Головки звукоснимателя — Rega Nd9

The Nd9 is an MM cartridge made by Rega Research of the UK and the top model of the company's Nd series, placed above the Nd7. It combines a boron cantilever with a Fine Line nude diamond, parts more often associated with moving-coil designs, while keeping the high output of a moving-magnet generator. Each stereo cartridge is made by hand, and the UK selling price was set at GBP 695.

Key specs that matter

Nominal output voltage is 5 to 6 mV, a level that suits a conventional MM phono input. Recommended tracking pressure is 1.75 g. The stylus is a Fine Line profile with 3 micron top radii and 30 micron vertical radii, cut from monocrystalline man-made diamond and bonded to the boron rod. Boron was chosen for its high stiffness at low mass. The magnet is a neodymium N55 type, the material that gives the Nd range its name. Rega states that bonding the diamond directly to the boron rod lets the tip respond immediately to variations in the groove surface, which the company links to detail retrieval. The body is an injection-moulded, glass-filled PPS (polyphenylene sulphide) part chosen for rigidity, and the cartridge is identified by an amber window.

Engineering and use context

The miniaturised parallel coils are wound in-house from 38 micron wire with only 1,275 turns. According to Rega, this gives a generator with low inductance and low impedance, which improves high-frequency response. The generator is built with symmetry between the two channels to keep channel balance accurate. Fixing uses Rega's three-point system, which locates the cartridge on the headshell without alignment adjustment, and Rega specifies that this fixing suits Rega tonearms only. The Nd9 is sold on its own or as a factory-fitted option on the Planar 8 turntable, where the UK price with the cartridge in place was GBP 2,554. The packaging is fully recyclable, and Rega backs the cartridge with a lifetime limited warranty covering faults in manufacture. The Nd series as a whole shipped more than 35,000 units worldwide after its spring 2024 launch.

Pairing

Because of the three-point mounting, the natural partners are Rega arms and turntables, with the Planar 8 offered with the cartridge already installed. The moving-magnet output means an MM phono stage such as the Rega Fono MM, or the phono input built into a Rega amplifier, is sufficient without a step-up device.

Alternatives

The Rega Nd7 is the moving-magnet cartridge one step below in the same Nd series.