Rega Elex-r Burn In ?

[jetblack9090]

So let me be as detailed as possible, and by the way i'm in the states.

Four years ago I got a sweet deal, I think $650 on ebay for a used rega elexr. I was coming from a cambridge audio am10 so it was a huge upgrade for me. At the time I had a schiit modi dac and running it all into a pair of older klipsch tangent 40 speakers with basic cables and ancillary components.

I loved the sound of that amp and speaker combo, every good thing you read or hear about what makes rega amps good and specifically the elex r good was bang on and in full force.

However my wife and I had a fire at that house which totaled everything damn near and we moved.I ended up buying a couple marantz amps ,the 7005 and the 6006 over the intervening years and was fairly happy. Fast forward to now and as some might know basically all online dealers are blowing out the elex r for $500 off ,so I bought one.

Well its exactly like I remember except for one thing, the midrange seems overly muffled to me.

Now my companion pieces are a bit different,

Klipsch rp600m
the same schiit dac, Survived the fire.
some similar basic interconnects and cables.

My rooms a bit different too,whereas before I had my set up in a living room with about 25x10 ft dimensions.Now my listening room is my wife and i's bedroom at about 13x13 ft. Also because of need my speakers are sitting close to the rear wall, which i have noted with my 6006 up's the bass a bit.

Anywho i'm not really asking about room set up because we're moving again in a few months and i'll finally have a dedicated listening room,more i'm asking about amp burn in and peoples experience that have had the elex r.

Like I said the midrange seems to be muffled a bit almost recessed slightly, kinda like vocals are sitting back in the soundstage where the instruments are up front obscuring them. I dont remember that being the case with the used one i bought.

It's funny because i've heard the rega io and brio from new and they dont seem to suffer this but i've read reviews of the rega ellict r and people mention something similar to what i'm hearing with the elex r. Reviews on the ellict r seem to say that 200 hours seem to open it up.

Anyway any help from rega owners would be awesome and help to avail my fears about it.Because as it sits it sounds 80/85% of the sound that I remember from the used one and it makes beautiful music and is built like a tank and i'd hate to return it.

oh I forgot I work a lot and currently have about 15 hours on it and have not really noticed a sonic change at all in that time.

 

[Deleted member 195594]

Hi,

I had the Elex r on home trial for a while last year, (brand new) and I didn't have the experience your describing. Probably the opposite if anything, but that may have been a speaker mismatch in hindsight.

I've experienced "burn-in" with amps I've owned, whether this is the case with your particular Elex r is difficult to say.

Could you try setting up in a different room to rule out the current listening room, it maybe the speaker/wall proximity.

 

[RoA]

One man's muffled is another's ... .

Marantz's are fairly mid emphazised imho, some call them even bright. I like it but some don't. They certainly don't sound like a Hegel, Audiolab etc. and my guess is this includes Rega too.

No amplifier needs 200 hours of running in (or a day) but your ears get acclimatised over this time.

 

[abacus]

The biggest factor (Most to least) that affects the sound is as follows:
1. The Room
2. The speakers
3. How the amp interacts with the speakers
4. Input Equipment
5. Recordings
6. Cables (Assuming they are of good quality (Such as what professional video and recording studios use) placebo only

As to Marantz, then they always have a mild drop from Bass to Treble so are never bright by themselves, but like all amps (Unless really high end and powerful) how they react with the speakers is what makes the difference.

Bill

 

[Gray]

No amplifier needs 200 hours of running in (or a day) but your ears get acclimatised over this time.

✅

 

[plastic penguin]

So let me be as detailed as possible, and by the way i'm in the states.

Four years ago I got a sweet deal, I think $650 on ebay for a used rega elexr. I was coming from a cambridge audio am10 so it was a huge upgrade for me. At the time I had a schiit modi dac and running it all into a pair of older klipsch tangent 40 speakers with basic cables and ancillary components.

I loved the sound of that amp and speaker combo, every good thing you read or hear about what makes rega amps good and specifically the elex r good was bang on and in full force.

However my wife and I had a fire at that house which totaled everything damn near and we moved.I ended up buying a couple marantz amps ,the 7005 and the 6006 over the intervening years and was fairly happy. Fast forward to now and as some might know basically all online dealers are blowing out the elex r for $500 off ,so I bought one.

Well its exactly like I remember except for one thing, the midrange seems overly muffled to me.

Now my companion pieces are a bit different,

Klipsch rp600m
the same schiit dac, Survived the fire.
some similar basic interconnects and cables.

My rooms a bit different too,whereas before I had my set up in a living room with about 25x10 ft dimensions.Now my listening room is my wife and i's bedroom at about 13x13 ft. Also because of need my speakers are sitting close to the rear wall, which i have noted with my 6006 up's the bass a bit.

Anywho i'm not really asking about room set up because we're moving again in a few months and i'll finally have a dedicated listening room,more i'm asking about amp burn in and peoples experience that have had the elex r.

Like I said the midrange seems to be muffled a bit almost recessed slightly, kinda like vocals are sitting back in the soundstage where the instruments are up front obscuring them. I dont remember that being the case with the used one i bought.

It's funny because i've heard the rega io and brio from new and they dont seem to suffer this but i've read reviews of the rega ellict r and people mention something similar to what i'm hearing with the elex r. Reviews on the ellict r seem to say that 200 hours seem to open it up.

Anyway any help from rega owners would be awesome and help to avail my fears about it.Because as it sits it sounds 80/85% of the sound that I remember from the used one and it makes beautiful music and is built like a tank and i'd hate to return it.

oh I forgot I work a lot and currently have about 15 hours on it and have not really noticed a sonic change at all in that time.

Hi and welcome.

When you say it was purchased with $500 off, was the amp brand new? Did it come with a full manufacturer's warranty? For $500 off sounds like a used amp -- it's a hefty discount.

Also, this sounds like a really silly question but are the speaker cables out of phase?

Usually new amps need a good period to stop any forwardness.

 

[jetblack9090]

Hi and welcome.

When you say it was purchased with $500 off, was the amp brand new? Did it come with a full manufacturer's warranty? For $500 off sounds like a used amp -- it's a hefty discount.

Also, this sounds like a really silly question but are the speaker cables out of phase?

Usually new amps need a good period to stop any forwardness.

no it's not a used amp, I don't know about the UK but in the US every online retailer for rega seems to be offering substantial discount on the elex r. I called the US distributor out of curiosity personally and asked why that was the case and I got told something about that they were just offering deals on them to their companies they distribute to, but I also got the impression that it might have something to do with their trying to get rid of them because maybe they're going to introduce a new model. now don't quote me on that because I'm not 100% sure but the way the guy was talking about it at the sound organization made me kind of think that might be the case.

anyway I think I've kind of figured out what it is and I appreciate everybody's comments and suggestions and things it's very very helpful.

first off I'm a big believer in burn in , I know some people don't necessarily see it but on an older Cambridge audio piece that I had I talked about, when I got it it sounded very bright and over a period of about a few weeks it got significantly better.

but I digress as I said I think I figured it out and I'm pretty sure it has something to do with power. you see I've been powering my klipsch speakers with an older arcam alpha 5, and I love that amplifier by the way. So as soon as I introduce the rega it's almost double the wattage, and so I think what's happening is I'm getting a tremendous amount of extra bass then I had been so it seems like the bass is obscuring the vocals in the mid-range. couple that with the fact that I've got the speakers close to the wall and really no possibility to move them and what I tried last night after I posted was I had that thought that I just shared with you so I took a couple pairs of socks and stuff them in the ports, and it seemed to really tone down the bass quite a bit and opened up the mid-range more like how I remember.

 

[plastic penguin]

no it's not a used amp, I don't know about the UK but in the US every online retailer for rega seems to be offering substantial discount on the elex r. I called the US distributor out of curiosity personally and asked why that was the case and I got told something about that they were just offering deals on them to their companies they distribute to, but I also got the impression that it might have something to do with their trying to get rid of them because maybe they're going to introduce a new model. now don't quote me on that because I'm not 100% sure but the way the guy was talking about it at the sound organization made me kind of think that might be the case.

anyway I think I've kind of figured out what it is and I appreciate everybody's comments and suggestions and things it's very very helpful.

first off I'm a big believer in burn in , I know some people don't necessarily see it but on an older Cambridge audio piece that I had I talked about, when I got it it sounded very bright and over a period of about a few weeks it got significantly better.

but I digress as I said I think I figured it out and I'm pretty sure it has something to do with power. you see I've been powering my klipsch speakers with an older arcam alpha 5, and I love that amplifier by the way. So as soon as I introduce the rega it's almost double the wattage, and so I think what's happening is I'm getting a tremendous amount of extra bass then I had been so it seems like the bass is obscuring the vocals in the mid-range. couple that with the fact that I've got the speakers close to the wall and really no possibility to move them and what I tried last night after I posted was I had that thought that I just shared with you so I took a couple pairs of socks and stuff them in the ports, and it seemed to really tone down the bass quite a bit and opened up the mid-range more like how I remember.

Thanks for coming back.

Yes here in the UK if any amp has £500 off normal retail price (£900 and something) and they state it's new I would question the dealer.

My amp was £1200 but purchased new for £750. The reason was the new model had come out and they were selling the outgoing model off with hefty discount. It's likely Rega are bringing out a replacement for the 'R' version.

I would play it as much as possible and see if it changes or you get used to different presentation.

Keep us updated.

Good luck.

 

[Gray]

no it's not a used amp, I don't know about the UK but in the US every online retailer for rega seems to be offering substantial discount on the elex r. I called the US distributor out of curiosity personally and asked why that was the case and I got told something about that they were just offering deals on them to their companies they distribute to, but I also got the impression that it might have something to do with their trying to get rid of them because maybe they're going to introduce a new model. now don't quote me on that because I'm not 100% sure but the way the guy was talking about it at the sound organization made me kind of think that might be the case.

anyway I think I've kind of figured out what it is and I appreciate everybody's comments and suggestions and things it's very very helpful.

first off I'm a big believer in burn in , I know some people don't necessarily see it but on an older Cambridge audio piece that I had I talked about, when I got it it sounded very bright and over a period of about a few weeks it got significantly better.

but I digress as I said I think I figured it out and I'm pretty sure it has something to do with power. you see I've been powering my klipsch speakers with an older arcam alpha 5, and I love that amplifier by the way. So as soon as I introduce the rega it's almost double the wattage, and so I think what's happening is I'm getting a tremendous amount of extra bass then I had been so it seems like the bass is obscuring the vocals in the mid-range. couple that with the fact that I've got the speakers close to the wall and really no possibility to move them and what I tried last night after I posted was I had that thought that I just shared with you so I took a couple pairs of socks and stuff them in the ports, and it seemed to really tone down the bass quite a bit and opened up the mid-range more like how I remember.

I reckon you're onto the cause of your issue 👍....
(Many years back I had a (brief) spell on final test in the Rega factory. Amps then were put on soak test before leaving.
Now that their sales (and models) have increased, I'm not sure whether that would still be practical.
But if so....there goes the burn-in theory as the solution for you).

I'm currently getting used to the sound of a new amp. As far as I'm concerned, that process has almost nothing to do with 'burn-in'.

 

[WayneKerr]

Yes here in the UK if any amp has £500 off normal retail price (£900 and something) and they state it's new I would question the dealer.

You might, I wouldn't. I've bought most of my gear at a heavily discounted price, generally around 40% off RRP price. If you're purchasing it from a reputable high street store I've never seen any reason to question the discounted price. The only ones I shy away from is the too good to be true prices sometimes seen on online stores.

 

[jetblack9090]

Thanks for coming back.

Yes here in the UK if any amp has £500 off normal retail price (£900 and something) and they state it's new I would question the dealer.

My amp was £1200 but purchased new for £750. The reason was the new model had come out and they were selling the outgoing model off with hefty discount. It's likely Rega are bringing out a replacement for the 'R' version.

I would play it as much as possible and see if it changes or you get used to different presentation.

Keep us updated.

Good luck.

Yes I think rega is going to release an update ,only because the ellicit r and the elex r are about the same age if i am not mistaken and rega just brought out the new update the ellicit. I also thought that maybe the elex r just isn't selling and they're offering discounts in an attempt to rid themselves of stock. If you look at US online rega dealers they're also selling the system one at a $700 discount as well, a big online dealer here called Music Direct told me it's because no one's buying it in the states.

How has the system one sold in the UK I wonder? I know over there the cost makes it a far better deal than it is here.

 

[Gray]

...on my heavily discounted recent amp purchase, I did confirm that the retailer would be supplying a factory sealed unit.

It was....but the retailer probably has a drawer full of 'factory sealed' labels 😆

 

[plastic penguin]

Yes I think rega is going to release an update ,only because the ellicit r and the elex r are about the same age if i am not mistaken and rega just brought out the new update the ellicit. I also thought that maybe the elex r just isn't selling and they're offering discounts in an attempt to rid themselves of stock. If you look at US online rega dealers they're also selling the system one at a $700 discount as well, a big online dealer here called Music Direct told me it's because no one's buying it in the states.

How has the system one sold in the UK I wonder? I know over there the cost makes it a far better deal than it is here.

I couldn't tell you ins and outs of how a UK dealer works, especially with Rega.

 

[plastic penguin]

You might, I wouldn't. I've bought most of my gear at a heavily discounted price, generally around 40% off RRP price. If you're purchasing it from a reputable high street store I've never seen any reason to question the discounted price. The only ones I shy away from is the too good to be true prices sometimes seen on online stores.

I'm fine with dealers I know and but others such as SSAV (who I've never brought from before), where the Leema was purchased, I need to be reassured before splashing out large amounts of money.

 

[Dom]

I don't believe in burn-in. Doesn't mean it doesn't happen though, maybe it's how electronics draw power.

That would be a best guess on my part.

 

[plastic penguin]

I don't believe in burn-in. Doesn't mean it doesn't happen though, maybe it's how electronics draw power, which could take some time.

That would be my best guess...

I don't believe in burn-in on amps, but many do. I personally (it is a personal opinion) think it's more adjusting to the different presentations. The OP had a midrange Marantz (PM 7005) so it will give you a different sound.

Just my opinion of course.

 

[matthewpianist]

I had an Elex-R which I purchased new about 3 years ago. I didn't notice any change in sound/running-in effects, partnered with a pair of Spendor S1 speakers. I did, however, find the midrange more diffuse than with the Brio-R and the overall presentation less engaging. This continued when I tried it with a range of alternative speakers, so it wasn't the Spendors at fault.

 

[Dom]

"...the midrange more diffuse than with the Brio-R..."

Maybe it needed more burn-in.

 

[matthewpianist]

Maybe it needed more burn-in.

No, it go plenty of use, it just wasn't an engaging listen and I've had plenty of amps that suited me much better.

 

[Deleted member 195594]

No, it go plenty of use, it just wasn't an engaging listen and I've had plenty of amps that suited me much better.

I found the same with the Elex r; had it for a few weeks and returned it. I found it too in my face for my liking (May have been a bad pairing with speakers at the time). I didn't notice any change during the time I had it running, unlike the new Naim 5si I later bought after loaning Doug Brad's demo unit.

 

[Dom]

matthewpianist thank you for your experiences mate.

 

[jetblack9090]

hey what did I tell you guys, rega it's just announced the release of the Mark 4 version elex