The Rega Nd9: When Moving Magnet Reaches Its Ceiling

There's a moment in any audiophile's journey when they begin to question their moving magnet cartridge—not because anything is wrong, but because they suspect something might be missing. The Rega Nd9 was designed to silence that doubt permanently.

This is Rega's finest moving magnet cartridge. Not their finest affordable cartridge, not their best value option—their finest, full stop. And spending time with one in our demonstration room confirms exactly why that claim holds up to scrutiny.

Why the Nd9 Is Different

After 50 years guiding customers through the cartridge market, we've watched the accepted wisdom calcify: moving magnets for accessibility and reliability, moving coils for ultimate performance. Rega has never been entirely comfortable with that orthodoxy, and the Nd9 represents their most direct challenge to it yet.

The starting point was the magnet itself. Where virtually every moving magnet design relies on conventional bar magnets, Rega turned to Neodymium—specifically the N55 grade, which is the most powerful commercially available magnet in the world. This is technology previously reserved for their own moving coil designs, now working inside a moving magnet generator. The implications for output strength and dynamic range are immediate.

Engineering That Borrows from the Best

The cantilever is where the Nd9 makes its most striking statement. Boron—lightweight, extraordinarily rigid—is the material of choice in Rega's reference Aphelion 2 moving coil cartridge. The challenge of connecting a Neodymium magnet to a solid Boron rod was significant enough that Rega's engineers worked with a Swiss watchmaker to manufacture an ultra-fine connecting tube with different diameters at each end. That level of precision engineering doesn't arrive by accident.

Why does cantilever rigidity matter so much in practice? A more rigid cantilever bends less. Less bending means the stylus motion is transmitted more accurately to the generator, with less distortion introduced at the very first stage of the replay chain. Every downstream component in your system benefits from getting a cleaner signal to work with.

Mounted at the end of that Boron rod is a fine line nude diamond stylus—the same profile used in Rega's reference MC designs. The contact area is remarkably small: just 3µm at the minor radius as viewed from above, 30µm vertically. This allows the stylus to respond to extremely fine groove variations that a broader profile would simply average over. Detail that was pressed into the vinyl but never previously audible becomes part of the musical picture.

A Generator Redesigned from the Ground Up

The Nd9's generator uses new geometry with miniaturised parallel coils, wound in-house using 38-micron wire with 1,275 turns. This produces lower inductance and lower impedance than previous designs, with a measurable improvement in high-frequency response. The optimised pole gap also delivers wider stereo separation than earlier Rega moving magnets—something immediately apparent when playing recordings with complex spatial information.

The whole assembly is housed in a glass-filled PPS body: rigid, lightweight, and derived directly from Rega's MC range. Less mass on the headshell means less stress on tonearm bearings and more freedom of movement—which is precisely what accurate vinyl replay requires.

Living with the Nd9

Fitting a cartridge of this precision to your tonearm deserves care and attention. Our team can handle the setup, including alignment and tracking force adjustment to the specified 1.75g, ensuring the stylus sits correctly in the groove from the very first play. Correct setup at this level isn't optional—it's the difference between good and exceptional.

The Nd9 uses Rega's three-point mounting system, optimised for Rega tonearms, which eliminates the mechanical joint between the stylus housing and body through a unique pivot pad design. This improves tracking stability in ways that are audible rather than merely measurable.

Should the stylus eventually wear—as all styli do—Rega's rebuild scheme offers a practical and cost-effective path forward. Return the cartridge to us, and a replacement fitted with a new cantilever, stylus, and pivot pad is supplied at a reduced price. Each rebuilt cartridge is fully tested before return. It's a thoughtful approach to ownership that fits well with our own philosophy of long-term relationships rather than repeat purchases.

The Nd9 is also available factory-fitted on the Planar 8 turntable at a combined price advantage—worth discussing if you're considering both.

The Listening Experience

Spend time with the Nd9 and the qualities that emerge aren't the flashy, obvious ones that make a good first impression and then fade. Piano notes decay with a naturalness that reveals how much information was being lost before. Low-level detail in complex orchestral passages—the breath of a wind player, the texture of a brush on a snare—surfaces without effort. The stereo picture widens and deepens, with instruments placed more precisely within it.

This isn't a cartridge that imposes a character on the music. It's one that removes layers of character that were never supposed to be there.

Our Support and Trade-In Programme

Our approach has always extended beyond the point of sale. After installation, we follow up to ensure everything is performing as it should, and we're available for ongoing consultations as your system evolves. If you'd like to hear the Nd9 before committing, our acoustically treated demonstration rooms exist precisely for that purpose.

If you have an existing cartridge—of any brand or age—we'd encourage you to discuss it with us. Our trade-in valuations are straightforward and generous, and upgrading needn't mean writing off what you already own. Five decades of helping customers navigate the used and trade-in market means we can usually find a sensible path forward.

Making Your Decision

The Nd9 sits at a point where the moving magnet format has been pushed about as far as it can go. For those who have wondered what their turntable is truly capable of, or who are curious whether a cartridge upgrade might reveal more of what their records contain, this is a natural place to find out.

We'd suggest an audition before you decide—but we'd also suggest coming prepared to be surprised by what your records have been keeping from you.

Contact Us

To arrange a demonstration or discuss the Rega Nd9 further, telephone us on 01603 627010 or email info@martinshifi.co.uk. We're glad to discuss cartridge matching, tonearm compatibility, and the best way to hear what this cartridge can do in your system.

Sometimes the right upgrade presents itself at exactly the right moment. The Nd9 has a habit of arriving in a system and rendering the question of what comes next rather straightforward.