Rega designed the P3-24 for easy setup, so you don't need to buy an extensive kit of turntable adjustment tools just to start spinning. After laying the platter on the plinth, I slid the tonearm counterweight onto its back section and used my inexpensive Shure SFG-2 stylus-force gauge to verify that the cartridge was set at the recommended 1.75-gram tracking weight. A special protractor comes with the 'table for aligning cartridges other than Rega's Elys 2 model. Using this tool, it was a snap to confirm the perfect factory alignment of the cartridge's headshell.

Connecting the TTPSU's cable to a socket at the back of the plinth, I turned on the power supply and looked for a red LED to let me know the Rega was running at 33 rpm - check. My final step was to balance the turntable by adjusting the spikes underneath my equipment rack's top shelf with a level sitting on the platter's surface. Finding the bubble perfectly centered, I was good to go.

PERFORMANCE

I started my evaluation with Wilco's Sky Blue Sky, an LP that I'd recently logged many hours listening to. Immediately, I could hear differences with the P3-24, particularly in the highs, which sounded distinctly clearer than they did with my regular turntable. For instance, Jeff Tweedy's vocals on "You Are My Face" came across as dry and gritty on the Rega - a quality that, I have to say, pushed his voice out uncomfortably toward the front of the mix. Other treble details, such as the cleanly recorded ride cymbal and even Nels Cline's skronking guitar during the song's explosive midsection, were even and balanced by comparison. The Rega P3-24 just seemed to convey the true sound of this recording better than my Pro-Ject 1.2 did. Indeed, the latter turntable was much more sonically forgiving. (Probably a good thing given the condition of some of my older records.)

The Rega's ability to reveal microscopic sonic details set me on a mad stint of comparative listening - as well as some careful record cleaning. Spinning "Cello Song" from Nick Drake's Five Leaves Left, I was impressed by the smooth quality of the vocals (Drake is the anti-Tweedy), as well as the crisp delineation of the acoustic guitar and bass, hand percussion, and of course, cello. The Rega 'table's ability to convey a solid-sounding low end was also apparent on this track; until then, I wasn't aware that the song contained this much bass.

Another thing that struck me was the sense of definition, focus, and space that the P3-24 brought to specific instruments and voices. It was something that I experienced vividly when listening to Classic Records' reissue of Miles Davis's Kind of Blue. On the track "Blue in Green," the location of the musicians was perfectly clear: Miles dead center, pianist Bill Evans at left, and Jimmy Cobb's wispy, subtle scraping of brushes across a snare drum emanating from the right of the soundstage. Listening to this track's first 2 minutes practically put me in a trance, but then a lone ride-cymbal ping, followed by John Coltrane stepping forward to solo, pulled me straight back into 3-D reality. Hearing the Rega's realistic and coherent presentation of this recording was nothing short of a revelation.

BOTTOM LINE

Starting at the base price of $895, Rega's P3-24 turntable combined with the company's RB301 tonearm and Elys 2 cartridge ($200 extra) represents a solid and affordable step up for a casual vinyl collector looking to enter the high-fidelity Big Leagues. I approached the P3-24 with open ears, hoping to hear a noticeable improvement in the sound of my records. Not only did the turntable deliver on that promise, it also opened my eyes to the sonic potential (and in some cases, weakness) of my record collection. When you add the company's TTPSU external power supply, the package becomes all the more appealing. Those smirking, CD-adopting yupsters may be gone, but vinyl sure isn't - and when played on a turntable like the P3-24, it can sound better than ever.