Rega integrated amplifiers - good?

[SoaDMTGguy]

Quite contradictory to my last thread, I have also been looking at some compact A/B integrated amps. I am considering thr Rega Elex or Elicit. I have their DAC-R and their Aria MM/MC phono, and am quite happy with both. I read Amir’s review of the IO, which he tore to pieces. I’m hoping this is simply a reflection of it being built to a price. Does anyone have experience with their more premium amplifiers?

 

[fpitas]

Unless you can find some actual measurements, I'd say proceed with caution.

 

[Matias]

Below average.

Amplifier SINAD list ASR + 3rd parties

List Name,THD+N (5W, 4 ohms),SINAD (dB) (5W, 4 ohms),Power (W) (1% THD+N, 4 ohms),Price (USD),Source Topping LA90 (stereo, bypass, low gain),0.00009%,121,90,800,<a href="https://www.l7audiolab.com/f/topping-la90/">L7 Audio Lab</a>,Suggestions, corrections and more info here: Topping LA90 Discre...

docs.google.com

 

[SoaDMTGguy]

Hmm. That’s disappointing. Wish there were some measurements of their wide-body stuff. Still…

 

[Overseas]

For the prices they ask, probably other options are better.

 

[Martini]

A friend of mine sells them and wanted me to try one of the Intergrated something-R. He tells me they sound great and that they are solid/reliable units. I haven't heard them, nor seen any test measurements, so I don't know. I would have needed a DAC to go with it and for the same price I grabbed a Buckeye Purifi 2-ch amp and a Topping E70 DAC, both of which we know measure very well. If you have the chance to listen to the Rega, it couldn't hurt. It may be very good unit.

 

[TonyJZX]

typical cottage industry UK brand trading on alleged past glories, that probably never existed in the first place

i listened to one at a mate's place... was ordinary

 

[SoaDMTGguy]

A friend of mine sells them and wanted me to try one of the Intergrated something-R. He tells me they sound great and that they are solid/reliable units. I haven't heard them, nor seen any test measurements, so I don't know. I would have needed a DAC to go with it and for the same price I grabbed a Buckeye Purifi 2-ch amp and a Topping E70 DAC, both of which we know measure very well. If you have the chance to listen to the Rega, it couldn't hurt. I may be very good unit.

I've been happy with their DAC and Phono compared to the (albeit cheaper) Schiit gear I was using before. But I've never used one of their amps, except perhaps years ago at a store auditioning speakers.

 

[SoaDMTGguy]

typical cottage industry UK brand trading on alleged past glories

When were their theoretical "glory days"?

 

[Mart68]

When were their theoretical "glory days"?

In the 1970s and 1980s they made a couple of turntables that became very popular and made their name.

The bigger amps are fine. Price is a little bit premium but if you like the looks and they have enough power for what you need go for it.

 

[SimpleTheater]

Quite contradictory to my last thread, I have also been looking at some compact A/B integrated amps. I am considering thr Rega Elex or Elicit. I have their DAC-R and their Aria MM/MC phono, and am quite happy with both. I read Amir’s review of the IO, which he tore to pieces. I’m hoping this is simply a reflection of it being built to a price. Does anyone have experience with their more premium amplifiers?

Schitt Vidar 2, but it's not integrated.

 

[SoaDMTGguy]

In the 1970s and 1980s they made a couple of turntables that became very popular and made their name.

The bigger amps are fine. Price is a little bit premium but if you like the looks and they have enough power for what you need go for it.

Ahh yes, I've had one of their turntables, I liked it. Nice no-BS design. Good to hear their bigger amps are ok.

Schitt Vidar 2, but it's not integrated.

I've had the Vidar. It's fine, but I found it boring, so I sold it. I really wish they would make the Aegir actually produce useful amounts of power. If it would actually produce 80W bridged into 8 Ohm and scale reasonably into 4 ohm, I'd pick up a pair in a heartbeat. As is... Even the guy who worked at the Schiiter when I went in said their demo Aeigr's were constantly going into protect. No good!

 

[MaxBuck]

Ahh yes, I've had one of their turntables, I liked it. Nice no-BS design. Good to hear their bigger amps are ok.


I've had the Vidar. It's fine, but I found it boring, so I sold it. I really wish they would make the Aegir actually produce useful amounts of power. If it would actually produce 80W bridged into 8 Ohm and scale reasonably into 4 ohm, I'd pick up a pair in a heartbeat. As is... Even the guy who worked at the Schiiter when I went in said their demo Aeigr's were constantly going into protect. No good!

If you find the sound produced by a good amplifier to be "boring," you need to find better source material. Amplifiers done right are neither boring nor exciting; they simply make the music louder without adding anything.

 

[SoaDMTGguy]

If you find the sound produced by a good amplifier to be "boring," you need to find better source material. Amplifiers done right are neither boring nor exciting; they simply make the music louder without adding anything.

I found it boring, but not other similarly good amplifiers I've owned.

 

[MaxBuck]

I found it boring, but not other similarly good amplifiers I've owned.

Maybe you should've painted it DayGlo. Or something.

 

[SoaDMTGguy]

If this was all as simple as getting something that is technically competent we wouldn’t need forums about it.

 

[Mart68]

No forums when I was a lad. No internet. If you wanted to know something you had to go to the library and find a book about it.

Sometimes referred to as 'The good old days'.

 

[GDWL34]

typical cottage industry UK brand trading on alleged past glories, that probably never existed in the first place

i listened to one at a mate's place... was ordinary

This is false information and doesn't add anything to the conversation.

 

[DSJR]

I get really cross when SINAD *ALONE* is used as a metric of amp quality!

In the UK, Rega were/are one of the good guys, making reliable, affordable (in the scheme of things) products which helped many users over the years to enjoy music at home. In the UK market, their after sales care is superb too if needed!

Now, I appreciate the above is seemingly of no interest to people here, especially at the huge price hikes Rega products suffer in export markets (greedy distributors as well as shipping charges?), but I also have to appreciate the increasingly off-pace attitudes and beliefs of the company founder who's still around and about there it seems and who used to permeate a certain almost insufferable smugness to us UK dealers before he took more of a back seat thirty or so years back.

So, where does this leave the OP, who probably made his decision ages ago now? The full width amps are fine, durable and 'different' in appeal from the ubiquitous Yamahas, needing half an hour to forty five minutes to fully stabilise (all models and repeatable) and once stabilised, they ALL sound the same, the larger amps offering more power and greater perceived headroom because of it. Rega don't believe in 'specs' as such in the way 'we here' do as long as performance is 'good enough,' so I suspect none of their amps from Io to Osiris actually 'measure' very well. Their electronics designer likes valves - nuff said... UK prices are reasonably fair as the entire build is in the UK still.

 

[Eleo]

For the same price I would buy something from Rotel or Nad: probably more power, better measurements and same reliability.