Фонокорректоры — Rega ARIA MK3 MM/MC

The Aria MK3 from the English company Rega Research houses two entirely separate phono circuits, one fully adjustable dedicated moving coil stage and one moving magnet stage, each with its own input sockets and input pre-amplifier. It is an all-analogue design with no digital control circuitry, built into a fully aluminium case that screens the circuit from stray RFI.

Key specs that matter

On the MC side, resistive loading is 70, 100, 150 or 400 ohm and capacitive loading 1000, 2000, 3200 or 4200 pF, each set per channel with rear dip switches. MC gain is 69.3 dB in the high setting or 63.5 dB in the low setting, giving an input sensitivity of 70 uV or 133 uV for 200 mV output. MC frequency response runs from 13 Hz at -3 dB to 70 kHz at -0.2 dB. The MM input loads at 47 kohm in parallel with 100 pF, needs 1.7 mV for 200 mV output with 41.4 dB of gain, accepts up to 93 mV, reaches 15 Hz to 100 kHz and is rated at typically 0.005% THD+N. The MC input accepts up to 5.1 mV in high gain and 10 mV in low gain, with a -67 dB signal to noise figure. Rated output is 200 mV, maximum output 11 V RMS, and output resistance 100 ohm. Power consumption is 10 W, and the rated operating range is 5 to 35 degrees C.

Engineering and use context

On the MC side, Rega uses parallel-connected low-noise FETs in a compound pair, so no bias current flows through the cartridge coil, and a self-adjusting servo holds that stage at its operating point as temperature changes. The MM input uses low-noise bipolar transistors, also as a compound pair. Every channel is fed by a separate supply, with further sub-supplies for each low-noise input circuit, and Nichicon FG electrolytic capacitors sit in critical supply positions. ICEL and Wima polypropylene parts fill the signal path and the equalisation networks, and the signal path is discrete throughout. Switching between MM and MC happens at high level and low impedance through relays, and the unit mutes for about 5 seconds at power-up or when changing inputs. It ships factory set to 100 ohm, 1000 pF and high gain, the settings Rega specifies for its own MC cartridges.

Pairing

Separate MM and MC sockets let a turntable with each cartridge type stay connected, or allow one arm to be swapped between them, with the choice made by a front-panel button. The output connects to any line-level input, and a rear earth terminal takes a tonearm with a separate ground lead.

Alternatives

The Rega Aos MC is a phono stage dedicated only to moving coil cartridges, with the same four resistive loading values.