Rega Planar 6 RS Edition review

Take the Award-winning Planar 6 turntable, add elements from the next-tier-up Planar 8 model, and give it the visual treatment we liked so much in the Planar 3 RS Edition. It’s a formula that simply can’t go wrong, can it?

Rega’s experiment with its first ‘Rega Special’ Edition resulted in the superb, talented Planar 3 RS Edition (a prestigious Product of the Year winner, no less), and now it has given the RS treatment to the next rung on its turntable ladder. Considering the Planar 6/Nd7 package is a five-star, multiple Award winner, and the Planar 8 is also a five-star, former Award winner, a product that Frankensteins the best bits of these two models together is surely a recipe for success.

Can this more premium Planar 6 RS Edition win us over in the same way its sibling did? It doesn’t take long for us to answer that question.

Price

The Planar 6 RS with Nd9 moving magnet cartridge is cannily priced at £2000 / $3195 / AU$4199. This puts it right in between the standard Planar 6 with Nd7 MM cartridge at £1655 / $2595 / AU$3499, and the Rega Planar 8 with Nd9 at £2554 / $4200 / AU$5399. We tested the Planar 8 with the older Apheta 2 MC cartridge back in 2018, and the current package with the newer Apheta 3 MC costs £3000 / $4945 / AU$6299 in total.

The Nd9 cartridge included here as standard is the brand’s top-end moving magnet cartridge and costs £695 / $1095 / AU$1499 on its own, and features a boron cantilever and fine line nude diamond stylus profile that is based on the brand’s reference high-end Aphelion 2 MC cartridge (£3640 / $5545 / AU$7499). The Nd9 isn’t available as a factory-fitted option with the standard Planar 6, so adding it on separately will exceed the value of the 6 RS.

For those who prefer a moving coil cartridge, Rega offers a Planar 6 RS Edition bundle that includes the Ania MC fitted and Fono MC phono stage for the same price as the Nd9 package. It’s pretty compelling value no matter which option you choose.

Build & design

Rega’s use of the ultra-lightweight Tancast 8 polyurethane foam material in the plinth is what sets its premium models (Planar 6, 8, 10, Naia) apart from the MDF plinths in the sub-£1000 Planar 1, 2 and 3 models.

Rega’s defining engineering philosophy is that adding mass to a turntable absorbs energy and this saps the life out of the music, alongside transmitting unwanted resonances that negatively affect the sound – hence its continued pursuit of materials that are very light but also deliver exceptional stiffness.

The Planar 6 RS Edition uses the same Tancast 8 foam core sandwiched between two layers of very thin but stiff HPL (High Pressure Laminate) construction as the Planar 6 and 8, which offers a rigid but extremely low mass base for the turntable. Even after all this time, we’re surprised by just how light the turntable is when taking it out of the box.

Like the Planar 3 RS, the Planar 6 RS has a brushed metallic finish that not only looks stunning, but also acts as another ultra-thin skin around the plinth. As a way of visually differentiating the two RS models, this metal skin is a lighter finish on the Planar 6 RS and wraps all around the edges of the plinth, whereas the darker Planar 3 RS has mirrored black edges.

The Rega Planar 6 RS Edition is a lovely looking piece of hi-fi. Its minimal, belt-drive design is further accentuated by the sleek finish, while every element on the turntable – from the tonearm to the sub-platter to the screen-printed logo – is built to an impressively high standard.

That the Planar 6 RS sticks with the more conventional rectangular plinth design and full-size hinged dust cover is surely another reason why it has been so popular since it was announced earlier this year. It’s ideal for those who want the benefits of the Planar 8’s advanced technology, but aren’t enamoured with the skeletal plinth design or find its moulded dust cover impractical.

The Planar 6 RS adopts the hand-assembled RB880 tonearm found in the Planar 8, and this – along with the step-up Nd9 cartridge – is a big part of the 6 RS’s performance upgrade. The RB880 tonearm is a step up from the RB330 found on the standard P6, and is further refined to reduce resonances throughout the one-piece tube.

It features an improved aluminium and stainless steel vertical bearing assembly, with zero-tolerance bearings that are adjusted to less than a 1000th of a millimetre for near-frictionless movement. In use, there is no undue play and the movement is incredibly smooth.

Additionally, the 6 RS Edition features a twin motor pulley with two drive belts, which help deliver more accurate and stable speed control. It’s another design point taken from the premium Planar 8.

Other elements remain from the standard Planar 6, which include the nicely machined aluminium sub-platter, the dual-layer glass platter, and the double-brace system that strengthens the area between the tonearm mounting and the main hub bearing. This is a clever way of adding extra rigidity without adding too much unwanted mass to the turntable.

As with every deck from Planar 6 upwards, the 6 RS Edition’s low-noise 24v AC motor is powered by an outboard Neo Mk2 power supply unit, which offers electronic speed switching (33⅓ and 45 RPM) and is hand-tuned to match the motor on the turntable it is paired with. So if you’ll be auditioning the Planar 6 RS against the standard P6, make sure both models are used with their matching PSUs.

With the Nd9 factory-fitted, setting up the Rega turntable isn’t complicated at all. Simply balance the arm using the stainless steel counterweight, set the tracking weight and bias to the cartridge’s recommendations (1.75g in this case), and plug the captive phono leads into a capable stereo amplifier, and you’re good to go.

Sound

We plug the Planar 6 RS into our reference Naim Nait XS 3 integrated, and switch between the Epos ES-7N standmounts and PMC Prodigy 5 floorstanders during our testing. The Naim is discontinued now, so we would suggest Rega’s own Elicit Mk5 amplifier and the Fyne F502S or PMC Prophecy 1 speakers as a good pairing for the 6 RS Edition’s talents.

It doesn’t take us long to hear the step up in performance from the standard Planar 6. The recognisable Rega sonic characteristics are there – agile timing, superb dynamic ability, and a lovely balance between authority and subtlety.

We spin some of our favourite test records – Holst’s wide-ranging The Planets, Nirvana’s MTV Unplugged live set, the ambient soundscapes of Four Tet, and Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours – and find that the Planar 6 RS Edition simply elevates all those recognisable sonic aspects even further.

The upgrades on the Planar 6 RS all pull together to deliver a sound that is more stable and composed, and even more expressive and delicate. The turntable offers a quieter background for detail from the vinyl grooves to flourish, and it’s a more three-dimensional sound, too.

The positioning of instruments in Holst’s chaotic, intense Mars is more definite within the sweeping, broader soundstage, with the edges of notes relayed with a greater degree of authority and precision. The sweeter, delicate notes of Venus are just that – the higher tones of the flute, clarinet and violin sound subtle and textured alongside the delicate shine, with a fluidity that holds our attention even in the movement’s quieter moments.

That meaty bassline in The Chain is deep, punchy and pulled taut; the Rega’s tremendous agility combines with a greater amount of low-level dynamic finesse so that it sounds even more tuneful and impactful. The 6 RS Edition does a fine job of keeping all the strands of the chorus organised and balanced – no single element jostles for the limelight over another.

With Nirvana’s MTV Unplugged record, we find the 6 RS better conveys the space of the room the musicians are playing in compared with the standard model, while Kurt Cobain’s voice sounds even more raw and revealing. Dynamically, there’s simply more going on – guitar strums are more emphatic, silences are deeper, and the way his voice reaches hair-raising intensity during the closing track sounds more visceral and organic.

Switch back to the standard Planar 6, and we still find it delivers an agile, fluid and dynamically exciting performance, with plenty of fine detail. The 6 RS Edition simply locks everything into place with a greater sense of composure and confidence. Voices are more intimate and have more presence; the switch from a quiet moment to a big crescendo is more dramatic; and we are drawn into the music with greater emotion, no matter the genre.

Verdict

As the Planar 3 RS Edition bridged the gap between the standard Planar 3 and the step-up Planar 6, this model is a similar stepping stone between the P6 and the more premium Planar 8, and offers excellent value for the combination of its advanced technologies.

The Rega Planar 6 RS Edition is a beautifully and cleverly made turntable, and its stylish looks and great sound will be a siren call to any vinyl fans who can afford to level up to this price.

Review published: 8th October 2026

SCORES

• Sound 5
• Build 5
• Features 4

MORE:

Read our review of the Rega Planar 6/Nd7

Also consider the Rega Planar 8

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