Rega integrated amplifiers - good?

[Davide]

Some time ago I had the Brio (new model) and it was slightly colored in sound, in fact it had Muses opamps on the input stage.
I didn't mind the sound, in fact sometimes I regret it, but the power was low, it got hot and above all it had hum noise problems at the mains frequency. Probably due to the compact design and the lack of internal regulators...
Especially when I used my Thermomix, really loud intermittent hum came out of the speakers.
For what their products cost, go elsewhere.

 

[Overseas]

Rega don't believe in specs... says it all. Says me, a non technical guy.

Guess what, I do not believe in High Price Fi.

 

[mike70]

With the actual offering in class D amplifiers with 3x (or more) cheaper price tag, SOTA or almost SOTA measurements and indistinguishable sound in a blind listening ... you only need to buy a Rega because you want a Rega amplifier.
I respect that (I respect any opinion), but you don't need a Rega amp to have good / better sound.

As always, is not my money, and I'll be glad for you if you'll be happy with that. Problems are other stuff in life.

 

[Corvuscorone]

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?

I now have the Rega Elex-R and it drives my large three-way floor speakers well. I used to have the Brio-R, which I didn't like very much. I have compared the Elex-R to a couple of inexpensive Onkyo amplifiers and numerous inexpensive class-d amplifiers. It beats all these in sound quality. I would probably put my XTZ A2-300 ice power amplifier or even the Audiophonics MPA-250 Hypex ncore 252 amplifier, which are more powerful, on the same level. Audiophonics is also quieter. The transparency is approximately the same in them. The Elex-R, which is an integrated amplifier, don't have dac. That's fine by me because today's cheap external dacs are better than the internals of integrated amps. It's not worth looking only at SINAD when choosing an amplifier.

 

[Corvuscorone]

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.

Rega still makes sonically the best budget turntables (under €/$1000). Their phono amplifiers are also good.

 

[Mart68]

Rega still makes sonically the best budget turntables (under €/$1000). Their phono amplifiers are also good.

Well, I was always a direct drive man. Although I've owned a lot of decks over the years, I never seriously considered getting any of the Regas.

I don't think I have ever seen any of their phono stages measured.

 

[Corvuscorone]

Well, I was always a direct drive man. Although I've owned a lot of decks over the years, I never seriously considered getting any of the Regas.

I don't think I have ever seen any of their phono stages measured.

 

[Mart68]

View attachment 352782

Thanks. Yes - that is certainly a competent phono stage.

 

[ivayvr]

What put the final nail in their coffin for me, was a long thread on now defunct What Hi-Fi forum. Some people were complaining about the hum caused by the Brio transformer. Some people were saying that if the transformer was properly shielded, there would be no noise. Members of Church of Rega were vehemently defending Rega because they believed that the shield was absent because Rega did not want to degrade the sound of the amp (and amp would cost 13 p more to produce). I never experienced that level of indoctrination and lack of common sense, before or after!

 

[mike70]

I now have the Rega Elex-R and it drives my large three-way floor speakers well. I used to have the Brio-R, which I didn't like very much. I have compared the Elex-R to a couple of inexpensive Onkyo amplifiers and numerous inexpensive class-d amplifiers. It beats all these in sound quality. I would probably put my XTZ A2-300 ice power amplifier or even the Audiophonics MPA-250 Hypex ncore 252 amplifier, which are more powerful, on the same level. Audiophonics is also quieter. The transparency is approximately the same in them. The Elex-R, which is an integrated amplifier, don't have dac. That's fine by me because today's cheap external dacs are better than the internals of integrated amps. It's not worth looking only at SINAD when choosing an amplifier.

You made blind listening tests with gain levelled?
If not, I listen to what you say with respect, but don't believe it

 

[Corvuscorone]

You made blind listening tests with gain levelled?
If not, I listen to what you say with respect, but don't believe it

REGA Elex-R

Brytyjska Rega słynie przede wszystkim z gramofonów. Ma jednak w swojej ofercie także inne urządzenia... absolutnie wszystkie, aby zbudować ...

audio.com.pl

 

[Timmeon]

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.

I can attest to their after-sales care. I picked up a used 40-year-old Rega tonearm missing a small part. The distributor was extremely responsive and the part was delivered the next day, for free. Customer service seems great, even in the States.

If their electronics meet the requirements and satisfy the buyers' aesthetic and UX preferences, why not? Certainly not state-of-the-art in terms of fidelity but it probably doesn't matter much if you're listening through human ears/brain.

 

[mike70]

REGA Elex-R

Brytyjska Rega słynie przede wszystkim z gramofonów. Ma jednak w swojej ofercie także inne urządzenia... absolutnie wszystkie, aby zbudować ...

audio.com.pl

You said the Rega has better sound quality that other class AB / D amps ... but you don't compare the amplifiers in a blind test. So ... maybe it's not certainly right.

 

[TonyJZX]

Home review

Perseverance has paid off for this three-time Award-winning amp

www.whathifi.com

id be reaaaal skeptical of this shit

but it has a real great name.... Elex-R

Elixir? nice hey

they cant have messed this up... its a plain 70w a/b amp... its probably be better of made in china rather than england to be honest

at worst it'd be like a budget Hegel with no digital stuff? right?

 

[DSJR]

You said the Rega has better sound quality that other class AB / D amps ... but you don't compare the amplifiers in a blind test. So ... maybe it's not certainly right.

If you buy an Elex R, you'll know it's a solidly built product with great UK service backup if needed and the bench performance will or should always be 'good enough' if nowhere 'good enough' for ASR readers

ALL Rega amps to date seem to 'sound much the same' within their power/drive limitations from Io to Isis which figures as I understand the basic topology is similar in all of them (citation needed). The designer likes valves, so that *should* tell most of you what he's aiming at - and sinad performance ain't one of them!


P.S. I suspect Hegel is from an earlier era too when 'good enough performance' really was 'good enough.' I keep repeating this, but we're spoiled here, we really are. Don't even begin to think that some of these new far eastern well-performing amps are ever going to appear in any dealer's recommendation any time soon as they can't sell them and wouldn't make any living on them either unless prices more than doubled!

 

[mike70]

If you buy an Elex R, you'll know it's a solidly built product with great UK service backup if needed and the bench performance will or should always be 'good enough' if nowhere 'good enough' for ASR readers

ALL Rega amps to date seem to 'sound much the same' within their power/drive limitations from Io to Isis which figures as I understand the basic topology is similar in all of them (citation needed). The designer likes valves, so that *should* tell most of you what he's aiming at - and sinad performance ain't one of them!


P.S. I suspect Hegel is from an earlier era too when 'good enough performance' really was 'good enough.' I keep repeating this, but we're spoiled here, we really are. Don't even begin to think that some of these new far eastern well-performing amps are ever going to appear in any dealer's recommendation any time soon as they can't sell them and wouldn't make any living on them either unless prices more than doubled!

I have one great UK class AB amplifier already and yes, build construction is excellent ... but it doesn't sound better than hypex class D amplifiers ... far from that

 

[ivayvr]

P.S. I suspect Hegel is from an earlier era too when 'good enough performance' really was 'good enough.' I keep repeating this, but we're spoiled here, we really are. Don't even begin to think that some of these new far eastern well-performing amps are ever going to appear in any dealer's recommendation any time soon as they can't sell them and wouldn't make any living on them either unless prices more than doubled!

So we are lucky to have ASR to help us make informed decisions, and not to be guided by the hype published by audio magazines and perpetuated by audio dealers!

 

[Overseas]

Magic sauce amps that own sound secrets not known to masses.

 

[Corvuscorone]

You said the Rega has better sound quality that other class AB / D amps ... but you don't compare the amplifiers in a blind test. So ... maybe it's not certainly right.

The Rega has a better sound than my lower-powered Onkyo amplifiers (clearly with their own dac and slightly better with the Topping dx3 pro+). The same applies to the d-class Infenion SMLS A-100. Rega's bass level and control is better and almost the same as the XTZ a2-300. The Aiyima A07 and the SMSL AO200 are pretty close to the Rega, with a slightly different tone and when I'm listening low volume. The Audiophonics ncore 252 is transparent and quieter, as I said, and controls the bass a little better than the Rega. I have used all of them with several different stand floor and floor standing speakers and also with a large subwoofer (now the sub is connected to the Rega preamplifier outputs). The easiest way to hear the differences is in the control of the bass and when listening loudly. Feel free to disagree on whether I can hear differences in sound.

 

[Mart68]

The Rega has a better sound than my lower-powered Onkyo amplifiers (clearly with their own dac and slightly better with the Topping dx3 pro+). The same applies to the d-class Infenion SMLS A-100. Rega's bass level and control is better and almost the same as the XTZ a2-300. The Aiyima A07 and the SMSL AO200 are pretty close to the Rega, with a slightly different tone and when I'm listening low volume. The Audiophonics ncore 252 is transparent and quieter, as I said, and controls the bass a little better than the Rega. I have used all of them with several different stand floor and floor standing speakers and also with a large subwoofer (now the sub is connected to the Rega preamplifier outputs). The easiest way to hear the differences is in the control of the bass and when listening loudly. Feel free to disagree on whether I can hear differences in sound.

Some of the amps were clipping, maybe? That would explain what you perceived.