Rega Fono MC Phono Stage And Ania MC Phono Cartridge Package

Rega Fono MC Phono
Stage and Ania MC Phono Cartridge Package

Ania moving coil cartridge

The newest member of the Rega MC
cartridge range the Ania was inspired by the success of the Apheta 2 and
Aphelion MC cartridges. Using the same exceptionally complex hand wound micro
coil found in the rest of the range, the Ania is housed in a unique PPS highly
rigid body, ensuring accurate construction and Rega’s three point fixing
method ensuring optimum connection to the headshell and automatic setting for
overhang. The new body is protected by a CAD designed, clear rigid
cover to protect the internal fine wires, making handling whilst fitting,
safe and risk free.The Ania features a super high-powered, neodymium magnet and a
coil meticulously hand wound on to an iron cross. This miniature
assembly allows us greater freedom to track the vinyl
groove ensuring even more detail is extracted from the vinyl.

All of these features combine to deliver a balanced and
dynamic performance that will engage you with your vinyl like never before.The
Ania is the perfect partner for the Planar 3, Planar 6 or RP8
turntables.

A unique design.

Rega’s Moving Coil cartridge design is unique in its
approach to achieving an ultra-low mass generator which is undamped (no tie
wire) using a unique rhomboid pivot for the cantilever powered by a purpose
designed, exclusive to Rega, Neodymium magnet system. This type of
design requires a zero-tolerance engineered cartridge body which is Rega’s area
of expertise and with the Apheta 2 and Aphelion products these bodies
are machined from one piece of the highest quality aluminium. This is a
difficult and expensive process requiring all of Rega’s forty-four years of
experience to achieve. In particular, the “zero” tolerancing of the
body is required in the alignment and dimension of the pivot pad mounting hole
and the magnet mechanism mounting hole relationship.

When we decided to produce a Moving Coil cartridge at half
the cost of the Apheta 2, the special aluminium body could
not be used, it was simply too expensive. The solution lay in an unusual
polymer/glass combination
called Polyphenylene Sulphide (PPS-Fortron). With 40% glass,
this material could be moulded and would solve the cost problem. The
special attributes of this material are its hardness and stability in shape and
dimension post moulding, both critical for the performance
of Ania. Now came the challenge. Rega designed
and prototyped using SLA systems in just a few months, proving the validity
of the design direction.

Now we had to design a production mould tool
capable of extreme accuracy and long life. PPS is a difficult polymer
to mould and requires special attention to how
the mould tool operates. Couple this to an almost unmouldable
complex shape of the Ania body and a very considerable challenge
faced the Rega engineers and the toolmakers chosen. The toolmakers
are of the highest technical skill level, using the most accurate
Swiss EDM CNC machines, their regular customers being the military and
medical industries, routinely working down to a micron (one thousandth of
a millimetre).To achieve this intricate body shape required the most
complex high pressure injection mould tool that Rega has
ever designed. The tool has eight major parts, four of which must move in
perfect synchronicity with each other to achieve each cartridge body.
The design and manufacture of this “work of art” took an entire year to produce
and was made exclusively by the most senior toolmaker requiring all his lifetime
of artisanal experience.

Combine this special PPS body with its high specification
stainless steel inserts, a unique rhomboid pivot system, a tried and tested
high performance, diamond tipped elliptical stylus cantilever with low mass
moving coil generator assembly and you have new market leading
musicality, performance, speed, clarity, and detail as never before at
this price.

Specifications:

Tracking Pressure 1.75 – 2.00g

Input load impedance 100 ohms

Output impedance 10 ohms

Nominal output voltage 350μV

Channel Balance : ≥ 20μV

Separation : ≥ -29dB

Mass 6g

Key Features:

Iron cross & micro coil assembly

One of the world’s smallest MC generators.

Cutting edge neodymium magnet.

Elliptical profile stylus

Constructed from high specification 0.018mm fine wire

FONO MC Phono stage

The Fono MC is an exceptionally high quality MC phono
stage designed to maximise the potential of any MC cartridge.
Although specifically to compliment the latest Rega range of
moving coils you will find full adjustability for loading is
available via dip switches conveniently placed on the rear panel with two
different gain settings located on the back panel making the Fono MC compatible
with most low output MC cartridges.

The Fono MC has been designed to be effective, easy to use,
and above all, to reproduce music. The Fono MC uses the Linear Systems low
noise LSK389 FET in an all discrete input stage where low noise and linearity
are vitally important to get the best from an MC cartridge. Because of the high
input impedance of FET, the loading effects of the amplifier circuit are
minuscule and do not affect the performance of the cartridge.

A MUSE operational amplifier is used in the RIAA
equalization amplifier. Polypropylene capacitors have been used in the signal
path and in the RIAA equalization circuits. There is selectable input loading
for both resistance and capacitance along with two different gain settings
located on the back panel making the Fono MC compatible with most low output MC
cartridges.

The aesthetic design of the Fono MC was as important as the
quality of its electrical capabilities, so it benefits from the same aluminium
case as the Rega TTPSU and Fono MM amplifier, giving it a design which offers a
familiar feel and moreover brings it in line with its illustrious bigger
brothers. The new Fono MC circuit resulted from the design work carried out on
the Aria phono amplifier.

The Fono disk stage is designed to amplify the
signal from a moving coil cartridge to a level which can feed into
a 200mV line level input on a standard hi-fi amplifier.

Specifications:

Input sensitivity (for 200mV output)

4 off = 133uV

4 on = 67uV

Input loading resistance

1 and 2 off = 400Ω

1 on = 100Ω

2 on = 150Ω

1 and 2 on = 70Ω

Input loading capacitance

3 off = 1000pF

3 on = 4300pF

Gain (at 1KHz)

4 off = 63.5dB

4 on = 69.5dB

Maximum input level (at 1KHz)

4 off = 6.7mV

4 on = 3.4mV

Output impedance = 200Ω

Recommended minimum output load resistance = 5K

Frequency response (50KΩ output load) = 13Hz (-3dB) to 100KHz (-0.3dB)

RIAA accuracy (50KΩ output load) = Better than +/-0.2dB 100Hz to 100KHz

Power requirements = 24V AC at 150mA maximum. Only to be used with Rega PS1.