Pics of the Upcoming Rega RP10 and Rega Naiad Turntables

When I attended the debut for the Rega RP8 turntable last year (which you can read about here), we were told by Rega's Paul Darwin that the RP10, which would be priced more closely to the now-discontinued flagship P9, would be released within the year. When asked about the RP10, Mr. Darwin confirmed that the RP10's design would be very close to the RP8's, but it would sport the very expensive ceramic platter from the old P9.

Well, a year had passed, and pics of the RP10 have started making the rounds on the Internet. I found these on the website av2day.com, accompanied by a story about how audio writer Chris Martens and photographer Alan Sircom were able to visit Rega founder Roy Gandy in his home and get these photographs. I'm just passing these along.

This second turntable, however, is the Naiad, the legendary and rumoured SuperRega that Roy Gandy supposedly used in his reference system at home. Supposedly Mr. Gandy built the Naiad as an exercise to see how far he could take his turntable designs. He took what he learned from the Naiad and used it to create most of the models in the new RP line. While he built only one--apparently the one in this photo--there have been runors for years that Rega was seriously considering introducing it as a statement 'table.

What's so surprising is how small and minimalist the Naiad is, especially considering how much it will probably cost to produce. (Again, those rumours have been anywhere from $10K to $25-30K.) These are still gorgeous 'tables, and I will listen to them as soon as I get the chance and report back to you. The RP8, I felt, was a stunning 'table for the money (just $2995 with arm and without cartridge), so a $25,000 Rega will probably blow my mind.

You can read the entire av2day.com article here.