Rega Brio-R Break-in time.

Thanks for the suggestions, Mezzanine. I've read about the Primare I21 + Vienna combination quite a few times, so it must be pretty good. I saw one on ebay, but I wanted a built in a phono stage and the reassurance of a warranty so I opted for the Rega Brio-R instead. I didn't see the Vincent you mentioned on audioadvisor, but they do seem like nice products -- would love to try tubes with the VAs! I have considered the peachtree products (as integrated or preamp/dac) and also the Primaluna prologue one (the only primaluna I could afford and the one that never comes up used).

Anyway, back on topic, I called the folks at needledoctor.com today to return the Brio-R, but the fellow on the phone (extremely helpful and friendly customer service btw) assured me that the store's Brio-R sounded "brutal" out of the box and suggested that I break it in for a good 50-100 hours. I've already put about 35+ hours in, so I'm going to give it a shot before I decide what to do.

Funnily enough, I stumbled upon the Stereophile review of the Brio-R last night; I believe the reviewer described the amp as "smooth and non fatiguing" which mirrors some of the comments I've seen on this forum. I guess we'll see...

That is interesting. Not sure if people are just hearing differently or perhaps I didn't let it in burn in long enough? I played it a few hours everyday for about 5 weeks. So I don't know. I ended up selling mine on here. One thing that did help was that I swapped out my Audioquest Diamondback interconnect cables for Cardas Quadlink 5-C. That smoothed out the sound somewhat.
I also bought my Brio-R at the Needle Doctor. Those guys are very helpful. The Vincent Audio SV-226 MK2 I saw in a recent Audio Advisor catalogue that they sent me. It was in the clearance section. Maybe it's already sold out. I didn't see it on their webpage either.
On a side note, I have to be honest, I have to say that the Rega might need more break-in time or not but I have owned over 15 integrated amps in my life and there was only one that sounded brighter to me ears in the upper midrange and lower treble and that was an Audiolab 8000. Makes no sense because a lot of the Rega's frequency range sounds really smooth except in certain areas. If you decide to keep it I look forward to knowing if it got a lot better after a long break-in time or not. Let me know if that brightness ever calmed down.
Thanks

Just an update: I returned the Brio-R after putting around 150 hours on it (can't say I noticed any real change past the 60-70 hour mark); it was still too bright for me to live with. Upon return, my dealer confirmed that my unit sounded fine to him...well, everyone hears differently.

I just got the Brio-R in for a demo and want to chime in here. This is unusual amp, and the comments about a certain part of the frequency range being annoying are right on the mark.

I would not say it is bright.... but there is an unatural coloration, almost a fuziness on certain parts of the frequency range.

It is a shame, because this amp, for it's price, has some amazing qualities. It has a propulsive PRAT to the rhythm, it's 50 watts drive harder than other integrated amps with twice the rated power, and it can seperate the layers of congestion very well. It has a musical presence and very different sound to all the other integrated amps i have had.

I was hoping with break in, the coloration would clear up, but it seems this is not the case.

The amplifier output stage in the Brio-R is apparently new and never used before in the industry, let alone in a Rega amp, so perhaps this is just a first try and they will sort this issue out in another model.

Ok, you last two posters, please provide two things-- what speakers and what cabling were you using?
Thanks..