Rega - Carbon Moving Magnet Cartridge

Rega’s entry moving magnet, and the odd one out in the range — a conventional two-screw fixing and a stylus you can replace yourself.

The Carbon is the cartridge fitted as standard to the Planar 1 and Planar 2, and Rega describes it as designed to be simple to set up, easy to install and above all to reproduce music accurately. It runs a conical stylus on a carbon cantilever, puts out a healthy 2.5mV at 1kHz, and tracks anywhere between 2 and 3g — a deliberately wide window that Rega calls a highly tolerant cartridge, easy to set up and simple to use.

Two things make it genuinely different from every other cartridge Rega sells. It uses a conventional two-screw half-inch fixing rather than Rega’s three-point system, so it will go onto any standard tonearm. And its stylus is user-replaceable, with the Carbon Stylus sold separately — the only separately sold replacement stylus in Rega’s entire current catalogue. For an entry cartridge that is a real advantage: a worn tip is a five-minute swap rather than a new cartridge.

One correction worth making, because a lot of retail copy gets it wrong: Rega specifies the Carbon as conical. Where you see it described as elliptical, that is not Rega’s figure.

Features

• Rega’s entry-level moving magnet cartridge
• Conical stylus on a carbon cantilever
• 2.5mV output at 1kHz
• Wide 2 – 3g tracking force window — tolerant and easy to set up
• Conventional two-screw half-inch fixing, so it fits any standard tonearm
• User-replaceable stylus — the Carbon Stylus is sold separately
• Fitted as standard to the Planar 1 and Planar 2
• Made in England with a Lifetime Limited Warranty

Specifications

• Type: Moving magnet cartridge
• Output Voltage: 2.5mV at 1kHz
• Stylus Profile: Conical. Note this is Rega’s published figure — a number of dealer listings describe it as elliptical, which is incorrect
• Cantilever: Carbon
• Tracking Force: 2 – 3g. Rega publishes the range rather than a single recommended figure
• Stylus Replacement: User replaceable. Rega’s spec sheet reads “user replaceable” and the feature list calls it a detachable stylus. The Carbon Stylus is sold separately
• Fixing: Standard, two screws — not Rega’s three-point system. This is the only current Rega cartridge with a conventional fixing
• Fitted As Standard On: Planar 1 and Planar 2 turntables
• Colour Options: Black or white body
• Origin: Made in England. Rega Research Ltd, Southend-on-Sea, Essex
• Warranty: Lifetime Limited Warranty against confirmed manufacturing defects. It expressly excludes wear and tear and parts considered consumable — so a worn stylus is not a warranty claim — and Rega states that unauthorised modification or failure to follow its guidelines may invalidate it
• Not Published: Stylus tip radius; whether the diamond is nude or bonded; input load impedance and capacitance; coil and magnet materials; body material; cartridge weight; frequency response; channel separation; channel balance; compliance; output impedance; inductance. Rega publishes only output, profile, cantilever, fixing and tracking force for this model