Gone All Rega !!

[admin_exported]

Finally, after about a year of faffing around with various systems, and trying various combinations of Naim, Monitor Audio, Arcam, Rega, NAD have settled on RegaDac + Brio-R + Rs5s. Just sounds excellent and extremely joyful.

I guess this is what I've learnt from my 1 year of audiophile/HiFi madness.

Every component you have out there will have some limitations and somethings that it excels at.

The cool thing about getting an all rega system: Components make up for each other deficiencies: it'll shine where it can shine, and cover up flaws where it needs to.

Doing mix and match is good and great, but that's a different hobby: it's more about HiFi equipment than listening to music.and one year later, you'll still be doing that and will be more interested in hifi equipment than music.

 

[matthewpiano]

Interesting MoData. I'm currently waiting for a Brio-R myself and I'm hoping it will be the last amp I have to buy for many years. It seems Rega can't make them fast enough at present!

 

[domenn]

Hi MoData I'm in situation as you were before . I am about to upgrade speakers I can't decide even after demo session :?

I can get Rega rs3 used for £400 ,(but black ones not very nice looking) B&W 684 ex demo £630 (when I demoed these I liked these the most because of big soundstage and better bass response ) and Monitor audio RX6 for £600 brand new .

the thing is I'am not very happy with this setup .(maybe it's squeezebox touch ) I am thinking about to change transport for cd player some Nad c515bee or marantz 6004 I'am not sure if there will be big difference between new Apollo R and good cheaper

cdp's. Or invest to a psu for Squeezebox instead ? So as You can see I'm more interested in hifi equipment than music at the moment Maybe I have used to that sound and now I need more :wall:

 

[domenn]

Hi MoData I'm in situation as you were before . I am about to upgrade speakers I can't decide even after demo session :?

I can get Rega rs3 used for £400 ,(but black ones not very nice looking) B&W 684 ex demo £630 (when I demoed these I liked these the most because of big soundstage and better bass response ) and Monitor audio RX6 for £600 brand new .

the thing is I'am not very happy with this setup .(maybe it's squeezebox touch ) I am thinking about to change transport for cd player some Nad c515bee or marantz 6004 I'am not sure if there will be big difference between new Apollo R and good cheaper

cdp's. Or invest to a psu for Squeezebox instead ? So as You can see I'm more interested in hifi equipment than music at the moment Maybe I have used to that sound and now I need more :wall:

 

[Anonymous]

Interesting MoData. I'm currently waiting for a Brio-R myself and I'm hoping it will be the last amp I have to buy for many years. It seems Rega can't make them fast enough at present!

Are you keeping the a/e compacts 1's too go with brio.?

 

[MUSICRAFT]

Finally, after about a year of faffing around with various systems, and trying various combinations of Naim, Monitor Audio, Arcam, Rega, NAD have settled on RegaDac + Brio-R + Rs5s. Just sounds excellent and extremely joyful.

I guess this is what I've learnt from my 1 year of audiophile/HiFi madness.

Every component you have out there will have some limitations and somethings that it excels at.

The cool thing about getting an all rega system: Components make up for each other deficiencies: it'll shine where it can shine, and cover up flaws where it needs to.

Doing mix and match is good and great, but that's a different hobby: it's more about HiFi equipment than listening to music.and one year later, you'll still be doing that and will be more interested in hifi equipment than music.

Hi MoData

Nice one

and i hope that you enjoy the performance of your Rega system :rockout: for many years to come

All the best

Rick @ Musicraft

 

[matthewpiano]

Probably not. They're brilliant but ultimately, for the long listening sessions and particularly those involving big orchestral works, I need something more substantial. Stand by all my comments about them though. AE have done a great job on them.

 

[MUSICRAFT]

Interesting MoData. I'm currently waiting for a Brio-R myself and I'm hoping it will be the last amp I have to buy for many years. It seems Rega can't make them fast enough at present!

Hi matthewpiiano

Nice one

i find the Brio-R is a pocket rocket :twisted: Anyway i hope the Brio-R works out for you

Merry christmas

Rick @ Musicraft

 

[matthewpiano]

Rick, what speakers have you heard with the Brio-R other than the Rega ones?

Cheers, :cheers: and Merry Christmas to you too!

Matthew.

 

[chebby]

...I'm hoping it will be the last amp I have to buy for many years.

I had the original 'clamshell' Rega Brio with the matching Rega Radio tuner and a sky blue Planar 3 for almost 11 years from 1996 - 2007. (Plus KEF Q35.2s and Yamaha KX-580 cassette deck.)

I almost went for an all Rega system in April 2009 (Mira 3/Brio-3 + Apollo + Radio 3 + R3s + Rega P2) but ended up with all Naim amp/CD/tuner system sitting betwixt Rega P2 and R3s.

It was a very close thing.

So I have had systems with (one or more) Rega components in them for 26 and a half years out of the last 28 (since the first RB300 equipped Planar 3 at the end of 1983.

It would be nice to return to them again, but not for seperates, no matter how good they are.

So now I am hoping that Rega (always a little behind the 'trend') will soon develop/announce/launch their own 'all-in-one' - based on bits from their amp, tuner and DAC. Given typical Rega pricing over the years, I can imagine them pitching one for around £1000 - £1100 to fall nicely between more mass market ones (like my Marantz) and Naim's UnitiQute at £1500.

 

[Zax89swe]

Brio r Is willing to show the music with perfect rythmics and level of details, its refusing to end up like one soup even at higher volymes and the power is enought. Its hard to jude the power from this amp, no matter how hard the bass punch it sounds clean something yamaha a-s500 2x85w failed. Maybe you wont crank it becouse brio r can sound stressed/hard in treble area I think, but im very curious how the brio r sounds with a real dac like vdac,dacmagic and so on.

 

[Anonymous]

Or invest to a psu for Squeezebox instead ?

If you're in the states, you should try CI Audio's VDC•SB, a PSU upgrade for the squeezebox touch. You've got a 30 day money back guarantee. It's cheaper than the Teddy Pardo SBTouch PSU, and almost as good.

I wouldn't use the sbtouch in my system without it.

 

[plastic penguin]

Finally, after about a year of faffing around with various systems, and trying various combinations of Naim, Monitor Audio, Arcam, Rega, NAD have settled on RegaDac + Brio-R + Rs5s. Just sounds excellent and extremely joyful.

I guess this is what I've learnt from my 1 year of audiophile/HiFi madness.

Every component you have out there will have some limitations and somethings that it excels at.

The cool thing about getting an all rega system: Components make up for each other deficiencies: it'll shine where it can shine, and cover up flaws where it needs to.

Doing mix and match is good and great, but that's a different hobby: it's more about HiFi equipment than listening to music.and one year later, you'll still be doing that and will be more interested in hifi equipment than music.

Good to hear you have a system very worthy of Rega's reputation.

For me personally, the mix 'n' match route just adds a bit of excitement to the proceedings. The all-one make is pretty much guaranteed synergy between components. However, get the right mix of various brands can produce fantastic results. The main downside is they won't match aesthetically.

 

[matthewpiano]

I can see exactly where MoData is coming from with regards to a one-make system and I think it is possibly my ideal long-term. The synergy it offers, particularly with brands like Rega and Naim, is worth a lot to somebody who gently wants to get away from the equipment and focus more on the music. One of the great advantage of the new Rega components to me is also the small form factor and simplicity.

However, I'm in no rush to do anything about my CD player at this stage. The CD6003 is a really good machine and I'm very happy with it. I would like to go down the Apollo-R route eventually but it is more of a long-term aim. The rate that Rega change their product I've got plenty of time to get round to it.

Speaker-wise, my current favourites are my Wharfedale Diamond 9.1s, primarily for their superb mid-band and the particularly good performance with acoustic music, from solo piano and small-scale folk music all the way up to groups like Bellowhead and the mighty scale and timbral variety of a full orchestra. They aren't perfect speakers, but they are better than most budget boxes for the majority of my listening. I am quite tempted to sell my Aviano 2s and invest in a pair of Diamond 10.1s but I'll see how well the 9.1s mate with the Brio-R first. I also plan to get my Mission 751s (original model) out and give them a run with the Brio-R. Otherwise I might just hold out until I can get some Rega RS1s.

I'm going to be getting a Rega turntable too and the amp and t/t are intended as very long term solutions.

 

[plastic penguin]

I can see exactly where MoData is coming from with regards to a one-make system and I think it is possibly my ideal long-term. The synergy it offers, particularly with brands like Rega and Naim, is worth a lot to somebody who gently wants to get away from the equipment and focus more on the music. One of the great advantage of the new Rega components to me is also the small form factor and simplicity.

However, I'm in no rush to do anything about my CD player at this stage. The CD6003 is a really good machine and I'm very happy with it. I would like to go down the Apollo-R route eventually but it is more of a long-term aim. The rate that Rega change their product I've got plenty of time to get round to it.

Speaker-wise, my current favourites are my Wharfedale Diamond 9.1s, primarily for their superb mid-band and the particularly good performance with acoustic music, from solo piano and small-scale folk music all the way up to groups like Bellowhead and the mighty scale and timbral variety of a full orchestra. They aren't perfect speakers, but they are better than most budget boxes for the majority of my listening. I am quite tempted to sell my Aviano 2s and invest in a pair of Diamond 10.1s but I'll see how well the 9.1s mate with the Brio-R first. Otherwise I might just hold out until I can get some Rega RS1s.

I'm going to be getting a Rega turntable too and the amp and t/t are intended as very long term solutions.

I think if I were to go down the all one make set-up - about as likely as me becoming PM - I'd look at Creek and Epos. Loved the Evo2 amp and really like the Epos M12is. I've not heard the Evo CDP but the synergy should obvious.

My current set-up offers a wonderful balance of pace, detail, scale and subtlety. Of course it can be beaten but not without spending shed-loads, hence why I'm reluctant to rock the boat.

 

[MUSICRAFT]

Rick, what speakers have you heard with the Brio-R other than the Rega ones?

Cheers, :cheers: and Merry Christmas to you too!

Matthew.

Hi Matthew

I've used the Brio-R with other makes of speakers such as Monitor Audio's BX2's/Silver RX6's/Silver RX1's/GX50's/PL200's, Dynaudio's DM 2/6's, Acoustic Energy Reference 1's/Reference 2's, Proac Tablette Anniversary/D18's, ATC's SCM11 monitors etc.

All the best

Rick @ Musicraft

 

[plastic penguin]

Rick, what speakers have you heard with the Brio-R other than the Rega ones?

Cheers, :cheers: and Merry Christmas to you too!

Matthew.

Hi Matthew

I've used the Brio-R with other makes of speakers such as Monitor Audio's BX2's/Silver RX6's/Silver RX1's/GX50's/PL200's, Dynaudio's DM 2/6's, Acoustic Energy Reference 1's/Reference 2's, Proac Tablette Anniversary/D18's, ATC's SCM11 monitors etc.

All the best

Rick @ Musicraft

Rick

How did the Rega cope with the PL200s?

 

[matthewpiano]

Thanks Rick. Given the '8 ohm' script on the back of the amp did it have trouble driving any of them? Which sounded really good? Does it drive the Dyns without getting over hot? Don't want to put the amp under strain but quite fancy a pair of DM2/6s eventually! Would using them invalidate the Rega warranty?

Cheers, Matthew.

 

[Ambrose]

I already have the sbooster filter for SBT which was a noticeable improvement and more refined.

I couldn't resist ordering the best of both world squeeze-upgrade linear power supply (includes sbooster) yesterday and look forward to testing this soon. Comes with 30 day trial!

I still think my old Dacmagic I is holding back overall system performance but want to do all the smaller upgrades first

Have to say still that my system is sounding pretty good, especially given modest dac. I think with the SBT you do need to be prepared to spend some time with mods etc to tweak and eek out the best sound reproduction.

I will be tempted to compare the Rega Dac vs Rega Apollo R next year 8)

Ambrose

 

[MUSICRAFT]

Rick, what speakers have you heard with the Brio-R other than the Rega ones?

Cheers, :cheers: and Merry Christmas to you too!

Matthew.

Hi Matthew

I've used the Brio-R with other makes of speakers such as Monitor Audio's BX2's/Silver RX6's/Silver RX1's/GX50's/PL200's, Dynaudio's DM 2/6's, Acoustic Energy Reference 1's/Reference 2's, Proac Tablette Anniversary/D18's, ATC's SCM11 monitors etc.

All the best

Rick @ Musicraft

Rick

How did the Rega cope with the PL200s?

Hi plastic penguin

Rega's Brio-R has admirably coped with PL200's

Merry Christmas

Rick @ Musicraft

 

[plastic penguin]

Rick, what speakers have you heard with the Brio-R other than the Rega ones?

Cheers, :cheers: and Merry Christmas to you too!

Matthew.

Hi Matthew

I've used the Brio-R with other makes of speakers such as Monitor Audio's BX2's/Silver RX6's/Silver RX1's/GX50's/PL200's, Dynaudio's DM 2/6's, Acoustic Energy Reference 1's/Reference 2's, Proac Tablette Anniversary/D18's, ATC's SCM11 monitors etc.

All the best

Rick @ Musicraft

Rick

How did the Rega cope with the PL200s?

Hi plastic penguin

Rega's Brio-R has admirably coped with PL200's

Merry Christmas

Rick @ Musicraft

Interesting: I heard from one of the other forum members about 3 years ago how Rega amp (not sure which one) sounded fabulous with 5k and 7k speakers.

 

[CnoEvil]

Hi plastic penguin

Rega's Brio-R has admirably coped with PL200's

Merry Christmas

Rick @ Musicraft

Interesting to know that the £480 50W Brio-R can cope so well with the £5k PL200s, whose impedance is 4 Ohms and minimum recommended amp requirement is 100W.

 

[plastic penguin]

Hi plastic penguin

Rega's Brio-R has admirably coped with PL200's

Merry Christmas

Rick @ Musicraft

Interesting to know that the £480 50W Brio-R can cope so well with the £5k PL200s, whose impedance is 4 Ohms and minimum recommended amp requirement is 100W.

So based on Rick's findings the Leema shouldn't have much trouble with PL100s.

 

[CnoEvil]

So based on Rick's findings the Leema shouldn't have much trouble with PL100s.

The Pulse should drive the PL100s much better than the Rega, and the Tucana will be much better again (and far more suited to the quality of the PL100). This of course, is only my humble opinion.

 

[plastic penguin]

So based on Rick's findings the Leema shouldn't have much trouble with PL100s.

The Pulse should drive the PL100s much better than the Rega, and the Tucana will be much better again (and far more suited to the quality of the PL100). This of course, is only my humble opinion.

TBH, if the Tucana isn't better at driving the PLs - given the price difference - I'd be shocked. "Knock me over with a feather, Trevor.":cheers: