Lets talk about Rega

[christian]

Last year thought it would be fun to try and build a good sounding all Rega system. I wasn’t really satisfied with my LP12 and Select DSM with built in amps. So I sold the DSM and replaced that with a Rega Elex-R amp. Speakers at that point was Katan. Felt that the Rega amp played music much more fun than the DSM. We then did a comparison between my LP12 and a Rega P6 turntable and actually found the Rega to be better. (I strictly use the Tune method for comparisons). This was a big surprise for me and perhaps or even likely there was something wrong with the LP12. We then tried the Rega P8 turntable and that was also worse than my P6. Also a surprise and as with the LP12 there could have been something wrong with it. At a dealers we also tried the P8 against the P10. That system didn’t sound good at all. They had some sort of Power mains filtering that we asked them to get rid of but they refused. In that system we couldn’t feel that the P10 was better than the P8. (When I say we, my good friend Linnofil helps me with comparsions). Recently we changed the Power supply on the P6 to an old Linn Power supply and that made an huge improvement to the P6.

The comparisons with the turntables made me realise that Rega can’t be trusted in that a more expensive product is not always better that a cheaper one.

I then tried a more expensive amplifier, the Rega Elicit MK5. That was clearly worse that the Elex-R. I was told by someone I trust that the small Rega IO was really good and sounded much like an older Naim amp. So I tried that one and found It to be the best of the bunch (and also by far the cheapest).

We then went on to speakers starting with the current Rega RX1. Not a bad speaker at all but then I got hold of a pair of Rega RS1 with is an older model. That was clearly better than the RX1. So now we now that they can’t be trusted in this case either meaning that an older product might be better that a newer. Remember that we are talking purely musically. Sound wise is something else. The newer and more expensive products sound more impressive in hi-fi terms.
I recently found a pair of old Rega Kyte from around 1993. The dimensions are very similar to the Linn Tukan. They were much better than the Rega RS1 and I am totally impressed by this small speaker.

I hope in this tread that the good people on this forum can comment on other Rega products that sound good, old and new. And what comparisons you have made. The old Rega Ela speakers looks interesting, but I have never heard them. If someone is interested I can also drop a few sound clips of how a cheap Rega system can sound.

Thanks for reading

[Rutger]

Hi all

Before I get started with my subject I feel a short introduction is in place since I have not been so active on this forum for some time.
I have been interested in music and hifi for all my life, there are pictures of me 50 years ago spinning my mothers 45s on her small turntable at age 3.

Anyway I have been using Linn (and Lejonklou) gear more than 20 years or so and at one time I actually had an all Klimax system from Linn consisting of Klimax DS, Klimax Kontrol, Klimax Twin and LP12 with Klimax Radikal. At least that was a really good looking system. In recent years I have lost confidence in Linn. I don’t like the sound (or music) of their newer products and I think their pricing is ridiculous. The way I discovered Linn was that I had a Rega system and Tonläget in Göteborg sold Rega so I went there to buy Rega gear and after a while turned to Linn instead.

That leads to the subject at hand. Last year thought it would be fun to try and build a good sounding all Rega system. I wasn’t really satisfied with my LP12 and Select DSM with built in amps. So I sold the DSM and replaced that with a Rega Elex-R amp. Speakers at that point was Katan. Felt that the Rega amp played music much more fun than the DSM. We then did a comparison between my LP12 and a Rega P6 turntable and actually found the Rega to be better. (I strictly use the Tune method for comparisons). This was a big surprise for me and perhaps or even likely there was something wrong with the LP12. We then tried the Rega P8 turntable and that was also worse than my P6. Also a surprise and as with the LP12 there could have been something wrong with it. At a dealers we also tried the P8 against the P10. That system didn’t sound good at all. They had some sort of Power mains filtering that we asked them to get rid of but they refused. In that system we couldn’t feel that the P10 was better than the P8. (When I say we, my good friend Linnofil helps me with comparsions). Recently we changed the Power supply on the P6 to an old Linn Power supply and that made an huge improvement to the P6.

The comparisons with the turntables made me realise that Rega can’t be trusted in that a more expensive product is not always better that a cheaper one.

I then tried a more expensive amplifier, the Rega Elicit MK5. That was clearly worse that the Elex-R. I was told by someone I trust that the small Rega IO was really good and sounded much like an older Naim amp. So I tried that one and found It to be the best of the bunch (and also by far the cheapest).

We then went on to speakers starting with the current Rega RX1. Not a bad speaker at all but then I got hold of a pair of Rega RS1 with is an older model. That was clearly better than the RX1. So now we now that they can’t be trusted in this case either meaning that an older product might be better that a newer. Remember that we are talking purely musically. Sound wise is something else. The newer and more expensive products sound more impressive in hi-fi terms.
I recently found a pair of old Rega Kyte from around 1993. The dimensions are very similar to the Linn Tukan. They were much better than the Rega RS1 and I am totally impressed by this small speaker.

I hope in this tread that the good people on this forum can comment on other Rega products that sound good, old and new. And what comparisons you have made. The old Rega Ela speakers looks interesting, but I have never heard them. If someone is interested I can also drop a few sound clips of how a cheap Rega system can sound.

Thanks for reading

Rega makes some really good products, but you have to listen carefully and not take the price level as standard.

The Rega dac R is a very good sounding dac , in my own experience its as good sounding as the original Klimax DS from 2018 which I have compared directly to. This makes it a bargain in my opinion.

I didnt like the newer Rega Brio, the cheaper IO is probably better sounding.

[Charlie1]

Interesting to read your experiences Christian.

My experience of Rega is quite limited but might be helpful.

I had the ELA 1.25 in good condition a few years ago. Musical and very easy to drive (even with Nait) but the bass was a bit too one-note for me.

My daughter is using my early Planar 2 (not a P2). I think it's superb for the money. It's really engaging and good fun. A Hi-Fi friend says he prefers the older ones to current ones but I've not compared.

I home dem'd a P10 which I've mentioned several times. I really enjoyed it but ultimately found my LP12s made more sense of the music. One was Valhalla/Ittok, not sure what the other deck was at the time, but defo pre-Cirkus bearing.

Only heard the little io once (at a show) but it was a nice little system - one of the few that played music (to my ears).

I briefly owned a Brio-R when I was comparing various amps, but was totally underwhelmed. Nait, Nait 2, Nait 5i-2, 72/140, Exposure XV, Creek 4140 were all better, some much so.

A couple of years ago I dem'd a P6 and Rego amp (one above Brio) at a shop near me. I found it all quite boring. We tried a couple of pairs of speakers. Don't know what the issue was. Interestingly, the assistant thought the P6 was the best value in the Rega line-up.

[christian]

Thanks so much for your kind responses!

Interesting to learn about the Rega Dac-R. I will keep that in mind if I will need a Dac in the future.

@Charlie Interesting to hear about your friend that prefers the older turntables, was that especially the P2 or in general terms? I recently saw an ad for an older P9 but as I had no knowledge about it I didn’t dare to buy it. Also thanks for your remarks about the Ela 1.25 (is that one with Royd drivers?). I still would like to hear them if I get a chance.

As both Rutger and Charlie mentions the current Rega Brio does not seem to be a good amp, I have heard that before from someone else I trust.

Kind of strange that Rega has the knowledge to make really good products but at the same time does stuff that is not so good.

[Charlie1]

@Charlie Interesting to hear about your friend that prefers the older turntables, was that especially the P2 or in general terms? I recently saw an ad for an older P9 but as I had no knowledge about it I didn’t dare to buy it. Also thanks for your remarks about the Ela 1.25 (is that one with Royd drivers?). I still would like to hear them if I get a chance.

As both Rutger and Charlie mentions the current Rega Brio does not seem to be a good amp, I have heard that before from someone else I trust.

The Brio-R I had was not the current version but one before.

I think my friend was just referring to the P2 vs Planar 2.

Ref Royd drivers - I seem to recall that the 1.25 version didn't have them, but not sure.

[matthias]

Interesting to learn about the Rega Dac-R. I will keep that in mind if I will need a Dac in the future.

Currently Rega don't offer any DACs, they have CD players with digital inputs.

[Rutger]

Interesting to learn about the Rega Dac-R. I will keep that in mind if I will need a Dac in the future.

Currently Rega don't offer any DACs, they have CD players with digital inputs.

True, lots of Rega dac R units available second hand though .
Remember to use filter option nr 2.

[christian]

True, lots of Rega dac R units available second hand though .
Remember to use filter option nr 2.

Thanks Rutger I will keep that in mind

[christian]

I found this modification

https://www.thefactoryaudio.com/blog/20 ... to-kill-it

I don’t have the knowledge to understand the technical aspects of what he is doing. Any thoughts? Do you think this is worth trying?

Thanks

[Hermann]

Last year my daughter asked me to choose a record player for her. The choice was not difficult as my Linn dealer had a used Rega P3 with a simple MM system, also Rega, on offer. At first he played with a Slipsik 7.1 on my newly recapped 72/140 in Linn Keilidh. I was immediately impressed by the system, as was my daughter. Later the big Rega power supply was added, which gave the TT an additional boost.

I have some concerns about the article, because 35V on a 24V motor is extremely unhealthy. I cannot imagine that this corresponds to the Rega standard, but will measure it soon when my Boazu amp moves in with her.

If the value is the open circuit voltage, i.e. measured without load, this is certainly possible. The voltage should be immediately reduced to the nominal value when the motor is loaded. However, I admit that I did not read the entire article in detail.

[stefan]

Very interesting Christian. Did you buy the P6 new, what cartridge do you use and exactly what old Linn power supply do you use? I'm considering selling my LP12 radikal/kore/Ekos2 due to that I don't use it very often but the records stays and you gotta have something to play them on.

[Charlie1]

I’m considering selling my LP12 radikal/kore/Ekos2 due to that I don't use it very often

Personally, I would downgrade the LP12 to Lingo / steel subchassis first. Buy a P6 with the sales revenue, take your time to compare the two decks, and then sell one off. And maybe you'll find the older LP12 spec more fun to listen to too ;)

[christian]

Hi Stefan, nice to hear from you!

Yes I bought the P6 new, It had been a demonstation unit. I use the AT95 cartridge. I think it is very musical and also very cheap. At first I used the Green needle and that works really well but I had problems with distorsion playing inner tracks. So now I use the yellow one and those problems are all gone. I think the yellow one is just as musical as the green one but with a better sound quality.

I will check the Power Supply, I am not sure where it came from. I gives 18 V AC if that is a clue. But the one that is provided by Rega seems to be quite bad. We tried a few different other ones and they where all better. Perhaps I will try and build my own as it seems to have a great influence on the performance of the turntable.

If you consider to sell your LP12 I would advise to have it checked first as there is a chance that it is not performing as I should. If it was perhaps you would use it more?

[Spannko]

From a tune playing perspective, how do the different generations of motors compare?

[stefan]

.....
If you consider to sell your LP12 I would advise to have it checked first as there is a chance that it is not performing as I should. If it was perhaps you would use it more?

Hello Christian and thanks for reply,

Played a few records now and yes, I feel things are not quite right even if it sounds good. Next step is to bring everything to the dealer and see what he thinks. As for selling/swap for something else, have to figure out what the stuff is worth. Little point if you are not freeing up enough cash. But the LP12 will never again be the main source so a downgrade and put that money elsewhere could be wise. Just wants something on a listenable level.

OT for a Rega thread so I leave it by this. Still have your mail from around 2y ago (if still valid) if I feel I want to discuss further.

BR/Stefan

[christian]

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/07u3gjuw ... pv2uj&dl=0

Trying something a bit more stable and powerful for the P6. Seems to work!

[Spannko]

Any chance of a comparison video?

[christian]

Hi
I am sorry to say that I haven’t got any older clips. There has been so many changes and testing going on lately. I do realize that the benefit of the new Power supply is impossible for you to understad without any comparisons . Anyway here is a few clips of how the system sounds right now. Just for fun if anyone is interested.

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/ywm1ngf3 ... 6jzeq&dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/vyxywz27 ... o9rrk&dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/tviotzls ... n7i04&dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/nivs38lb ... 79beh&dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/npwfvq4l ... wkawl&dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/3dqyxmil ... yzkux&dl=0

[Hermann]

Very good sounding examples. Thanks for sharing. I like the 2nd example the best. Do I understand that correctly? All the electronics and the pickup are from Rega?

[christian]

Very good sounding examples. Thanks for sharing. I like the 2nd example the best. Do I understand that correctly? All the electronics and the pickup are from Rega?

Thanks Hermann!
Yes Turntable, Amplifier and speakers are from Rega. The cartridge is AT/95.

[Spannko]

Christian. For some reason, none of the files will open on my iPad.

[christian]

Christian. For some reason, none of the files will open on my iPad.

Hi Spannko. Sorry, don't know why. They work on my iPad and also on my MacBook. I am using Safari browser.

[lejonklou]

Works fine for me on all units and like Hermann I also like the second clip the most.

Thanks for sharing Christian!

[ThomasOK]

Yeah, on the CCR I listened all the way to the end. I thought it was pretty good. On the others a couple seemed pretty good on the intro (Dylan and Sting) but the voices seemed a bit off to me on all but the CCR. Some of those tracks I'm quite familiar with, but not all.

[christian]

Anyone who remembers the old Rega EL8 speaker? It’s a small floor stander from the early 90 ties that uses the same drivers as my beloved Kytes. I have not heard them but I am curious.

Thanks