RADAR is a price search engine. We link to the original listing — we never sell direct. Transactions happen on the source site.
Are you looking for a straightforward MM phono stage at a bargain price? At £104, this Rega FONO is comfortably below the 25th-percentile used asking price of £116, and well under the £142 median from 81 comparable listings. That makes it a strong deal rather than merely fair value, assuming it is complete and working properly.
The FONO is well regarded for a lively, rhythmic presentation, clean enough performance, and simple, no-nonsense operation. It suits a moving-magnet cartridge particularly well, with ample gain and low noise when sensibly positioned; it does not support moving-coil cartridges. With the listing marked “unknown,” confirm the exact FONO version, power supply, RCA sockets, and operation before committing, but at £104 there is enough headroom to make this a worthwhile buy rather than a risky stretch.
Independent perspective — not a price guarantee. Always verify condition, accessories and provenance before purchase.
Rega Research, founded in 1973 in Essex, England, by Roy Gandy and Tony Relph, emerged from Gandy's lifelong passion for vinyl playback. A Ford engineer and music enthusiast, Gandy built his first turntable, the Planet, in his spare time, blending the founders' surnames to create the Rega name. From humble beginnings in a derelict mill, the company quickly gained traction with early models like the Planar 2 and Planar 3, establishing its heritage as a British hi-fi pioneer dedicated to precision engineering and hand-assembly.
Rega specializes in turntables and tonearms, its cornerstone products, but has expanded into a full ecosystem including cartridges, integrated amplifiers like the Elicit and Brio, phono stages such as the Fono, and speakers like the Ela series. While early efforts included loudspeakers and electronics from the 1980s onward, the brand prioritizes vinyl-centric components over headphones, DACs, or cables, all designed in-house for musical fidelity using specialist materials and tight tolerances.
Rega holds a revered position in the high-end hi-fi market as a niche boutique icon, prized by audiophiles for affordable, lifetime-quality performance that emphasizes music over gimmicks. Globally exported to over 50 countries from its Essex facility employing more than 150, it remains a symbol of British ingenuity, with turntables like the Planar series securing enduring loyalty among vinyl revivalists.
See all Rega listings on RADAR.
