Rega AOS MC Phono Stage Launches as a More Affordable, Aura-Derived Moving Coil Design
By HiFi Editorial25 February 2026
Key Highlights
Rega AOS MC phono stage borrows heavily from reference Aura MC, delivering a two-stage, pure-analogue moving-coil design without any digital control circuitry.
Circuit uses parallel low-noise FET compound pairs drawing zero cartridge bias current, preserving MC magnetic geometry, with a self-adjusting servo compensating ambient and temperature drift.
Rear-panel DIP switches enable resistance loading from 70Ω–400Ω, capacitance 1000–4300pF, plus a 6dB gain toggle for low-output MC cartridges.
Rega’s decision to distil the Aura’s core topology into the AOS MC reads less like cost-cutting and more like boundary-setting. The compound FET front end, inherited almost wholesale, points to a belief that the first gain device defines a phono stage’s character more than downstream embellishments. By avoiding bipolar input devices and their associated bias currents, Rega is effectively prioritising cartridge behaviour over circuit convenience, an approach often discussed in audiophile circles when MC stages are accused of “gripping” a cartridge too tightly. The inclusion of a servo to manage drift rather than brute-force regulation suggests a bias toward long-term operating stability without inserting additional active elements directly into the signal path.
