Rega RB78 Cartridge
The whole world knows Roy Gandy from Rega has designed some of the best sounding Turntables. He and his Rega colleagues also produce some great MM cartridges.
The Rega Bias RB78 (formally known as the Bias 78) is a Mono Moving Magnet (MM) cartridge specifically designed to get the best from 78 RPM Records. The RB78 has a conventional 0.5" centre distance and two hole mounting and will therefore fit all standard tonearms from the mid 1950's to now. Some things thankfully never change! The overall design makes it a perfect match for the Rega Planar 78 or any other Rega turntable.
Rega entered the cartridge market in the early 80's. All cartridges are hand made by Rega utilizing custom coil winding techniques and ultra high precision molded bodies. The Rega cartridge is a one piece molding made of Pocan, a polymer with a hardness greater than industrial aluminium. Most cartridges loose high frequency energy by the movements generated in many joints created in conventional manufacturing.
Rega RB78 Cartridge: The RB78 cartridge offers outstanding sound quality and value for money. The proprietary design uses new parallel wound coils and pivot pads improving detail and accuracy. It also offers Rega's unmatched level of mechanical integrity with no removable stylus to muddy musical waters.
Coil Windings: Rega have designed and developed their own coil winding machine. This allows them to manufacture coils in a completely new and innovative way. This means approximately one third less wire is used than in their other cartridges, making the RB78 even more efficient than the very popular Elys.
Ultra High Precision Molded Body:The Rega cartridge is a one piece molding made of Pocan, a polymer with a hardness greater than industrial aluminium. Most cartridges loose high frequency energy by the movements generated in many joints created in conventional manufacturing. Most cartridges have five or six joints between the stylus mounting and the cartridge/headshell face. Rega cartridges have none! Most cartridges have to allow for large tolerances when manufacturing automatically with a reasonable gap of 0.7mm between the moving magnet and the pole pieces. This gap on Rega cartridges is only 0.25mm, much lower than any moving magnet cartridge we have tested. The headshell face is machined perfectly flat to ensure maximum contact between the cartridge and headshell.
Sound Quality: The RB78 cartridge offers outstanding sound quality and value for money. The proprietary design uses new parallel wound coils and pivot pads improving detail and accuracy. It also offers Rega's unmatched level of mechanical integrity with no removable stylus to muddy musical waters.
The Bias Cantilever – 78 Profile Diamond Tip: The RB78 has a non-removable cantilever.
Packing – More for the Cartridge: Rega has not tried to create a false impression of product expense by using elaborate packaging. By using the simplest and most inexpensive cartridge carton possible, yet still avoiding transit damage, Rega spends more on the cartridge itself - ensuring better value.
Assembly – Hand Crafted: Due to the design and extremely high tolerances of Rega cartridges, the assembly methods are more akin to watch making than to a mass production assembly line. Every cartridge is hand built. The highly skilled operatives use little more than tweezers and microscopes. Each cartridge is then adjusted and tested twice during a 24-hour period. Such methods are expensive and time consuming but Rega feels the result is worth it. We know you will too!
Our Take On The Rega RB78 Cartridge
In Australia, we believe we can boast more knowledge about vinyl than probably any other store and even more so with Rega. How so? Firstly, our founder can remember when records were only mono and when the first stereo albums his father brought home had table-tennis and train effects going from left to right speaker. That was about 1958 and the family were in the business professionally from 1963. That alone is over 50 years! Secondly, one of our current staff worked for the Rega distributor for many years and has travelled to Rega in the UK on several occasions, even staying in Roy Gandy's home. He is still a Rega fanatic! So if you really want to know about Rega, don't hesitate to contact us here at Audio Trends. We will also fit the RB78 to a Rega tonearm for free and ensure that the correct torque is applied and that the tracking weight is set to the recommended 1.75 grams.
Main Features & Specifications
- Design: Mono Phono Cartridge For 78 RPM Records
- Best Turntable Match: The Rega Planar 78 Turntable (sold separately)
- Output: 6.8 - 7.2mV
- Stylus: Profile 78 Diamond
- Fixing: Standard, two screws
- Coils: High Spec parallel wound coils
- Color: Black
- Manufacturer's Warranty: 3 Years
- Learn more about Rega
Note: Specifications Subject To Change Without Notice. E&OE