Rega Planar 6 RS Edition: Locks Down the Groove
The Rega Planar 6 RS Edition is the latest in Rega's growing line of special-edition turntables — and if the pattern holds, it may be the most compelling yet. Taking the already accomplished Planar 6 as its foundation and grafting on key components from the Planar 8, the RS Edition arrives as a complete package: turntable, tonearm, and Rega's top moving-magnet cartridge, all ready to play.
We have been following the RS Edition story with interest, and this one is worth a close look.
The RB880 Tonearm: The Critical Upgrade
The single most significant difference between the Planar 6 RS Edition and the standard P6 is the fitment of the RB880 tonearm — the arm that normally ships with the Planar 8, Rega's entry into skeletal plinth territory. Visually similar to the arm on a standard P6, the RB880 carries a stainless steel rather than plastic main bearing and a stainless balance weight, both of which contribute meaningfully to rigidity and stability. Purchased separately, the RB880 retails for £765. The engineering case for the upgrade is clear.
The Nd9 Cartridge: Rega's Finest Moving Magnet
Fitted to that arm is the Nd9, Rega's top moving-magnet cartridge. The Nd series features a redesigned generator and — unusually for a moving-magnet design — a boron cantilever, paired with a fine-line stylus. It is a genuinely capable cartridge that rewards a well-engineered turntable beneath it.
If you are building up a vinyl source from scratch, we also stock the Rega Fono MC MK4 phono stage and the Rega Fono Mini A2D for those at an earlier stage of the journey.
The Plinth: Deceptively Conventional
The Planar 6 RS Edition wears the classic Rega silhouette — rectangular plinth, hinged dustcover — that the company has used since the 1970s. Beneath that familiar exterior, however, the plinth is a phenolic resin and Tancast foam-core sandwich: the same material Rega use in their skeletal designs. It is lighter and stiffer than the vast majority of turntables at any price. Rega have long argued, correctly, that a turntable is fundamentally a vibration-measuring machine. Keeping external vibrations away from the stylus-to-vinyl interface is the primary engineering goal, and a stiff, low-mass plinth serves that goal directly.
Additional rigidity comes from braces above and below the plinth connecting the main bearing and arm base. The motor — a 24V synchronous unit — sits beneath the platter, driving the subplatter via twin EBLT belts. This central-hub drive arrangement is deliberately chosen: motor imperfections have less influence on platter stability, and the flywheel effect that maintains consistent speed is significantly greater when the central hub is driven rather than the platter's outer edge. A dual-layer float glass platter completes the assembly, with speed switching and on/off control handled by the Neo Mk2 power supply.
How Does It Sound?
Reviewer Jason Kennedy, writing for The Ear (April 2026), put the Planar 6 RS Edition through its paces against familiar records and came away genuinely impressed. This is a remarkably sophisticated turntable that sounds extremely stable yet applies the lightest of touches to the music. The presentation is clean, coherent, and even-handed — no exaggeration of highs, mids, or lows — with real weight in the bass that never slows the music down.
Kennedy noted that the turntable digs deep into a mix, revealing low-level detail with ease, and that it locks down a groove with the kind of temporal coherence that makes keeping still rather difficult. Tested against a considerably more expensive streaming setup, the Planar 6 RS Edition held its own on timing, naturalness, and emotional engagement. The bass, in particular, offered a roundness and rhythmic coherence that the digital source could not match.
For those wanting to get the most from their vinyl system, the Rega Aura MC represents Rega's reference-level phono stage, while the Rega Nd3 offers an insight into the Nd cartridge family at a more accessible starting point.
The Value Case
The numbers are straightforward. A standard Planar 6 costs £1,280 without a cartridge. The Nd9 cartridge alone retails at £695. The RB880 tonearm costs £765 if purchased separately. The Planar 6 RS Edition brings all three together for £2,000 — which means, in effect, you are acquiring the RB880 arm upgrade for £25. Reviewer Jason Kennedy called it "a hot potato on the value front." It is difficult to argue.
Hear It at Martins Hi-Fi
Martins Hi-Fi has been in Norwich since 1968. Elizabeth Gould runs the business today, and we stock only brands we have heard properly and stand behind. Rega make some of our favourite turntables at any price, and the Planar 6 RS Edition is available to hear in our showroom. Dave and Chris look after hi-fi — come and listen, bring your own records if you like.
Contact us at info@martinshifi.co.uk, call 01603 627010, or WhatsApp on 07554 687137. You can read more about how we work on our Why Martins Hi-Fi page. We are at 85–91 Ber Street, Norwich, NR1 3EY.
