Analog Gear News

When we say Rega gear has a certain “aura” about it, most of you know what we mean. Besides the British company’s top-notch turntables, Rega also make top-tier phono preamps, including their reference-level (wait for it) AURA moving coil (MC) model. Springboarding from a circuit derived from the AURA, Rega’s new AOS MC phono preamp has been designed as a fully adjustable unit to support a wide range of MC carts and offer sufficient gain for low-output designs.

The Rega AOS MC phono preamp utilizes a two-stage, all-analog amp design, sans any digital control circuitry. The AOS MC is housed in a custom, half-width aluminium enclosure that is said to screen the unit’s internal electronics from RFI (i.e., radio frequency interference). This circuit design is also purported to avoid additional components that could compromise signal integrity, and it includes a self-adjusting servo control to compensate for any temperature variations.

The AOS MC phono-pre uses parallel-connected low-noise FETs configured as a compound pair, which is intended to prevent bias current flowing in the cartridge coil. An automatic standby mode can be disabled using rear-mounted dip switches.

Gain can be increased by 6dB via the rear-panel controls. The load settings for the adjustable MC stages are given as 69.3dB at 1kHz (0dB, high gain setting) and 63.5dB at 1kHz (–6dB, low gain setting).

Additional specs for the AOS MC include input loads given as 70Ω, 100Ω, 150Ω, and 400Ω; capacitive loads as 1,000pF and 4,300pF; RIAA accuracy (100kΩ output load) as better than ±0.2dB, 65Hz to 70kHz; frequency response as 17.5 Hz (–3 dB) to 100 kHz (–0.2 dB); THD as 0.03%; input sensitivity as 69.3 dB (Gain Setting I) and 63.5 dB (Gain Setting II); and power consumption as 0.4W (in standby) and 20W. The dimensions of the unit are 220 x 80 x 330mm (w/h/d), and its weight is 2.9kg.

Finally, the SRP for the Rega AOS MC phono preamp — which is expected to have started shipping here in March, and on into April — is £1,500.

For more about Rega, go here.
To find an authorized Rega distributor, go here.