Rega Brio R bright???

boband212-

I have always wanted to demo both Jolida & Jadis.

Another vote for the Rega not sounding bright.

Well, People Recommend the following:

Rotel = to bassy in my room, if the nad is no good, i will buy this one
Arcam = To analytical
Exposure = not avalible in my region
Creek = no home demo possible
nad = need to demo @ home

You have to understand something.....what you are describing with some of these amps is only when you are trying to combine them with the Dynaudios....if you heard them with other brands of speakers you might be surprised....why not go for what Dynaudio people use, or some of them anyway....I'm sure if you ask you'll still get a thousand different answers, just from them....I can offer no other advice, since I am not a fan of Dynaudio speakers...drivers yes, speakers no.....good luck....

You really need to start looking into tube amps. Trust me I have had the same issues you just said. I changed over to tubes a few years ago and it is really hard to go back to solid state after that. I am confident you will like the warm musicality of tubes and tube amps mostly have little to no harshness to the sound. I only use solid state now in my second system.

The only problem for you is that Dynaudio speakers are not very efficient. You need at least 50 tube watts to get them going. I did hear the Dynaudio X32 hooked up to a VTL 60 watt amp. I put on some electronic music and they went as loud as I could ever hope for.

Its a pain in the ass to choose a amp for my speakers. I do not have that problem with headphones.

I've had a lot of amps on demo, Arcam A28: too analytical
Marantz: too boring. Rotel ra1520: very good amp, but bass was too overwhelming at home (not at the store)

What i want is a amp witch is musical above all. If an amp is detailed, but not musical, i'll pass

Iaudio1987,

I listened to the Dynaudio X16's hooked up to an Exposure 2010S2 integrated amp. The sound was very good together and I noticed little brightness to the sound. If you can stretch your funds try the Exposure.

You might find that you like tubes more than solid state. Give a Rogue Cronus integrated amp a try sometime. That will tame the edge a bit.

I just have to speak up here....the BRIO R IS NOT BRIGHT! I have no idea what you are doing to it, but I've heard it with various speakers, Regas, Totems, Harbeths, and it is not bright......and I'd also say it is lunacy to pair it with Magnepans, for any serious listening. And even though it will relax after break in, it is not even bright straight out of the box. I have not heard it with the Dynaudios. Dynaudios pair well with the new Hagel gear....

I like how you say the voices are strange, and ask if perhaps it's the rega or arc am....maybe it's just the Dynaudios are a bad match.....

Review of the Rega Brio-R

I promised to put up a review of the Rega Brio-R so here it is. The equipment the I use to demo the Rega with is the Arcam RDAC, Dynaudio Excite X12 speakers and of course the Brio-R. I am not good at writing long reviews and English is not my native language so I try to keep grammar mistakes to a minimum.

When you unpack the Brio the first thing you notice is it's size, it's very small with all the necessary inputs on the back (five line inputs and the phono output, and of course the speaker terminals). There is no headphone output witch I could live with, but I can understand that you need one.

Now the most important part of the review: Sound Quality. The amp has a detailed sound, I heard things that weren't there before most noticeable on the Unplugged CD of Eric Clapton. The amp is not forgiving of bad recorded material, but I guess that is part of moving up the amp-ladder. Also I found that when playing records that the sound is bright not harsh, but bright. For people that like that kind of sound this amp is a must listen. Voices have a strange quality that I cannot put in to words and are very expressive, maybe it's the combo of Arcam and Rega, but i've heard better. Bass is exactly right for me with a tight and defined presentation.

Yes, it is bright. Not in the entire frequency spectrum though. I found many parts pretty smooth except for the lower treble and upper midrange. Here it took on a sharp edge. This part of the spectrum reminded me of a 1980's Yamaha receiver. I noticed it on voices in the T's and S's sounds and on certain instruments. It did get marginally better after a 100 hours break in time. I also tried to use Cardas interconnects that also helped tame the edge.

It was exciting to listen to and had good rhythm but ultimatley though I had to sell mine. I could not live with the unnatural brightness,.

Yes, I agree with you, it is bright. Not in the entire frequency spectrum though. I found many parts pretty smooth except for the lower treble and upper midrange. Here it took on a sharp edge. This part of the spectrum reminded me of a 1980's Yamaha receiver.

I noticed it on voices in the T's and S's sounds and on certain instruments. It did get marginally better after a 100 hours break in time. I also tried to use Cardas interconnects and that also helped tame that edge.

It was exciting to listen to and had good rhythm, I will give it that, but ultimately though I had to sell mine. I could not live with the unnatural brightness. It distracted me from just relaxing and enjoying the music.

Anyways, trust your own ears. Everyone hears different and everyones systems are different. If it sounds bright to you then it is bright. Some others may not even notice it.

You need to take a look at other models if it sounds bright to you.
I look forward for the review.

@Ryder. The Rega sounded good at what I consider a comfortably high level. Maybe it was the right amp for the right speaker? Or maybe it was the room? Which was only about 14x10, not much acoustic treatment and no back wall as it opened up to the showroom behind the listening position. I really can't say if I'd prefer more power, it sounded good for what it is. The Bryston is in a different league, I can only imagine how much better the 1.7 must sound with Bryston. However, if my budget was limited (which it always is) I'd would not hesitate to drive the 1.7 with the Rega until I could afford Bryston or Pass or something in that realm.

@laudio I would encourage you to also audition the NAD 326. As the owner of the similar 325, I enjoy what I am hearing for such a modestly priced amp -- very full and powerfull sound. I'd have to spend 5x as much to better it, IMHO.

Would the rega or the NAD be a better match for the RDAC/Excite X12?

10-05-11: 4hannons
I was recently at a dealer in Eureka, Ca. listening to the Brio R powering Maggie 1.7. It sounded fairly neutral with tremedous detail, and a good value for what it is. I wouldn't characterize the sound as bright.

I'm little surprised the Brio R can drive the 1.7s successfully. A friend just got a Bryston 4B-SST to drive the 1.7s since his power amps and monoblocks could not drive them to optimal levels.

Ok, so i have to decide if i want to buy this amp. I feel a slight doubt about the highs but i've auditioned so many amps already and it does so many things right. Maybe i should give the NAD c326bee al listen en then decide....

Maybe it is the running in proces then?

I was recently at a dealer in Eureka, Ca. listening to the Brio R powering Maggie 1.7. It sounded fairly neutral with tremedous detail, and a good value for what it is. I wouldn't characterize the sound as bright.

It's a Demo model from my dealer,its fairly new i guess

standard copper 2,5mm

Which speaker cables are you using?

Rega dealer here.....

I've not noticed any brightness on the units I have had in. Do you know how many hours are on the one that you are using?

Taylor
Goldprint Audio