Want a Rega turntable with a serious saving? Go green

Rega's turntables are wonderful things, but if they've often been a bit beyond your budget there's good news on the affordability front – the acclaimed Rega Planar 3 turntable is now available as a Green Grade version with a big discount.

That means, instead of the usual £695, the Green Grade Planar 3 Eco Special is just £499.

Green Grade is Rega's non-profit initiative, and it takes a greener approach to minor faults. Rather than throw away parts with slight cosmetic issues, it uses them in its Eco Special models.

Visually they're imperfect, but they're built to the same high standards as any other Rega turntable – so you're getting high-end Hi-Fi for considerably less cost, and doing your bit for the environment too.

"We hope these small steps will change people’s attitudes and deliver us all a better and less wasteful future," Rega says. In an ideal world, every turntable would be Green Grade and "we would stop wasting valuable resources and reduce our carbon footprint".

Rega Planar 3 Eco Special: key features

As Rega explains, the firm has a number of aluminium skin edition metal plinths with small imperfections and they will be teamed with other Green Grade components, such as tonearms, platters and dust covers.

The plinths won't be silkscreened with the P3 logo, so that they're easily identified as Green Grade. They'll get a Rega Eco badge on the lid instead.

Rega says that every Green Grade deck will be thoroughly tested to the same standards as the normal Planar 3, and the cosmetic imperfections will not affect performance in any way.

The turntables will also come with the same lifetime warranty against functional (but not cosmetic) defects.

The Rega Planar 3 Eco Special comes without a cartridge – the Nd3 is recommended – and it's compatible with the Neo PSU, which is also not included.

The Green Grade versions of Rega's products are available from the same dealers and distributors as its other turntables, but the firm recommends checking product availability with your dealer before travelling to see them.