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Rega factory rebuild on MC cartridges

wiresandmore

wiresandmore

pfm Member
Hi

Rega have 3 variants of the Apheta and 2 of the Aphelion.

If they are serviced/retipped/rebuilt at the factory, does that stay as the current version or do you get an upgraded one back (i.e. does an Apheta 2 stay as a 2 or get rebuilt as an Apheta 3?)

Also, I can't see pricing for these - one review for the Ania Pro suggests it could be very inexpensive (like <50% of original retail). Can anyone share any more or point to a site (ideally £ or EUR) where they are listed?

Thanks
 
Not quite an answer, and I’ll be interested to see what the real answer is, but FWIW I saw somewhere that for an Exact it was about £225, vs £295 for a new one.

So 50% would sound ambitious, but I may be wrong, and/or the higher end cartridges may be more generously discounted.

The dealer I tried to engage with for the Exact I need to sort out didn’t have one in stock and hasn’t called me back, so I’ll try another dealer at some point soon.
 
BTW, found this thread which has an authoritative answer on the rebuild cost for an Apheta 3 last year - £578.

<50% may indeed be realistic after all.
 
Dave***t said:
BTW, found this thread which has an authoritative answer on the rebuild cost for an Apheta 3 last year - £578.

<50% may indeed be realistic after all.
Click to expand...

Koetsu's charge used to be, and possibly still is, 50% for a complete refurb. (they never did just styli etc.) in your cart. body.
 
I had an Ania Pro rebuilt last year after I've dinked the cantilever - I think it was £350 (retail on the cart is £850-ish).

Need it done again as I've caught the cantilever on the edge of a record and screwed it once more (quite a common failure mode with Rega carts I suspect).

If, for example, the later model of cart x has a different stylus, I'd lay odds you'd be getting the better stylus.

But there are probably "repairs" (making functional again) as opposed to "rebuilds" (complete refurb).
 
I’ve just spoken with my dealer about replacing my Apheta 2 with a 3. They advised sending the cartridge for a rebuild which was around £550 as they just change the internals which would be Apheta 3 spec.

this would work out cheaper then selling the Apheta 2 and buying a brand new 3.

The only thing is the the cartridge will still have Apheta 2 written on it.
 
Rega’s rebuild offer is a very good argument for using their MCs. Wonder what the Apheta sounds like on a Funk arm?
 
I’ve stuck with Rega because of the cheaper rebuild cost. If it gets damaged it’s not a throw away job and definitely worth getting fixed, especialllybif it’s fixed to the latest spec
 
Any idea on the turnaround time Dan? I’ll be doing that with my Apheta 2 at some point.
 
That sounds positive, I had discounted MCs for a potential deck as it would be used by the family as well as me (although I'm the one more likely to mess it up!) but that's a very competitive price for something like an Ania Pro.
 
It is not just a case of replacing the stylus and or the cantilever per se, the service provided is a complete cartridge rebuild.

Prices are as follows:

Bias £48 / Elys2 £95 / Exact £225 / Ania £274 / Ania Pro £345 / Apheta 2 £572 / Apheta 3 £578 / Aphelion POA - All prices are UK inc VAT.

PD
 
Tim Jones said:
I had an Ania Pro rebuilt last year after I've dinked the cantilever - I think it was £350 (retail on the cart is £850-ish).

Need it done again as I've caught the cantilever on the edge of a record and screwed it once more (quite a common failure mode with Rega carts I suspect)
Click to expand...

Yes...its a poor show on Rega's part that their cartridges cannot withstand repeated ham-fistedness
:rolleyes:
 
Mynamemynaim said:
Yes...its a poor show on Rega's part that their cartridges cannot withstand repeated ham-fistedness
:rolleyes:
Click to expand...

Thanks for your facetious reply.

I've heard two stories other than my own in the past month of Rega MC owners nudging their cantilevers off in the same way.

Some cartridges just are more fragile in that respect than others.
 
Let's face it, unless we fall of the planet, all of us are going to need at least a cartridge re-tip sometime in the next few years or sooner - if not a complete cartridge re-build.

So, I really like the REGA approach of supporting the client - re-build after re-build.

Combined with REGA's unique and enviable reputation for looking after its clients, buying a REGA cart makes for a very compelling proposition.

Thing is, I've never owned a REGA cart - or even heard one - and am very unlikely to be able to demo one!

So, I am interested in feedback... at the REGA ANIA level.

At £550.00 brand new - price tested at ANALOGUE SEDUCTION - the REGA ANIA has got to be selling into one of the most hotly contested cartridge sectors in serious analog circles.

But reviews of the REGA ANIA are almost non-existent. Perhaps it is a very new model?

The extent of my current knowledge:
REGA ANIA
  • Low Output MC - 3.5mV (No problem for our phono-stage)
  • 10-Ohm Internal Impedance (No problem for our phono stage)
  • Elliptical stylus tip (My personal favourite!)
  • Ultra-rigid Polyphenylene Sulfide (PPS) body (Sounds promising)
  • Aluminium Cantilever
  • Neodymium Magnets
  • Lifetime warranty against manufacture defects
  • And it looks very cool!
So far so good. But what does it sound like?

I'm wondering how it compares to (say) the substantially cheaper DENON 103R? (Which we currently own...)

How do the two carts compare? Does anyone own both?

Appreciate thoughts from those that have heard one or both carts - and comparisons to similarly priced cartridges.
 
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Rega Ania would definitely be on my radar if I was using a Rega tonearm. The fact that it can be rebuilt by Rega is a big plus!

ania_gallery_04_%282%29.jpg
 
There are definitely Ania, and Ania pro reviews kicking around. The issue with the Ania, as I understand it, was/is IGD thanks to the stylus - and that was explicitly why I bought a Vital-tipped Ania Pro instead - which I thoroughly recommend.

The Apheta 3 (which I'm listening to now, in a happily hum-free system...) is an astonishingly cartridge.
 
Tim Jones said:
I've heard two stories other than my own in the past month of Rega MC owners nudging their cantilevers off in the same way.

Some cartridges just are more fragile in that respect than others.
Click to expand...

My Apheta cantilever seems fairly robust being a fixed design. Then again there's nudging and nudging. There is alway's the stylus guard (which didn't come with the original Apheta) but I think I would do more damage using it.
 
One false move could wreck any cartridge, All cartridges are fragile so I don’t see why Rega Carts are any different. Hence why I don’t use my record deck when I’m pissed I guess.
 
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