REGA IO + SMSL D-6S VS AIYIMA A70 + SMSL D-6S

[MI_FI]

Premise:

I bought a REGA IO in 2023 and I hadn't seen the ASR review done in 2021, therefore, I don't know if the model I got has been improved in the meantime by REGA, and I have no way of making measurements in this regard. Therefore, everything reported below is the result of my completely subjective and non-objective listening "tests" and interpretations. For a year I used the REGA IO with a Mac Mini M2 and JBL Stage A130s plus JL Audio D110 subwoofers. This is my second studio system that I use when I work, in an environment of approximately 17 square meters with a sloping ceiling (h=2 metres). This year, I wanted to try an external DAC to see if it could actually give me something more than the Mac Mini M2's DAC. So reading the ASR forum I bought the SMSL D-6S, which gave an edge and I am very satisfied with the product. I only listen to liquid music at high resolutions (not mp3) and not even streaming. Taken by the desire to experiment, and especially after reading the review here on ASR of the REGA IO, I felt like trying to change the amplifier too, aiming for a new "Chinese" class D amplifier.

AIYIMA A70:

Based on ASR's 2024 product reviews, I decided to get the Aiyima A70 even though I had initially decided to try the FOSI V3 MONO, but after reading the reliability and phase reversal issues, I decided to exclude FOSI. So on November 22nd I bought the A70, and it was delivered to me within a few days. The product reflects the design seen in the photo, I liked the dimensions, the build quality, the rear connectors, the small power supply and the feedback from the potentiometer. The box arrived without damage and with seal, therefore, the amplifier was brand new. I started my tests by connecting the A70 in both RCA and XLR on the D-6S, and I was super curious to see what this little box could give me even with the XLR connection that I had never used before. As soon as I turned it on, I noticed that it was very "poor" in terms of power, so I read that it needed to heat up for at least 15 minutes. I kept it running for 3 hours straight, temperatures normal, and it started to produce the power described by many owners.

The sound was different from what I had heard with the REGA IO, and I initially thought it was related to the cleanerness of the A70 compared to the REGA IO. So, I start to try to understand it well, it forces me to move the speakers into an alignment further away from my listening position (about 1.5 m) because I feel like a sort of higher sound coming out of the A70. After finding the new speaker position, I start trying different songs with different sampling (44.1/48.0/96.0 etc. both 16 and 24 bit). With the REGA I know what its limits are after 1 year of use without a DAC, and I know which are the parts that can send it into deficit at high listening volumes. I temporarily eliminate the subwoofer from my listening chain, which in the meantime has changed from a JL AUDIO D110 to a VELODYNE MiniVee I eliminate the subwoofer, as the D-6S has managed to make me forget about the use of the subwoofer in many recordings, which I only use when I feel like listening to certain songs. Comparison: It took me at least 3 days to understand the A70, and initially the sound didn't impress me, the cleaning took over after the "physiological heating" of the transistors. Subsequently I began to appreciate it, so much so that I felt like selling the REGA IO (or at least keeping it in a drawer). I have not noticed any major differences between RCA and XLR, both in terms of cleanliness and power, evidently the values are so close that my hearing is not able to make out differences.

The A70, I saw that as it began to let loose the reins offered less and less, so as to lead me to reach 80dB of volume of the D-6S, which I used as a preamplifier for the A70 since the A70 does not have the remote control, while with the REGA IO I set the D-6S to maximum volume and adjust the volume from the REGA IO with its remote control. With the REGA IO and the D-6S I was never able to go beyond half the value of the knob. I tried for a few seconds to crank it up to distortion to see the limit. The sound pressure generated is however above 85 dB. I decide to test the limit of the A70 up to clipping, and I saw that I reached the limit very easily, barely reaching a sound pressure of 85 dB. So to understand what the contribution of the D-6S was on the A70, I tried to disconnect it and connect the A70 directly to the Mac Mini M2, with the player volume (foobar2000) at maximum, and to my amazement, I saw that no it slowly reached an acceptable sound pressure (which I forgot to measure, but it was really very low). So I understood that I had an amplifier in my hands that needed a preamplifier to give its maximum, and in any case its maximum doesn't satisfy me, because my listening sometimes exceeds 85 dB of sound pressure.

Conclusions:

The fear of running out of petrol was too much to keep me with a well-built object that works excellently up to sound pressures of no more than 85 dB. Having to always make it work at its maximum worried me about its durability. Aiyima contacted me to ask me if I wanted to take the larger 48V and 10A power supply, I was undecided (even though I had already returned it) because without the D-6S this amplifier would have been returned the next day due to poor power . I didn't feel like spending another 76 euros to do other tests, partly because the reviews of the power supply were not positive with the AIYIMA A07 Max, and partly because the cost (between XRL cables and amplifier) began to reach more than half the cost of REGA IO. In conclusion, it is certainly a nice, pleasant and well finished product, but it is not able (unfortunately) to deliver power equal to a class AB (even if it measures poorly) like the REGA IO (32W at 8 Ohm as measured here on ASR ).

I want to try some other model, I don't know if it's worth it. The world of class D amplifiers is like PCs, it has the same evolutions, because it is linked to the evolution of transistors and cheap ones, therefore, the fear of buying something that is half good and in 2 months having a new model that it corrected the defects of the previous model is too big. All this is pushing me to wait, in the meantime I use my REGA IO which has improved a lot with the D-6S. I've also seen what it can do with the A70, so at the moment I have to give the big applause to SMSL which, at DAC level, manages to come up with very valid products from what I've read. While on amplifiers, in my opinion, it is more difficult to have valid products at low costs because it is not enough to just implement a cheap one, you also need an excellent power supply circuit that must be up to par, for example the SABAJ uses IcePower modules, but it doesn't pull out great power from its amplifiers. Fosi pulls a lot of power, but has a high percentage of reliability issues. Therefore, competition is equal when it comes to amplifiers. Nobody manages to perform miracles in "economical" class D. I hope that in the future we will arrive at increasingly better products with excellent power (finally RMS and not peak) with excellent reliability.

 

[RoA]

Stick with your Rega until you can afford something that substantially increases power if you really require that and don't worry about what topology it is.

 

[MI_FI]

Stick with your Rega until you can afford something that substantially increases power if you really require that and don't worry about what topology it is.

For desktop use I chose the REGA IO because it was class AB with small dimensions. I initially thought about the MIssion 778X. I wanted to try a class D amplifier to see what "miracles" it could do. After 1000 searches I understood that they are super clean but have ridiculous power if not properly preamplified, but even with a good preamplifier/DAC they struggle to overcome sound pressures above 85 dB, I'm talking about high-sampling non-MP3 tracks, or YOUTUBE videos .

 

[DSJR]

It's like this (first hand user experience) with the Io. Used at moderate volume levels in a domestic non-stressful situation, there's really little if anything wrong with it in my current opinion. I appreciate that everything 'Rega electronics' is designed 'good enough,' as early Schiit products were, not to be best performing (the turntables are different though, at least at UK prices). Unlike some of the new chip-based wonder-box amps reviewed here recently, this thing was never designed for top measurements at '5W continuous into four ohms' and my own experiences of it would suggest that at low volumes (so a very few Watts tops on peaks), distortion is inaudible as it was on so many 1970s and 80s amps. It's just that ASR has raised the bar incredibly high, causing 'enthusiast brands' to suffer when they don't give good sinad figures here.

Something else. The price of Rega product in non-UK markets can be almost double the UK price and that's very sad to me. Here, in the context of the Rega Record Player system (Planar 1/Io/Kytes all for a grand or so UK money), it's fine and will be serviceable for many years I'm certain.

For various reasons and not always greed, the last twenty years has seen the price of dealer-bought audio gear rise incredibly sharply and in my retired state, I despair when I see what our local audio salon has to offer over Rega, Wiim, Bluesound and so on. Even the rather delightful (visually and tactile) new Quad 33/303 amp is £2500 the pair (ooh, they're gorgeous though and make me want to get my vintage original set out for a spin again).

The above makes me suggest you investigate the Quad Vena 2 amp, or maybe the Artera integrated perhaps, as an alternative to the inexpensive Class D offerings available online. The Yamaha integrateds with thirty year base history are worth a look too, but maybe too large for your use and many 'specialist dealers' don't like them over here for some subjective reason... The Rega Brio R if well priced used, offers more power and maybe this'll translate to 'more authoritative' sound.

 

[MI_FI]

It's like this (first hand user experience) with the Io. Used at moderate volume levels in a domestic non-stressful situation, there's really little if anything wrong with it in my current opinion. I appreciate that everything 'Rega electronics' is designed 'good enough,' as early Schiit products were, not to be best performing (the turntables are different though, at least at UK prices). Unlike some of the new chip-based wonder-box amps reviewed here recently, this thing was never designed for top measurements at '5W continuous into four ohms' and my own experiences of it would suggest that at low volumes (so a very few Watts tops on peaks), distortion is inaudible as it was on so many 1970s and 80s amps. It's just that ASR has raised the bar incredibly high, causing 'enthusiast brands' to suffer when they don't give good sinad figures here.

Something else. The price of Rega product in non-UK markets can be almost double the UK price and that's very sad to me. Here, in the context of the Rega Record Player system (Planar 1/Io/Kytes all for a grand or so UK money), it's fine and will be serviceable for many years I'm certain.

For various reasons and not always greed, the last twenty years has seen the price of dealer-bought audio gear rise incredibly sharply and in my retired state, I despair when I see what our local audio salon has to offer over Rega, Wiim, Bluesound and so on. Even the rather delightful (visually and tactile) new Quad 33/303 amp is £2500 the pair (ooh, they're gorgeous though and make me want to get my vintage original set out for a spin again).

The above makes me suggest you investigate the Quad Vena 2 amp, or maybe the Artera integrated perhaps, as an alternative to the inexpensive Class D offerings available online. The Yamaha integrateds with thirty year base history are worth a look too, but maybe too large for your use and many 'specialist dealers' don't like them over here for some subjective reason... The Rega Brio R if well priced used, offers more power and maybe this'll translate to 'more authoritative' sound.

thanks for giving me your opinion. I have two systems, and on both I have amplifiers made in England. On the main system I have the Roksan K3, before I drove the Monitor Audio SIlver 200, today I drive the Arendal Tower 1723. The Roksan is a heavy tank, I wouldn't change it for any amplifier. Various dealers recommended the Rega to me, at first I wanted to go for the Mission 778x, then for the various Rotels (A10/A12), but I discarded them all, ditto the Yamaha products which never really attracted me. The Quad was on the list but cost a lot more than the Rega IO. I don't have power problems with the Rega IO, I brought it to the maximum to see what sound pressure I can reach before sending it into crisis... I reach over 90 dB, which is a lot for listening at less than 1.5 meters. Class D, once warmed up properly, give dossifazione. You can hear the cleanliness, which can bother many and for the first time I understood the concept of "digital and not analogue sound". But to go for serious power you need to invest the same money with which you would buy a class A/AB. I'm intrigued by the NAD and degòo HEGEL, but the next step I think is a NAIM, but I'm not ready to part with the Roksan yet. While on the REGA, the question is only to experiment with some substitute that costs half the price of the REGA, otherwise it makes no sense if I have to get one and do 100 tests between power supplies and Mono and Stereo combinations. At the moment I see this band as much more functional for those who are good at DIY.

 

[DSJR]

Naim may be a next step and I accept the current products measure much better than they used to and the flat 2-D quality of old also seems a thing of the past pretty much (circuit layouts at the very least were changed/refined). I do have memories of the Nait 5i hard-clipping with no warning and it was so sudden when a singer sang out, it made me wince.

NADs seem very good but the classic stuff doesn't look it. Fond memories of the brand though and I reckon some of the Rotel stuff, if based on the all-black gear I knew so well, should be entirely competent and reliable.

No idea of performance benefit except power, but the next Rega amp up (Elex 4 now over a grand here but cheaper than a Nait 5 whateveritisthesedays and a digital input) may be an excellent thing to try. It's solidly made, reliable and well put together I think. No idea of performance, but it'll be a minimum of 'good enough' (not damning with faint praise either, however it sounds)

Rega Elex Mk4 integrated stereo amplifier

Rega Elex Mk4 integrated stereo amplifier digital headphone moving magnet phono stage audio hi-fi Rega Research Ltd made in England

www.rega.co.uk