Naia is Rega's new high-end turntable which is pencilled in for its official launch in Autumn this year. However, that didn't stop the British audio firm from treating visitors to The Bristol Hi-Fi Show to a sneak preview last weekend.
If you were wowed by the results of Rega's Naiad turntable but are not in a position to snap up one of the 50 £30,000 handmade models which were made (there are still a dozen available, by the way), you may be interested to know that the Naia is pretty much a production version of the Naia.
Of course, as the Naiad started off as an engineering exercise, several of the Naiad's concepts can now be found in the more attainable Planar 10 and Planar 8 turntables. However, the Naia promises to get you even closer to the extreme engineering of Naiad.
Firstly, the Naia's skeletal plinth is entirely constructed from graphene-infused carbon fibre around a Tancast 8 foam core - the latter is also used in plinths of the Planar 10, Planar 8 and Planar 6. Meanwhile, the central bearing is of Zirconium-Toughened Alumina (ceramic) – the same material used in the Naiad. Handling this (I wasn't allowed to take photos), it quickly became apparent that these parts were precision-engineered. They also felt silky smooth to the touch.
The platter is made of "resonance-controlled ceramic" and is spun via a triple drive belt which has been chosen for its improved stability and drive characteristics. The drive is powered by the same AC PSU as the Planar 10.
The Naia is outfitted with a new RB titanium one-piece tonearm which sports a vertical bearing housing, tungsten balance weight shaft and weight, and a titanium vertical spindle. In addition, you can order it loaded with an Aphelion 2 moving coil (MC) cartridge.
The Rega Naia is set to offer almost Naiad levels of performance at a more attainable, albeit still premium, price. It could also give Planar 10 owners something to upgrade to should they feel the need.
That premium price is said to be around £9,200 for the turntable and arm, and then £12,00 with the Aphelion 2 MC fitted. Although, the latter does save you £655 on the cost of the cartridge, which is £3,465 when bought separately. So, that's something to bear in mind.
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