Speakers to match Rega Brio 3

[admin_exported]

Could you please advise on speakers selection for Brio 3. B&W 685 + Brio, is it worth trying? Thank you very much for your input.

 

[d_a_n1979]

IMO no; the Brio is a good amp but it just doesnt have the gusto to power the B&W speakers as they like.

What would be handy to know is what music do you listen to and what is the rest of your system (CDP, Cables etc...)

Also, are you after standmount speakers or floorstanders or are you not bothered?

Speakers to look at IMO, would be:

Rega RS3's
Rega RS5's
Wharfedale 10.1's
Arcaydis DM1's
Q Acoustic 2020's
Monitor Audio RS1's (2nd hand) or RX1's new
Possibly EB ACoustic EB1's

 

[matthewpiano]

Would have to be either the Rega RS1 (if you want standmounts) or Rega RS3 if you want floorstanders. The Brio really comes alive if you partner it with Rega's own speakers.

 

[Anonymous]

Many thanks for your prompt answer, I'm definately after standmounts. Honestly, I was about to go for a pair of R1, but I'm not only going to listen to purely acoustic and chamber classic but some rock music as well. I'm simply afraid that R1s will be a bit lean on energy. On the other hand, the listening room is only 17 sq. meters so I presume I might be able to squeeze out some beef out of them. To sum it up I'd love to pair my Brio with something a bit more versatile than R1. Please correct me if I'm wrong. Thank you.

CDP = NAD545BEE

Interconnect = Chord Cobra 3

Speaker Cables = Chord Carnival SilverScreen

 

[matthewpiano]

I've auditioned the Brio 3 with Wharfedale Diamond 9.1s and it sounded excellent, so maybe the 10.1s would be well worth a try.

 

[d_a_n1979]

As MP said the Rega amp will work very well with Rega speakers; the RS3's are very small floorstanders and sound brilliant with Rega amps. They'd do your musical tastes justice IMO.

Also, As MP said the Wharfedale 10.1's would work well as I reckon the Arcaydis DM1's would too.

Another possiblity could be the Dali Lektor 2's.

As for stands; I'd be looking at the Soundstyle Z2ii's at a minimum or the Atcama Nexus 6i's; mass loaded with atabites for a better bass distriubution.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks a lot for your time and attention. At least I've got some useful guidelines. I'll start auditioning with Wharfedale 9.1 / Atacama Nexus 6 or 7. Do you think Focal 700 series are worth looking at? Thank you.

 

[matthewpiano]

The Focals are fabulous speakers, particularly the 706v, but I think they might sound over-bright with the Brio 3.

 

[chebby]

The Rega RS1 or RS3 speakers are both excellent matches.

Check out the Rega system (Apollo CD/Brio 3 amp/RS3 speakers) tested in the January 2010 issue of WHFS&V. The system got 5 stars in the Supertest of eight one-make hifi systems.

I have heard Rega RS1s and RS3s (and owned Rega R3s) and I am sure that either system will sound great in your room.

 

[csq2]

I bought the Brio 3 a couple days ago, and planning to get a pair of Wharfedale 10.1s. Right now they sound excellent with my Studio Acoustics bookshelf speakers. I found out that the Brio 3 will sound better if you are using a source player that doesn't sound too bright.. I'll give you my opinion on how the Wharfedale 10.1 and Rega combo sounds once I get the speakers on the weekend.

 

[csq2]

I finally paired my brio 3 with Totem Rainmakers and the sound is amazing. I auditioned the Wharfedale 10.1s which I found were bright and lacked involvement. I then upgraded my speaker wire to Chord Silverscreen, which made the bass tighter and more defined. Whathifi is totally wrong about the lack of bass in the brio 3. Sometimes the bass is so deep that it feels I have a subwoofer in my system. B&W 685s are not bad, but the bass is much tighter with Totem Rainmakers. If you google "rega totem", you can see that at several hifi events rega gear is paired up with Totem.