Rega Naia Reference Turntable – Preview

All Image Credit: Rega

Rega has just released its latest reference turntable, the Naia. It is said to combine all the key learnings, developments and technologies from their flagship conceptual £30,000 Naiad turntable into this new, more affordable, reference-level model. It has been created using a skeletal plinth made of carbon fiber infused with graphene with a brand new titanium tonearm and a reference, fully adjustable, external power supply.

The design of the Naia employs Rega’s believe in low-mass, high-rigidity principles, continuing to improve on their concepts by using a skeletal plinth design. This brand new design uses carbon fiber infused with graphene and a Tancast 8 foam core in order to obtain the correct balance of structural integrity and weight. The plinth is then further strengthened by using two ceramic aluminum oxide braces.

The resonance controlled ceramic platter is also made from ceramic oxide and sits upon a custom aluminum sub-platter with a spindle and central bearing manufactured from zirconium toughened alumina (ZTA), an exceptionally hard ceramic material. The assembled main bearing and spindle then runs with an ultra-thin layer of fully synthetic oil between them reducing friction and wear even further.

Driving the platter is a 24volt, low noise, bi-phase AC motor whose speed is controlled by a reference, stand alone power supply. The motors speed control and accuracy is achieved using a digital signal processing (DSP) generator that uses a high stability crystal clock refence. The DSP then creates a near perfect sinusoidal waveform to power the motor at its selectable speeds of 33 or 45RPM. This power supply is said by Rega to be factory set to optimize each motor for vibration removal and fine speed adjustment, with the user being able to select 33 or 45RPM using the power supplies front buttons or adjust the platters speed in increments of 0.01 RPM using its rear controls.

The motor drives the platter via three bespoke new rubber compound drive belts which are said to be; “perfectly round and dimensionally accurate, critical for perfect speed stability”.

The new RB tonearm uses a one-piece, Titanium vertical bearing and Titanium vertical spindle assembly, which, according to Rega; “achieves near frictionless movement horizontally and vertically whilst having no measurable free play in the bearing assemblies”. The single piece, low-mass arm-tube with integral head shell, is manufactured from hand-polished aluminum and uses a Tungsten balance weight shaft and balance weight. Azimuth and height/VTA adjustment do not seem to be available.

Finally a sleek dust cover is included to exclude dirt and dust.