New Rega Elicit Integrated - Opinions

If I can ask, what made you choose the Rega over the Sim and the Naim? Were there noticeable differences among the units you auditioned? Thanks for the input.

The Sim was out of my price range at 7k, but I thought it sounded a little cold for my tastes anyway. I did like the Naim, but liked the Elicit just as much, and it was 1000 or so cheaper. The Rega is probably warmer than the Naim as well.

I got mine when they came out. I reviewed it on audioreview and there is also a site called Tone audio that reviews it, they preferred it to the supernait. I was also in contact with a guy who compared the latest LFD, the Elicit and the Luxman class A that came out awhile back. He got the Luxman but said the Rega was his second choice. The other integrated I own was the grand daddy of british intgrateds- the class A Sugden A21. The Rega is clearer, more detailed and bigger stage, better bass, the Rega could not quite match the sweetness of the Sugden on female vocals, saxophone and piano. The Rega was cleaner sounding too (not anticeptic, just without some extra distortion the Sugden had). The Elicit still has a subtle sweetness relative to other amps, but the Sugden is warmer still and very "tubelike". I use my Elicit with RS3 speakers and this is a very musical yet uncoloured sound. The Elicit is about as good as British class AB integrated amps get which is certainly not to say you can't do better. If you want an all in one that is'nt tubes or class A and also a phono stage on board, the Elicit should be a top consideration. I've used tubes and class A solid state and after awhile no longer wanted to deal with the heat, hassle and wasted electricity. I like the musical sweetness of tubes but this Rega system is pretty darn musical too and does a few things tube amps could'nt dream of.

Samspadesix:

Compared to the MF, what are your thoughts? The MF has alot more power but how did it compare to the Rega????

Fillmoor,
May I ask how many hours did the Elicit take to sound at its optimum? The Rega Elicit sounds pretty darn good right now. I have listened to the LFD Zero MkIII in my system and the Elicit exhibits the same character in PRAT, dynamics and detail in the high frequencies and midrange. Although the bass of the Elicit is pretty good, it still doesn't quite match the LFD's bass performance. The bass on the LFD is exceptional and one of a kind. In comparison the LFD's bass is tauter with better slam and presence while the Elicit's bass is more ballsy and rounded. I was just hoping the bass of the Elicit would improve with more hours on it.

I was intrigued by the other guy's comment that the Rega was his 2nd choice, which pushed the LFD to the last. Although the Rega Elicit was said to sound exceptionally close to the LFD Zero MkIII, the latter was supposed to be the superior unit by a marginal difference. Did he say why he preferred the Rega more than the LFD although he eventually ended up with the Luxman?