Rega Apheta 2
The Rega Apheta 2 is the second generation of Rega's moving coil phono cartridges, announced in 2015 - the company's first new product of that year. It looks nearly identical to the original Apheta, but every component was redesigned, including the machined aluminum body. The body is cut from a single piece of aluminum and anodized. That protects the delicate internals at minimal weight.
The cartridge has a super high-powered neodymium magnet and a coil hand-wound on an iron cross former that is fifty percent smaller than the original. This weight reduction is said to give the stylus more freedom to track the vinyl groove and pull out more detail. The Apheta 2 has neither a tie wire nor a foam damper. Rega claims these are the only moving coils made anywhere that do not require tuning during build, since they dispense with the usual tie wire and damping suspension that all other MCs use. After 4 years and many hundreds of experiments, the design of the original Apheta was complete.
It was Rega's flagship MC until the Aphelion arrived above it. The Aphelion shares the same production line and many parts. The Apheta 2 was offered as a factory-installed option on the Planar 8 and RP10 turntables. Known specifications: output voltage 0.35 mV (350µV), output impedance 10 ohms, input load impedance 100 ohms, tracking force 1.75-2.00g, channel balance ≥20µV, separation ≥-29dB. The stylus has a multi-radius Vital profile and the cantilever is aluminum. The Aphelion's key advantage is its stiffer boron cantilever.
Reviewers found the Apheta 2 offered "lightening speed and kick arse timing," with Hi-Fi Critic measuring a most accurate 64Hz to 22kHz ±2dB overall and a very tight 100Hz to 15kHz ±1.5dB tolerance on-axis. One reviewer advised playing the cartridge for a hundred hours before judging it. Next to the later Aphelion, the Apheta 2 was described as sounding "a little over enthusiastic" - less sophisticated and refined, but delivering instant thrills. No production end date, original price, or replacement stylus information is documented.
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