Rega brio-r Vs Elex-r (differences?)

[radiorog]

Hi fellow music/sound enthusiasts. I am deliberating whether I should upgrade my current amplifier (brio-r), well, I've pretty much made the decision, the question more being when, and to what. Options being the elex-r, a roksan k2bt, or maybey the abrahamsen.

My question for you here is for people who have heard both the brio-r and the elex-r. I am finding the brio-r sometimes to lightweight, and producing a sound that is overall too high pitched. The issue most highlighted by a recent playing of pink floyds DSOTM which provided no joy as the sound was way off mark. Again, too lightweight. Sometimes the sound is fantastic mind, and I'm currently listening to dermot o'leary's last show on the iplayer which is his highlights of the years live sessions, which sounds amazing, and I recommend everyone to check it out.

So, my question is, what are the diffences in sound between the brio-r and then elex-r. Am I going to get a considerable upgrade from one to the other? I like the reports that the elex-r is beefier and more muscular, this appeals to me, but is it really that stronger a sound as only 20W increase? The concern I have is that in the WHF review, they state that it is on the lean side, and this may be what I am trying to get away from.?

Thanks for your help.

 

[ChrisIRL]

I have heard both and currently own the Brio-r and I am very happy with it. I didn't have enough time with the Elex-r to give a fair comparision. It didn't jump out at me as being worth nearly double the price of the Brio however.

If you sometimes like the sound but other times don't this is more likely due to the recording quality of the music you are playing. You will always be disappointed with some material regardless of your system. In these cases I just try to enjoy the material for what it is even if the quality could be better. There are so many variables with the quality of recorded material you would probably need several systems to always be happy. Maybe you could add a sub to get that fuller sound you are looking for. I don't think this is easy to do with the brio-r however.

 

[pyrrhon]

Heard them both on vienna mozart grand. Brio seemed brighter. Maybe due to the bass beeing harder to drive. It gave the impression of beeing brighter and more forward then the elex. Elex had better dynamics nuances too. Its still pretty close between the two but the elex was slightly better and pleased me more. The third player was a naim 5si in the group test and these two (elex and 5si) were very close but the naim seemed smoother in the high with even more attack and nuances. But at that point its probably personnal tastes. And it was on vienna speakers. Frankly Id live with elex or naim ver happily! Brio would be fine on bookshelf or smooth speakers I guess. but you eed to listen yourself.

 

[Vladimir]

Brio-R vs the Kandy K2 or any big amp of that size is maybe a choice of extremes. They are quite different and it seems you only want something slightly better than the Brio-R.

I would personally keep the Brio-R and buy a bigger amp second hand. You can't loose money with s/h. If you don't like it, you resell it at the same price. If you buy new, you lost at least 25% of the price the moment you walked out of the shop.

Here is an Elex-R on the bay in Birmingham. Also I would go after an Exposure amp to replace a Rega or Naim.

If brand fetish is not a a factor, you simply want an amplifier with the best power supply. Forget the watt rating on brochures. It's all manipulated rubbish.

 

[radiorog]

Hey vlad,thanks.for reply. Ive managed to track down someone who will do a good deal on a k2bt, and I am very tempted. Being relatively new to hifi products I am a little unsure of what I need,but I am after anamp that can make more of my cds enjoyable.quite a lot of my cds dont sound as rousing as they should.especially some of the classic rock like led zep,pink floyd. The sound is just a bit light weight at times.so if I do upgrade,I want to make sure I am totally satisfied and not left with the same problem.I am a little worried the elex r will still sound a bit light weight. This is why im interested I the kandy.I wss impressed with the sound signature when I heard one,but it was in richer soundz and not with the greatest speakers. The thing is tho...I play my.music at moderate levels as my room is small...it still sounds loud but in a large room it would sound quiet. So im wandering what the kandy would sou d like in a small room.would it sound deep and powerfull at low volumes? I am hoping to go and see burnsies abrahamsen amp soon too to see what that is like,but the k2 is tempting.im also not sure if i loke the looks of the k2 tho...the mirror panel looks funny.it wouldnt matter in a big room but its going to be right next to me. s

 

[BigH]

Brio-R vs the Kandy K2 or any big amp of that size is maybe a choice of extremes. They are quite different and it seems you only want something slightly better than the Brio-R.

I would personally keep the Brio-R and buy a bigger amp second hand. You can't loose money with s/h. If you don't like it, you resell it at the same price. If you buy new, you lost at least 25% of the price the moment you walked out of the shop.

Here is an Elex-R on the bay in Birmingham. Also I would go after an Exposure amp to replace a Rega or Naim.

If brand fetish is not a a factor, you simply want an amplifier with the best power supply. Forget the watt rating on brochures. It's all manipulated rubbish.

That Elex-R is now £770 still over 2 days left.

 

[Vladimir]

The K2BT I have here sounds powerfull and dark, not edgy and I have yet to hear it lose control over a speaker. You don't need to turn it up loud to get decent bass going. And it most certanly wont turn bad recordings into sounding good. Poo is poo and I can hear it.

There is no 'pulse of life' or 'amazing exciting energy'. It's dull and utilitarian like my big Harman Kardons and Marantzs I owned before. I had exciting and musical full of life amps and I always sold them because they sounded nasty when turned up loud and they didn't control woofers well and entered clipping already at 11 o'clock on the dial.

After a year of ownership I simply use the Roxy, don't bother hearing its sonic character or look for flaws. It's been turned on 24/7 since day one. It works like a swiss clock, no issues whatsoever. It's a simple amp and I have no worries like I would with a large receiver.

During winters the electricity here is terribly unstable, fluctuating from 170V-270V with occassional dropouts. The Kandy seems to be ignorant of what comes from the plug. I guess the regulated power rails do their job well. I even stopped using a separate voltage regulator altogether (why waste 25W all day). So after a year of ownership I recommend it for being reliable as well as a decent amp.

If you have specific questions about the amp, I would be glad to answer any of them.

 

[Vladimir]

Brio-R vs the Kandy K2 or any big amp of that size is maybe a choice of extremes. They are quite different and it seems you only want something slightly better than the Brio-R.

I would personally keep the Brio-R and buy a bigger amp second hand. You can't loose money with s/h. If you don't like it, you resell it at the same price. If you buy new, you lost at least 25% of the price the moment you walked out of the shop.

Here is an Elex-R on the bay in Birmingham. Also I would go after an Exposure amp to replace a Rega or Naim.

If brand fetish is not a a factor, you simply want an amplifier with the best power supply. Forget the watt rating on brochures. It's all manipulated rubbish.

That Elex-R is now £770 still over 2 days left.

Obviosly it has its fans.

 

[unhalfbricking]

I know I may get shot down in flames for suggesting this, but have you thought about buying an amplifier with bass and treble controls? The reason I say this is that, like yourself, I listen to a lot of albums originally recorded in the 1970s, or thereabouts, and find that tonally the remastering of these old analogue recordings varies enormously. One or two veer towards sounding flat and dull, lacking top-end brightness and crispness in the mid-range. Other albums, like you say, sound a bit toppy and bass-light. Post-1995 digital recordings are usually OK and I generally run the bass and treble flat on these, but I often have to tweak the tone controls slightly to get the sound that I want from older recordings. Often the same album can sound tonally completely different depending on which remaster you're listening to!

If you're thinking of changing your amp, have you thought about either the Marantz PM8005 or the Creek Evo 50. Both get great write-ups on here, both will allow you to tweak the sound for your older recordings and both amps should have the overall quality that you're looking for.

Cheers - Tony. CA 651, Arcam A18, KEF Q-300

 

[radiorog]

I know I may get shot down in flames for suggesting this, but have you thought about buying an amplifier with bass and treble controls? The reason I say this is that, like yourself, I listen to a lot of albums originally recorded in the 1970s, or thereabouts, and find that tonally the remastering of these old analogue recordings varies enormously. One or two veer towards sounding flat and dull, lacking top-end brightness and crispness in the mid-range. Other albums, like you say, sound a bit toppy and bass-light. Post-1995 digital recordings are usually OK and I generally run the bass and treble flat on these, but I often have to tweak the tone controls slightly to get the sound that I want from older recordings. Often the same album can sound tonally completely different depending on which remaster you're listening to!

If you're thinking of changing your amp, have you thought about either the Marantz PM8005 or the Creek Evo 50. Both get great write-ups on here, both will allow you to tweak the sound for your older recordings and both amps should have the overall quality that you're looking for.

Cheers - Tony. CA 651, Arcam A18, KEF Q-300

Hey UHB., thanks for reply. I think I am set on the idea of no tone controls. I do have trust in the manufacturers that dont supply these controls that I will getting more overall improved SQ for the money. And also I believe most reviewers who I have read say that the sound is always best direct. My trust may be misplaced, but I enjoy greatly the overall sound of the brio r and feel that tone controls may improve the sound in some aspects, I feel that other aspects will be compromised, or covered up.

 

[radiorog]

The K2BT I have here sounds powerfull and dark, not edgy and I have yet to hear it lose control over a speaker. You don't need to turn it up loud to get decent bass going. And it most certanly wont turn bad recordings into sounding good. Poo is poo and I can hear it.

There is no 'pulse of life' or 'amazing exciting energy'. It's dull and utilitarian like my big Harman Kardons and Marantzs I owned before. I had exciting and musical full of life amps and I always sold them because they sounded nasty when turned up loud and they didn't control woofers well and entered clipping already at 11 o'clock on the dial.

After a year of ownership I simply use the Roxy, don't bother hearing its sonic character or look for flaws. It's been turned on 24/7 since day one. It works like a swiss clock, no issues whatsoever. It's a simple amp and I have no worries like I would with a large receiver.

During winters the electricity here is terribly unstable, fluctuating from 170V-270V with occassional dropouts. The Kandy seems to be ignorant of what comes from the plug. I guess the regulated power rails do their job well. I even stopped using a separate voltage regulator altogether (why waste 25W all day). So after a year of ownership I recommend it for being reliable as well as a decent amp.

If you have specific questions about the amp, I would be glad to answer any of them.

Hi Vlad, thanks for your offer of assistance with questions. Don't worry, if all goes horribly wrong I wont hold you personally repsonsible! :O

I have been doing a little searching on the net, and found that the k2bt recently won hifi news' best intergated amp award

http://www.hifinews.co.uk/news/article/avtech-awards-2014-2015/20237

well, they obviously like it!

I was wondering if you could commmment on the measurements found by stereophile magazine. In the second paragraph they mention something about ultrasonic response and the effects of the level of volume. Do you hav any idea what they mean, very simply.

http://www.stereophile.com/content/roksan-kandy-k2-bt-integrated-amplifier-measurements

Also in fig.3 they comment on the black wavey line. Again, i have no idea what they are talking about here, and if I should be too worried or not. (i'm guessing I really dont need to be as they still rate the amp).

Thank you.

 

[Vladimir]

Looking at Stereophile review. Could be a wonky demo unit like it happened with the old K2 volume tracking. The rise time should be exactly the same as previosly as it's the same circuit basically. They didn't really change anything, just used better quality resistors, caps and volume pot. Hi-Fi World did measurements and reported no issues.

I certanly don't hear any issues or slaging. *unknw*

 

[Happy_Listener]

I owned both the Brio-R and briefly the Elex-R. I ended up selling the Brio-R and returning the Elex-R after 3.5 weeks. If you like the Rega amp sound then I can tell you that you will really like the Elex-R. The Elex-R is a very good step up in performance over the Brio-R. You gain control, a more solid foundation for the music, better stronger bass, more detail, and a wider and deeper soundstage. It's an exciting listen and never boring. It's worth the extra cost.

I loved almost everything about the Elex-R, but after it started to break-in then I noticed it started to become brighter sounding in the upper mids and lower treble region. The same thing happened to my Brio-R and that's why I sold it. The S and T sounds with voices were just too much for me. It could very well be my speakers, Proac Signature 2000's, that are a problem with Rega. They are revealing speakers. Or perhaps it's just bad matching? Maybe so.

Anyways, my suggestion for you is that if you don't notice any brightness with your Brio-R, or it doesn't bother you, then definitely go for for the Elex-R. It also has a killer phono stage, better than the Brio. It's built like a tank, and it's 14kg. It should last a long time and drive most speakers pretty well. I actually miss it, it's just too bad about that brightness. I wish Rega could tame it down a bit, but then maybe it wouldn't be as exciting to listen to. Who knows?

 

[BigH]

It also has a killer phono stage, better than the Brio. It's built like a tank, and it's 14kg. It should last a long time and drive most speakers pretty well. I actually miss it, it's just too bad about that brightness. I wish Rega could tame it down a bit, but then maybe it wouldn't be as exciting to listen to. Who knows?

It has a different phono stage, interesting because the one in the Elicit R is the same as the Brio R apparently.

 

[Happy_Listener]

BigH,

Yeah, perhaps I was wrong about the Phono stages. I found a thread where Paul Darwin said they were both the same in the Brio-R and Elicit-R. I can only assume that means it's the same in the Elex-R as well? My turntable sure seemed to sound better to me, but I guess it was just the amp and preamp part of the equation.