The Elex died, long live the... ?

[FroggeyBruce]

I'm devastated. My good old 1991 Rega Elex Mk1 died last night and makes this big buzzing sound that doesn't sound any good. I'd spent a lot of money to get it repaired earlier this year. It worked a charm for a few months until it started doing this suddenly yesterday. I don't think it's worth taking it to the workshop again. So I'm having to replace this warm, accurate, sober box with a unique sense of rhythm and music in general. I'd paired it with AE109s MK1 a long time ago and they got on pretty well. I must say I also own a Cambridge 540R V3, which isn't bad, far from it, but when it comes to playing music, it's nowhere near the older classic. One's a proper HiFi amp and the other one's a big AV amp that can do music, but not as well as the Rega, no surprise. I am asking myself what to buy to replace the old Elex. I have several integrated amps in mind but failing to be able to walk into a shop here in Paris to listen to them, I've come here to seek advice. I was thinking Elex R vs Cambridge CXA81, but also I would like to have your opinion about the Brio R, for instance. For a 36W amp, the old Elex sounded like it had a lot more power, even compared with the 100W 540R. The Rega has more authority, kind of holds the speakers better than the 540. Voices sound a lot better with the Rega, which is no surprise, and despite the power gap, the old Elex gives you this impression that the size of instruments is larger. Generally speaking, the Rega sounded bigger and less "boxy" than the Cambridge. The bottomline is with the Cambridge, I kept trying to spot faults, as opposed to the Rega, where I simply focused on music. So, in your opinion, which amp is it that could give me the same pleasure in the future? Many thanks in advance for your help!

 

[Al ears]

Rega Io?
pretty much depends on what you intend to connect to it.

 

[manicm]

Rega Brio-R

 

[matthewpiano]

The Brio and Elex-R are both fine amps, and either would make a good replacement for your 1991 Elex. 29 years is a good innings for a modern amplifier, so you certainly have no reason to be unsure about Rega.

Another alternative would be the Musical Fidelity M2si or M3si. Similarly to Rega, MF amps leave you concentrating on the music rather than picking faults in the hi-fi. The M2si is a bona fide bargain at its current reduced price of £599.

My final suggestion would be to investigate Creek and Exposure - 2 brands that share the music first philosophy of Rega and MF.

 

[FroggeyBruce]

The Brio and Elex-R are both fine amps, and either would make a good replacement for your 1991 Elex. 29 years is a good innings for a modern amplifier, so you certainly have no reason to be unsure about Rega.

Another alternative would be the Musical Fidelity M2si or M3si. Similarly to Rega, MF amps leave you concentrating on the music rather than picking faults in the hi-fi. The M2si is a bona fide bargain at its current reduced price of £599.

My final suggestion would be to investigate Creek and Exposure - 2 brands that share the music first philosophy of Rega and MF.

Many thanks Matthew, that was really helpful. That confirms what I should look at. I'd also thought about a used Roksan K2 because they're easy to find and fairly cheap here, and the power of the beast could allow me to handle more demanding speakers if I'd decide to replace them in the future. Just a word about the MF M3si. When I walked into the workshop last February to get my Elex repaired, there were two of those. Naturally, I wondered why, and the technician replied that though he thought it sounds beautiful, he wasn't impressed by reliability. And then he told me that he doesn't see Regas very often, by comparison. Anyway, digressing.
I was reading reviews by a shop owner here in Paris, who sounds serious and like he knows what he's talking about. From what I read, the Brio could be strong enough to get on well with my old AEs.
Many thanks again!

 

[matthewpiano]

Many thanks Matthew, that was really helpful. That confirms what I should look at. I'd also thought about a used Roksan K2 because they're easy to find and fairly cheap here, and the power of the beast could allow me to handle more demanding speakers if I'd decide to replace them in the future. Just a word about the MF M3si. When I walked into the workshop last February to get my Elex repaired, there were two of those. Naturally, I wondered why, and the technician replied that though he thought it sounds beautiful, he wasn't impressed by reliability. And then he told me that he doesn't see Regas very often, by comparison. Anyway, digressing.
I was reading reviews by a shop owner here in Paris, who sounds serious and like he knows what he's talking about. From what I read, the Brio could be strong enough to get on well with my old AEs.
Many thanks again!

Roksan Kandy amps tend towards a brighter and more forward sound signature than Rega - more of a party animal! You may or may not like this. I suspect you may prefer the Brio or Elex-R.

I haven't had my MF amp long enough to comment on reliability, but I would say you can find plenty of reliability questions over pretty much any hi-fi brand. It's hard to ignore them, but they shouldn't be taken as gospel.