If you buy after clicking affiliate links on this site we might receive a commission from companies such as eBay, Amazon etc This does not affect the price you pay.
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PLEASE NOTE: DELIVERY OF THIS AZURE IN CLEAR ACRYLIC WILL BE AT THE END OF JANUARY AS WE ARE CURRENTLY MACHINING MORE PLINTHS. BLACK MODELS ARE AVAILABLE IMMEDIATELY – SEE OUR OTHER LISTING.
We are pleased to introduce our fabulous new Azure. Modelled on our highly acclaimed Athena turntable, the Azure uses Rega runninggear (not included) and is supplied as a comprehensive kit of parts ready for home assembly.
You need to supply the running gear from any Rega made deck* – motor, bearing assembly, platter and tonearm. The Azure kit then transforms theperformance of these components providing a superb sounding turntable that willstand comparison with those many times the price!
As well as the impressive sound qualityimprovement, the Azure looks stunning and is available in crystal clear or jetblack acrylic. This listing is for the CLEAR ACRYLIC MODEL.
Assembling the Azure is quite straightforward and shouldtake around two hours and that includes removal of the components from thedonor deck.
Design wise, the Azure consists of two acrylicsections:
Motor Board the lower of the two acrylicsections, this houses the motor, pcb, on/off switch, sorbothane isolation domesand three coned feet.Sub-chassis this houses the three chrome isolatortop discs, main bearing, sub-platter, platter and the vibration decoupledarmboard.
The Azure will accept any tonearm with Regageometry both three hole & single hole mount. The tonearm is mounted at thesame height as on the Rega donor deck, however, should you wish to raise or lower theheight – for VTA tuning – we can supply a simple kit which allows downwardadjustment by 1mm and upward adjustment of up to 5mm.
To complement the Azure we produce an excellentisolation platform and a choice of two covers, as well as a kit – based on our established Rega enhancementkits – to further upgrade the performance. These are available as extra cost options and are not included with this kit.
* Please note the kit does not currently support some newer decks with the smaller (10mm) main bearing.
24v decks: The Azure is primarily intended for 24vRega motors – for the simple reason that the power supply is housed separatelyand no high voltages are present on the turntable itself. It is therefore very easyand safe for anyone to construct. 240v or 110v decks: The Azure willwork perfectly well with the older, higher voltage decks but if you intend touse one of these you must be aware that as the high voltage pcb and the base of the powerswitch are exposed you need to ensure that these are protected and cannot beaccidentally touched. One of the decks pictured is a 240v model.
The two decks pictured are taken by two of the first owners. The granite isolation platform shown under one of the decks pictured IS NOT included.
As listed, this kit consists of:
ACRYLICSUB-CHASSIS ACRYLIC MOTORBOARD BLACK BOXCONTAINING FITTINGS 36 PIECESVARIOUS FIXINGS 22 PIECES
And this is what you need to supply from your donor deck: For the sake of clarity these items are not included. If this is not clear please email before purchasing!
PCB & POWERSUPPLYMOTOR WITHPULLEYDRIVE BELTMAIN BEARINGSUB-PLATTERPLATTERTONEARM
The Azure is just 329.95, however, for alimited time we are giving 50 off of this price ifyou complete a questionnaire for us and return this with some pictures of your completeddeck. This gives us valuable feedback on your experience whenassembling the deck, genuine user reviews (as below) and helps us to build up acollection of great Azure images.
UK Postage & Handling 20.00, Europe 30.00, Rest of World 45.00
Customer reviews
‘The sound quality is very, very good. I think the biggest difference isthe lack of noise. Somehow the background seems totally dark, making everythingsound more dynamic but also more relaxing and less fussy at the same time.Really the best from both worlds. Female voices and acoustic music sound milesbetter than before – notes extending further and with more timbre. Lastly thesoundstage is a lot more spacious making everything more involving.I liked my P5 but music now gives me chills that I didnt experiencebefore. All this with a Rega Exact pickup that without any doubt is the weaklink at this point.Looking at how the Azure is built I expected improvements in all of theabove areas, but not to that extent. I should note that I am using an upgradedsub-platter / bearing and a Delrin Platter, but this was also the case beforethe rebuild.Finally, I would recommend the Azure to anyone with a Rega Turntablewithout any hesitation. It sounds great, looks great and you will get thesatisfaction of making it yourself.’S.N. (Denmark) Sorens donor deck was an upgraded Rega P5. Pictured above.
‘Having used a SRM Silent Base before, I kind of got the result I wasexpecting – as well as looking superb. Using a custom built motor controller, Valvepreamp, Shure V15 MK3 with a Jico SAS stylus, I recorded a track at 24/96 (DavidBowie-Cat People – a brand new pressing) before and after the change, makingsure tracking and alignment were as close as before. Although the frequency responseseemed very similar on both platforms the Azures timing and solidity was aclear winner and was easy to spot when A-Bing the two comparison tracks inreal time.A really worthy upgrade. I have shown the Azure off to a few friendswith lots of positive comments. One happy customer here!’R.R. (UK) Rich used a 24v RP3 as his donor deck
‘Firstly my system comprises of an Audiolab 8000C (decent phono stage)and 8000P amplifiers hooked up to a pair of Monitor Audio Studio 20SE speakers(90s classics!). My deck is fitted with a Nagaoka MP110 cartridge, so fairlymodest, but decent enough for now. I do not believe in paying silly money forcables, but I do use decent enough connectivity. I have the deck mounted on aslab of 12mm granite, which in turn now sits on my old Rega feet!The main difference to the sound between the Rega P3 and the Azure isthe reduction in noise and it is clear that all of the extra damping and lowresonance materials make a big difference to the original Rega Planar 3 plinth.Bass is much tighter and more controlled, especially noticeable with DireStraits, Money for Nothing, where the drums intro and bass never become muddyand confused with clear separation and clarity even at very high volumes. TheRega always sounded a bit loose and messy with the volume up along withresulting high levels of vibration. This really is the improvement I waslooking for and to some degree expecting, since the motor housing is de-coupledfrom the main platform/plinth, along with the use of lower resonance materials.The sound stage is now noticeably clearer and more spacious, extending in everydirection with stunning detail across the frequency range. Classical piecessound clear and full of emotion, Rock is powerful with amazing drum clarity andjazz is much warmer with amazing detail from percussion instruments. Listeningto Chick Corea was an absolute joy, like a massage for your ears! Miles DavisOn the Corner is a great piece to test percussive sounds and the Azure just drawsyou into the music more and gives an incredible sense of presence. Overall the Azure is an absolute joy to listen to and I could now get inserious trouble with my wife! The only negative thing I have to say is that itis now more revealing of poor source and so some of my more ragged vinyl isgoing to have to move to the local charity shop! One more thing to add is thatmy wow & flutter is now measuring 0.16% compared to 0.23% and this is anaudible and very noticeable improvement. Obviously this result will bedifferent for every deck.I have been a Hi-Fi enthusiast for almost 30 years now and I havedesigned and built several pairs of loudspeakers as well as having gained a 2:1BSc degree in Audio Technology from Salford University (1997-2000), so I thinkI have at least some credibility as a critique!I would without a doubt recommend the Azure to any owner of a RegaPlanar, as the Azure kit transforms the deck into something really special andunique and at a very reasonable price.’P.J. (UK) Peter used a 240v Rega Planar 3 as the donor deck. Pictured above.
‘Thesound improvement is better than I thought. Im not a hifi reviewer but inlaymans terms I have found the following differences which were immediatelyobvious to me;Theresno background noise at allIncreasein clarityAfuller richer sound with improved bassSoundstageappears wider FleetwoodMac Rumours has never sounded better. Mysystem consists of Cambridge audio CXA60, CXN (for digital format), DynaudioEmit M10 speakers and Tisbury Audio phono stage. I use Van Damme cablesthroughout.Iwould highly recommend this upgrade if you have the older P3 system, it is wellworth the entry fee and you have the satisfaction of building it yourself. Onceassembled it also looks very high tech but you have the sonic improvements thatgo along with the looks as well.Everything fitted perfectly where it should be,congratulations on a very high quality kit of parts. Dontunderestimate the satisfaction you have of building this yourself, it was agreat experience!’ J.D. (UK) John used a 24v Rega P3 as the donor deck.
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Category: Sound and Vision:Home Audio and HiFi Separates:Record Players/Turntables
Location: Biggleswade, Bedfordshire