Rega RP8 - Manual (Page 5)

Practically this means keeping as much of the mass to the outside rim of the glass
platter to create more flywheel effect while keeping the inside of the platter as light as
possible without sacrificing stiffness.
The RP6 was the first Rega turntable to use a precision engineered glass ring laminated
to the outside using modern CNC techniques to ensure concentricity. The RP8 takes it
one step further by laminating three rings together to produce the RP8 super flywheel
effect glass platter which we consider an engineering triumph !
MAGNESIUM AND PHENOLIC - DUAL BRACING
A super lightweight plinth combined with a double brace mounted specifically where the
increased rigidity is required (between the tonearm mounting and the main hub
bearing) forms a structurally sound “stressed beam” assembly. This design prevents
energy absorption and unwanted resonances which will add unnatural distortions to the
music.
The RP8 takes our double brace technology to the next level. Not content with an
unprecedented stiffness to mass ratio, Rega has obsessively reduced any resonant
properties by using two different materials for the new stressed beam. The top layer is
magnesium and the bottom layer is phenolic (two of the lightest and stiffest materials
available). Incorporating two different materials into the brace structure lowers their
ability to pick up unwanted airborne vibrations.
Simply put, different materials have different natural resonances. By using two
different materials together they decrease the natural frequency of each other by self
damping.
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