Yes I know this is the old chestnut and older Regas were guilty but, on a 2014 Rega RP3 I reckon 34.3RPM is too fast. I only decided to test it as over the last few months as I'd noted a couple of albums did sound a tad too 'hurried' and the last one - yesterday - was Paul Simon Graceland which forced me to check.

'Measured' with a SmartPhone RPM app it actually fluctuates between a range of 34.1 to 34.4 but is averaging for the most part 34.3. Which is surprisingly 3%.

So, I've carefully removed the white belt and cleaned it with a new fine microfibre cloth plus sub-platter and pulley. After drying it I used a tiny amount of talc on the belt and retested with the phone in 2 different positions each time - same result. 34.3 (3% fast). Note that I don't have a TTPSU.

I'm not convinced strobing it with the needle in the groove will show a significant reduction. Its possible another belt might help (some forums reckon the Edwards belt) but could this be a motor issue ? I had the motor swapped by a Rega Dealer (esteemed) due to noise within a couple of months. This one was a lot better but its always been audible and especially so with the lid down (I never use it like that). Anyhow, I'm assuming the warranty has expired so thats a dead-end.

Views anyone ?

thanks in advance Richard.