A totally unscripted and honest review of the Rega Brio-R integrated amp!!

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Күн бұрын

Пікірлер: 21

@philthomas8351 5 ай бұрын

I have the recent Brio from 2024. Excellent unit. No hum or noise. Vocals are clear and realistic. Good tight bass and smooth treble. I could not be happier.

@davelistenstohifi 4 ай бұрын

Yes ,that one is more recent and likely a step up from this one. Good to hear you are enjoying it!

@philthomas8351 4 ай бұрын

@@davelistenstohifi Thanks, Dave. I am.

@BadMonkeyFinger_Audio 3 ай бұрын

Great video! Very interesting bit of info regarding Paul Simon and his dreams/ latest album. Thanks for sharing that bit, too.

@davelistenstohifi 3 ай бұрын

Yes, I heard that story then ordered the album, I have it in regular rotation.

@BadMonkeyFinger_Audio 3 ай бұрын

@@davelistenstohifi I may have to pick that one up, then, too. I always appreciate when someone points me to some good, new music. Thanks! Cheers!

@stephenbailey9969 5 ай бұрын

I had the Brio for a short time. Nice sound. But the build was not tight. Put a constant hum in my speakers and a loud one that made my headphone amp unusable. No previous amp had done that. Had to send it back for a replacement. The second one was the same. Ended up with an Arcam that was dead silent.

@davelistenstohifi 5 ай бұрын

That's odd that you had the same experience twice, something in your system just didn't jive with the Brio. It was very quiet in my system, no issues. Do you still have the Arcam?

@stephenbailey9969 5 ай бұрын

@@davelistenstohifi Yes. Great sound. Have it as a backup now. Went to separates, preamp and power amp, after I upgraded the speakers.

@nc3419 5 ай бұрын

The model that replaced the one you are reviewing has been discounted the last i looked as it will likely be replaced with a refreshed model. I use a competitor to it, a keces e40 made in taiwan. The keces for me specs out better in some regards, has better build and been used over 3 yrs without an issue. Check it out sometime. I have driven Focal, MA, Triangle and now Dali Opticon 1s with excellent results.

@davelistenstohifi 4 ай бұрын

Thanks for the info! I don't know the Keces brand, do they build for other people as well?

@nc3419 4 ай бұрын

@@davelistenstohifi I don't think they build for others but are a small firm that started in power supplies and conditioners I believe. They have a phono stage, a dac, and the small integrated and a more powerful amp, still in a more compact form than competitors. Well regarded by users but still fairly unknown. If you want a small form factor integrated and don't need tons of power, the E40 is a heck of a fine sounding product. Originally discovered it thru a Soundnews review. Of course there's better, or even different, always is but IMO, it holds it own with those costing significantly more, even in an 8.5 X8.5 inch square aluminum frame at 10 lbs. The other amp I have is a Hegel h160.

@davelistenstohifi 3 ай бұрын

Thanks for the info. How do you find the Hegel compares to your E40?

@nc3419 3 ай бұрын

@@davelistenstohifi Depends on the speakers too I suppose, some speakers not enough of a difference to note and some were well over a grand. One thing after listening to the Hegel for a time, say days and switching to the Keces, I noticed a little graininess but that's going completely cold on the Keces. Within a half hour that graininess isn't there so it could be more a warm up thing. On the tiny Opticon 1s, I notice the Hegel is livelier, perhaps a bit more resolution but more emphasis on note strikes versus more rounded edges on the Keces. I bet some wouldn't notice as much if any difference and the Hegel is 4X more powerful and 4X the weight. Some of that difference could be from the internal dac vs the Topping D70s as well. The Hegel has a bit more high end extension but the KecesE40 simply amazes me what it can do within its limits. For its internal parts, the sum exceeds what one should expect. Only 13.2K microfarads in 2 caps, simply astounds me as to the bass, within SPL limits. When it reaches its limits, it wimps out versus hard clipping. They're business is also power conditioners and power supplies. Now dacs and amps. Really underrated. Might even be a low cost alternative to tube amps as it presents a bit warmer than some class AB but controls bass well. It has been measured to have a damping factor around 150 while the under a grand and some over seem to have anywhere from 45 to still under 80. I tried a MF m2si and its bass was flabby and too much grain in the upper mids but it had power. I seem to notice difference in amps, real or imagined I can pick it up, sometimes subtle, sometimes not. Cheap amps sound cheap and 2D, no real coloration that real life instruments have. So, good designs give good results, IMO. Hard to make me want to spend more on an amp that fits in-between it and the Hegel in size and power. Doubt I could really achieve better for my needs. Guess I'm a Fanboy as long as the Company maintains its quality. Used it pretty much full time 3+ years now no blips. Plus, at its cost, when it goes, easy enough to replace. If the Hegel has an issue I would be compelled to repair it. Not perfect, but what a find. I like it better than the Rega Brio and that's no slouch.

@nc3419 3 ай бұрын

@@davelistenstohifi One other thing, if a speaker is hard to drive and needs current, an amp like the Hegel would be better. I had the Definitive SM45 a few years back and it sounded dull and lifeless on lower powered amps and needed the Hegel to bring out the best it could do. Perhaps the current capability and/or lift in the upper mids the Hegel seems to do by comparison. The difference was noted at lower and moderate volumes. Def techs seem to need power, but on my other speakers, no issues. A Dali Menuet SE sounded good on the Keces but it took everything it had, throwing off alot of heat. So, caveat is stick with speakers that stay at or above 4 ohms, Opticon 1s, no issues but its also 4 dB more sensitive in actual measurements. So just stay within the little amps limits.

@paulhanlon5112 Ай бұрын

Im a little weary of Shoebox Electronics after having a not so happy relationship with Cyrus, although i do own a Rega Off -Board Phono Pre/Amp plumbed up to an Arcam A 39...The Rega is approximately 6yo and about 400hrs and has been Faultless to this day ...11/24

@davelistenstohifi Ай бұрын

Hi Paul, yes it's hard to trust some sketchy builds, but I have been pretty lucky with most everything I have owned. I only had issues when I made a mistake (removing a tube when the preamp was powered on!) or on some very old (40+ years) amplifiers.