homage to that of the Roksan Xerses (as did the PT LPT) with its recessed main plinth 'frame' and an isolated top plate with saw cut extending round the main bearing and arm base in an effort to reduce standing waves (you can just make it out in the photo above). Unlike Roksan's top plate the Split Slabs saw cut wasn't all the way through the board at all points so that sagging wouldn't be an issue.
Assembly required that one transfer all of a Rega Planar 2 or 3s parts except for the plinth and power switch (the switch being the only part that is difficult to remove intact at it's an interference press fit).
According to its designer, Chris Smeeton, the Split Slab sounded best with a Planar 2 platter as the Rega motor was better able to drive its lower mass and therefore more quickly compensate for dynamic drag affects. This claim led me to experiment with running Planar 2 glass on a Planar 3 for a while (I use a 2 in my second system nowadays).
The kit received a couple of favourable reviews in the British press and then seemed to disappear from sight. AFAIK there were only one or two dealers carrying it so for the most part one had to trust the manufacturers claims and magazine reviews as pre-sale dems would have been difficult.
A positive selling point of the Split Slab was that one could easily restore the Planar if one didn't like the result as only the AC power cord need be cut in order to transfer the motor and PS board. On the other hand it had to be a tough sell to convince a Rega Planar owner to dismantle his deck just to give the CS a go.
CS claimed that the Rega's motor drive and main bearing were the limiting factors in preventing the Split Slab from competing fully against the next rung up the vinyl spinner ladder (i.e. with the likes of the Manticore Mantra, PT LPT and Linn Axis). They reportedly intended to provide upgrades in the form of an uprated main bearing and quieter motor but I don't recall hearing anything further since.
The two reviews that I happened across rated it somewhat above the Planar 3 and claimed that it represented good VFM if purchased as an upgrade by an existing Planar owner (or by someone intending to mod a used Rega). One mag reported that they asked for Rega's comments and that Roy Gandy claimed to have tested a Split Slab and declared it to be inferior to the 3. Ironically Rega has since approached somewhat the same issues from a different angle with their framed plinth design for the P25 and P9 designs.
Certainly an interesting niche market product.
Craig
Posted on: 04 September 2002 by Thorsten
craig,
many thanks for that extensive answer. now i know a lot more about my tt. as i said: i bought it s/h and it was some 700 Euros back then. only slightly more expensive than the real rega 3. i auditioned it and preferred it to the alternatives in that price bracket. easy one. i even got the rega 3 plinth with it. (threw it away when i moved)
i was not aware that the split slab was something out of the ordinary. hopefully it never breaks. will be difficult to get it done.
<i>The most important upgrade: Forget about your system. </i>
many thanks for that extensive answer. now i know a lot more about my tt. as i said: i bought it s/h and it was some 700 Euros back then. only slightly more expensive than the real rega 3. i auditioned it and preferred it to the alternatives in that price bracket. easy one. i even got the rega 3 plinth with it. (threw it away when i moved)
i was not aware that the split slab was something out of the ordinary. hopefully it never breaks. will be difficult to get it done.
<i>The most important upgrade: Forget about your system. </i>