Rega brio r - B&W 685 ???

[domenn]

Good evening

Has anybody heard new Brio R with B&W 685 ? or perhaps 684 ? I can not find any store around where to go for demo 🙁

What would by the best option for speakers besides rega speakers ? :? Thank You people

p e a c e

 

[MUSICRAFT]

Good evening

Has anybody heard new Brio R with B&W 685 ? or perhaps 684 ? I can not find any store around where to go for demo 🙁

What would by the best option for speakers besides rega speakers ? :? Thank You people

p e a c e

Hi domenn

Are you looking to change your RA06SE and 601S3's for the Brio R and 684 or 685's?

All the best

Rick @ Musicraft

 

[Frank Harvey]

If you like the sound of what you have, I'd keep the amp and go for the CM1 or CM5 - they're far more refined than the 600 series. The RA06 will be more than man enough to drive them for the time being. If you think your system is a little too neutral sounding, then the Brio R will give you more warmth and soften things a little, but you'll find it's a bit of a sideways step from your RA06. If you're going to upgrade your amp, you'll need to be looking more towards the £900-1,000 mark to get an appreciable upgrade.

 

[domenn]

Hi Rick ,

I am going to buy 685's so just curious how this would sound together . I was thinking , In future maybe I'll change

amp for new brio because of compact size and great reviews so far 🙂 .

 

[domenn]

Hi Rick , Thank You for respons , Yes I am gonna buy 685's. I was just thinking about new BrioR it has very good reviews

and i like size . I am not sure if BrioR would drive 684's properly . Just thinking to the future 🙂 it will be a nice combo Brio R ,

Rega dac , and new Apollo cdp . 😉

 

[domenn]

Hello Frank

CM1 are small and for price of CM5's I would have 684's (bigger soundstage I guess )but I'll go for demo CM5 and

cm7's are handsome :doh: Thanks for suggestion . And about sound of my system You read my mind , so maybe

Rega dac could bring some warmth . I'll keep 06se You are right about this (it has much more features then brio as

well) Thank You very much for response Frank nice one .

 

[Anonymous]

If you're considering the B&W CM5's then it'd be worth demoing the Monitor Audio RX2's as well.

Both are superb speakers (I've owned both) but I'd go for the M/A RX2's over the CM5's any day as they're easier to live with and drive IMO

Your Rotel RA06 would drive the M/A RX2's superbly and along with the Rega Apollo CDP; it's be a superb system

Just make sure you've got decent stands for either of the speakers (if you go for the CM5's or possibly the RX2's) as they're big standmounts and need a good footing underneath them

 

[domenn]

Thanks hifilover 1979 , Monitor Audio RX2's looks very good , I'll have a closer look at them even price is not bad, £ 125

more than b&w685's. I am waiting for new model of rega apollo cdp ,I am sure Iam not the only one 🙂 hopefully it's

going to be same or even better machine than actual model . I have Atacama Nexus 7i speaker stands .

M/A RX2's are fat indeed 🙂

 

[MUSICRAFT]

Hi Rick , Thank You for respons , Yes I am gonna buy 685's. I was just thinking about new BrioR it has very good reviews

and i like size . I am not sure if BrioR would drive 684's properly . Just thinking to the future 🙂 it will be a nice combo Brio R ,

Rega dac , and new Apollo cdp . 😉

Hi domenn

Thanks for your reply and your welcome.

Firstly i'll recommend that you should hold on to your 601 S3's as they are still more performance potential left in them 🙂 Rega's new Brio R is an excellent amplifier and imo deserves the praise which it has received so far. Using the Brio R in place of the RA06SE will improve the system most noticibly in areas such having greater weight, depth, timing, subtlety and flow and thereby minimize a start-stop and upfront presentation. You'll have pretty much similar levels of improvement by adding the Rega DAC to the RCD06SE. Adding the Rega DAC (or even the current Apollo cdp) to Brio R will be the icing the on cake as the synergy between these components is superb As to the new Apollo cd player i guess we'll just have to wait and see. Other then the Rega components Naim's Nait 5i and CD5i also work well with the 601's.

I've used the Brio R with Monitor Audio's Platinum PL200 speakers and the Brio R has coped with these admirably. Therefore the Brio R should also happily cope with the 684's. To be frank i doubt the Brio R would drive the 684's properly. As good as the Brio R is however Rega's own Elicit amplifier would do a better job at driving speakers in comparison to the Brio R. Thereafter Rega's Osiris amplifier would do an even better job at driving speakers in comparison to the Elicit. So where do you draw the line to try and ensure that speakers such as your 601's are supposedly to be properly driven.

Anyway if you've got floorstanding speakers in mind then addition to the 684's Monitor Audio's Silver RX6's are also worth a look.

All the best

Rick @ Musicraft

 

[matthewpiano]

Hello Frank

CM1 are small and for price of CM5's I would have 684's (bigger soundstage I guess )but I'll go for demo CM5 and

cm7's are handsome :doh: Thanks for suggestion . And about sound of my system You read my mind , so maybe

Rega dac could bring some warmth . I'll keep 06se You are right about this (it has much more features then brio as

well) Thank You very much for response Frank nice one .

I auditioned the CM1s with a Rotel RA-06SE fairly recently and I wasn't at all impressed. I thought they were messy sounding with boomy, uncontrolled bass and what I can only describe as a smudgy sounding treble. Midrange lacked any sort of insight or involvement. Might be that the RA-06SE wasn't enough for them but, either way, I couldn't recommend them at all and would look at Monitor Audio as a much better option. The RX1 is a great speaker. The RX2 is also superb but needs more space around it.

 

[domenn]

So it looks I'll go for Rega Dac ,and I'll keep ra06se , as a transport rcd06se (so far,it is not so bad cdp ) and I'll try to manage demo on monitor audio RX2 , Thanks everyone for responses :beer:

 

[Frank Harvey]

Hello Frank

CM1 are small and for price of CM5's I would have 684's (bigger soundstage I guess )but I'll go for demo CM5 and

cm7's are handsome :doh: Thanks for suggestion . And about sound of my system You read my mind , so maybe

Rega dac could bring some warmth . I'll keep 06se You are right about this (it has much more features then brio as

well) Thank You very much for response Frank nice one .

I auditioned the CM1s with a Rotel RA-06SE fairly recently and I wasn't at all impressed. I thought they were messy sounding with boomy, uncontrolled bass and what I can only describe as a smudgy sounding treble. Midrange lacked any sort of insight or involvement. Might be that the RA-06SE wasn't enough for them but, either way, I couldn't recommend them at all and would look at Monitor Audio as a much better option. The RX1 is a great speaker. The RX2 is also superb but needs more space around it.

But that's your opinion of the B&W/Rotel pairing. The OP already has a B&W/Rotel pairing and has obviously been happy with it for some time. If he likes that sound, he may well like the RA06 with CM1's or CM5's, so they should be on his shortlist. The RA06 will drive either of these fine.

To the OP - as already mentioned by hifilover, the RX2's would be a good alternative to the B&W's, it'll just be down to whether you like the combination. Oh, and the CM7's were replaced by the CM8's quite a while ago now, so I'm not sure whether you've Googled the range and came across an old page, or whether your local dealer has old stock, but the CM8's were quite an improvement.

 

[Anonymous]

hi - i don't want to hijack this thread but i read it with interest.

i too want to purchase the brio-r. without demoing anything yet - i want to upgrade my entry level system and as a 99% vinyl listener, a rega product seems a sensible place to start. i've a nad533 that will soon become a new rega rp3.

i am completely renewing all parts of my system - so what speakers would people recommed to compliment the brio. my spec is:

£300 - £500

Room size 4m x 5m carpeted

its a flat and i respect my neighbours (and they're cool with my music playing), so volume good enough to fill the room without blasting out

bookcase or floorstanding?

musical tastes are varied (electronic to punk to reggae etc but not dance/techno)

i've never really thought about my listening demands but i suppose i want to hear space in between the instruments but also with a punch (eg. reggae horn section, bass/drums pushing through when needed). am i asking for the moon on a stick! 😛ray:

i would appreciate any help and opinions (esp from hi-fi shops)

 

[Lo Fi]

I have just purchased a Rega Brio R and Audiolab 8200CD to use with my MA RX1s and am delighted with the set up

 

[Anonymous]

cheers lo fi - i'm going to be demoing tomorrow and will hopefully have few speaker options to try out in my budget

 

[Anonymous]

Its just my opinion but I would go for bookshelves at that price point. There are plenty around that will fill your room with sound and handle bass well. Although they are at the bottom end of your price bracket I listened to some Quad 11L the other day and they were really good. They did really well in the 'foot tap-iness' department and I could just imagine funky chicken-strutting around my living room. They do a larger pair called 12L so it might be worth having a listen if you like reggae etc...

 

[Anonymous]

glad they scored well on the foot-tapiness rating - classic - i'll add this to my own rating system but will refrain from any funky chicken shapes in the shop

cheers mate

 

[Dave54321]

I already use B&W 685s (along with a Wharfedale Diamond SW150 sub) with my Brio-R. I have loved my 685s for years and always considered them to be very natural sounding - they're the nicest sounding speakers (to my ears) I have ever owned (and I have had a few). However, I don't like the match with the Brio-R - this set-up sounds too bright to my ears. I'm now looking to sell my Brio and get something a bit darker (or more neutral). It might not be the fault of either component, but rather it may just be poor matching.

 

[CnoEvil]

I already use B&W 685s (along with a Wharfedale Diamond SW150 sub) with my Brio-R. I have loved my 685s for years and always considered them to be very natural sounding - they're the nicest sounding speakers (to my ears) I have ever owned (and I have had a few). However, I don't like the match with the Brio-R - this set-up sounds too bright to my ears. I'm now looking to sell my Brio and get something a bit darker (or more neutral). It might not be the fault of either component, but rather it may just be poor matching.

Before you give up on the amp, it might be worth hearing it with Rega Speakers (and possibly DAC as well)....it may be the sound you're looking for and would cost nothing to find out.

 

[domenn]

How did you connect subwoofer with Brio R ? record. out ? :?

 

[Dave54321]

How did you connect subwoofer with Brio R ? record. out ?

No, of course not! I connected the sub to the speaker terminals.