"this is a world beater and at a price that is by no means extreme by the standards of the competition."
-Jason Kennedy Rega Aphelion (mk I) Review
Rega Website Aphelion 2 Cartridge
http://www.rega.co.uk/aphelion.html
Aphelion 2 is the 4th generation of Rega's unique iron-cross construction handmade moving coil cartridges. Taking the technology developed from the original Aphelion and the latest Apheta 3 to the next level, Rega engineers have now fine-tuned every aspect of the original designs.
Aphelion 2 features a boron rod cantilever now fitted with Rega's most advanced "fine line type" nude diamond profile, combined with a super high-powered neodymium magnet and a coil meticulously hand wound on an iron micro cross. The weight reduction of the generator allows greater freedom to track the vinyl groove ensuring even more detail is extracted from the vinyl.The Aphelion 2 is housed within a single piece, aluminum black anodized body and protected by a CAD designed, clear rigid cover to protect the internal fine wires, making handling whilst fitting, safe and risk free.
Sonically the Aphelion is quite unique in the turntable world in that it's an extremely fast and high resolution cartridge but it also still has that warm heart that Rega (everything) is well known for. It's got resolution similar to high shelf Lyra's, but dialed back a notch and slightly sweeter in tone. It's more rambunctious than a Koetsu yet has elements of a Koetsu (Urushi) midrange. It's also a fairly even keeled cartridge with a linear top to bottom coherence reminiscent of higher shelf Ortofons, but with more British warmth. Frankly, it's a sound unto itself, and the closest thing in our store is an Apheta cartridge.
The real purpose of the Aphelion is if you already own and love your Rega RP10 or Planar 10, just wore out your Apheta, and want a clear step upward using the same table. We strongly recommend this cartridge with the RP10/Planar 10. Worthy phono stages would be the Rega Aria, Rega iOS Reference, and Rega Aura. The Aria is probably the lowest we'd go with this. At Pearl Audio, some of our non-Rega standout phono stages for this include the Luxman EQ-500 pure class-A tube phono and Boulder 508.
Specifications :
Tracking Pressure 1.9 g
Input load impedance 100 ohms
Output impedance 10 ohms
Nominal output voltage 350μV
Channel Balance : ≥ 10μV
Separation : ≥ -29dB
Mass 6g
Key Features :
Graded zero tolerance black anodised aluminium body
Boron rod cantilever
'Fine Line Type' profile, nude diamond stylus
Iron micro cross & coil assembly making one of the worlds smallest MC generators.
Worlds most powerful minaturised neodymium magnet.
High specification fine wire 0.018mm
Load settings for adjustable MC stages
Impedance -100ohm
Capacitance - 1000pF
Gain setting - High ('On' position for Rega phono stages )
MC dip switch settings for all adjustable Rega MC cartridge models.
$5,545