Hi everyone,
Well, I finally heard the Elex-R today. Very nice! Associated equipment was a Rega Apollo-R hooked up to the Rega DAC, speakers were Vansderteen 2CE Signatures.
The Elex-R had a very good sound stage, good detail, surprisingly strong and tight bass. It is a touch thin and I mean just a touch, like a lot of Rega gear is, but in return I think you get a more agile and faster sound. It is also just on the edge of being bright sometimes but it mostly holds the music into neutral territory. It may not flatter some poorly recorded music. Lastly, it is musical sounding. I was always interested in hearing more from it and enjoyed just listening to the music.
As for build quality it is very heavy, fit and finish seem just okay but it is solidly built like a tank. The volume control is my only gripe as it is the same light inexpensive feeling plastic one that the less expensive Brio-R has. Interestingly, even the most expensive Elicit-R has this same knob. I would have preferred a more tactical feeling and better built one, metal maybe, but it gets the job done just fine. All the other switch gear and connectors feel good.
I have to say that overall I was really impressed by the Elex-R. Although, I am still not sure if my Proacs would be the best match for it because they also can get a little bright and lean sounding too sometimes with certain recordings. I think if anyone can match this Elex-R up with neutral sounding gear then they will have a real winner on their hands.
In the other room I heard the Rega Elicit-R, Saturn-R CD player, and Spendor 3/1 R2 speakers. The overall sound stage was wider and deeper, and the sound was more refined. My head said that this was the better system, but my heart preferred the former (Elex-R) more.
Why? Perhaps it was the different speakers, but I do know both speaker pairs very well, hearing them many times before. So trying to focus on the amps alone I just felt that the Elex-R was perhaps a little less refined, the sound stage a bit smaller too, but for some reason it was just more fun listening to it. Like the Brio-R's happy go lucky sort of sound, I think that the Elex-R might combine the best aspects from both, the fun factor of the Brio-R with a bit more power and refinement that the Elicit-R has.
I also preferred the the passive volume control on the Elex-R. I had a hard time finding just the right adjustment with the digital volume on the Elicit-R using the remote versus the passive volume control of the Elex-R. Perhaps the digital steps are too far apart? The Elicit-R is technically the better amp and I can see why one would chose this over the Elex-R, but for me, taking into account the price difference and the sound, the Elex-R would be the way to go.
I will try to get one for an extended home demo soon. I would like to hear how it sounds with my Rega RP40 and Proacs.
Cheers
Well, I finally heard the Elex-R today. Very nice! Associated equipment was a Rega Apollo-R hooked up to the Rega DAC, speakers were Vansderteen 2CE Signatures.
The Elex-R had a very good sound stage, good detail, surprisingly strong and tight bass. It is a touch thin and I mean just a touch, like a lot of Rega gear is, but in return I think you get a more agile and faster sound. It is also just on the edge of being bright sometimes but it mostly holds the music into neutral territory. It may not flatter some poorly recorded music. Lastly, it is musical sounding. I was always interested in hearing more from it and enjoyed just listening to the music.
As for build quality it is very heavy, fit and finish seem just okay but it is solidly built like a tank. The volume control is my only gripe as it is the same light inexpensive feeling plastic one that the less expensive Brio-R has. Interestingly, even the most expensive Elicit-R has this same knob. I would have preferred a more tactical feeling and better built one, metal maybe, but it gets the job done just fine. All the other switch gear and connectors feel good.
I have to say that overall I was really impressed by the Elex-R. Although, I am still not sure if my Proacs would be the best match for it because they also can get a little bright and lean sounding too sometimes with certain recordings. I think if anyone can match this Elex-R up with neutral sounding gear then they will have a real winner on their hands.
In the other room I heard the Rega Elicit-R, Saturn-R CD player, and Spendor 3/1 R2 speakers. The overall sound stage was wider and deeper, and the sound was more refined. My head said that this was the better system, but my heart preferred the former (Elex-R) more.
Why? Perhaps it was the different speakers, but I do know both speaker pairs very well, hearing them many times before. So trying to focus on the amps alone I just felt that the Elex-R was perhaps a little less refined, the sound stage a bit smaller too, but for some reason it was just more fun listening to it. Like the Brio-R's happy go lucky sort of sound, I think that the Elex-R might combine the best aspects from both, the fun factor of the Brio-R with a bit more power and refinement that the Elicit-R has.
I also preferred the the passive volume control on the Elex-R. I had a hard time finding just the right adjustment with the digital volume on the Elicit-R using the remote versus the passive volume control of the Elex-R. Perhaps the digital steps are too far apart? The Elicit-R is technically the better amp and I can see why one would chose this over the Elex-R, but for me, taking into account the price difference and the sound, the Elex-R would be the way to go.
I will try to get one for an extended home demo soon. I would like to hear how it sounds with my Rega RP40 and Proacs.
Cheers
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