Rega Brio-R

Question about the Brio-R:

I have noticed that when I turn on the Brio-R, there is a brief "pump" of the woofers on my speakers (KEF LS50). There is nothing audible however.

Just wondering if this was normal behavior for the Brio-R?

Certainly the older ones did...first batch and so on. Leave the amp on, sounds so much better that way.
 
Seems to be a lot of love for that little Brio-R. I keep wondering if, besides being cheaper, it does some things better that the Elex-R. The latter didn't become nearly as popular as its little brother.

I doubt it. The Brio-R is just cheaper and a stellar value. That is not to say that the Elex-R is not a good value but the competition gets stiffer as you go up in dollars.
 
...I ordered a sedley phono stage for the Orton to make the set. It has a Heed now which is good as is the Heed headphone amp.
 
It's a great little amp.

The Campion and now the Alabaster have wonderful phono stages...very close to the MM stage on the Sedley or so I am told.
 
jimdabomb, what did you end up going with for heavier genres like metal? How is it working out?

I'm brand new to AK and the whole audiophile scene but have been dreaming of diving in for years. I've been gathering steam for a few months now but haven't committed to anything yet. My local shop in Montreal is recommending the Brio-R with Harbeth P3s, along with either the RP1 or RP3 TT. I listened to some blues and acoustic singer/songwriter stuff on vinyl on that setup at the shop and it sounds great. Those are the other two main musical genres I listen to, and in fact I listen to that the most now that I live with my girlfriend. I suspect the majority of vinyl I will buy will be in those two categories. Also my listening space is not a big room, but has high ceilings (old Montreal apartment)

However, I have a LOT of metal on CD, and would like to add a CD player to the system in the not-to-distant future, and am wondering how the amp/speaker combo will hold up. I don't really have the opportunity to blast music in my place, so it would be at a reasonable volume. It's more about capturing the full dynamic range in metal, with a lot of subtleties in busy music to pull out. I don't plan to add a sub anytime soon with this system, if ever. I would probably only get more melodic/atmospheric metal on vinyl such as Opeth or Katatonia. Heavier, faster stuff on CD.

Are there any threads out there anyone knows of for heavy metal fans?

Also, thanks Art for all the insight in this thread. I've read this entire thread and probably learned as much as a Newbie could ask for from one source. Any feedback from you would also be much appreciated. Cheers.

Hi CamR33, welcome to AK. I'm a fellow Montrealer and a big Rega guy. From the recommendation you received, I'm thinking you went to Son Ideal on Bishop? I tested the same combo there at one point when I planning my speaker upgrade. I had the Brio already and was looking at Harbeth vs. B&W for the speakers. I had gone into Son Ideal to also check out the Elicit-R because I wanted a bit more power for the same reasons as yourself - I like to crank some rock music from time to time. My take on the Brio/P3 combo was that it was extremely natural and detailed, but not all that "exciting" or "punchy" on busier rock songs. They also showed me some B&W PM1 speakers which I really enjoyed, and just floored me on some big rock songs (Peter Gabriel Sledgehammer).

I decided to go with the extra power of the Elicit-R, and because of the improved Phono stage vs. the Brio-R. As for the speakers it was clear that I was more of a B&W guy. While Son Ideal was very helpful, I tracked down a demo Elicit-R through Canuck Audio Mart (a website you should check out if you haven't already) and I later bought some gently used B&W 805N speakers that give me the punch I'm looking for, without compromising on detail. That being said, I still dream of how good those Harbeth's sounded on vocals in general and also on acoustic tracks (Neil Young Harvest album).
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You can't go wrong with the Brio-R. I would simply suggest that you take a look on CAM before buying new/retail. And for the speaker selection I would bring some of those Metail CDs down to the showroom and give them a spin with Harbeths and B&Ws and see how they compare. Or perhaps you can get a Brio-R and then test-drive a few speakers in your own place.

Keep us posted!
 
Greetings,

Been lurking here and there, and after deciding to take the plunge with the Rega Brio R I spent a good 2 days working my way through this thread.
I really appreciate the lengths that many posters have gone to, illuminating why they like this piece of gear and it's strengths.
***edited for sanity***
I erased the rest of this post, in an effort to simply say that I floored by this amp. It smokes the NAD I've had for 12 years.
Best 895 I've ever spent.
Period.
 
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I wrote a nice post last week when I had time and...well you know what happened last week. If I get time I will get back here and try again.
 
The post I was responding to was edited and that's cool.

I don't have much to add anyway. I still have the little Brio-R and still love the little fella. It's not in use at present as I put a very cool Heed Elixir in it's place in the main setup. I had put the Brio-R in the second setup and then I acquired a little Creek 4330 Mk2. Fabulous amp in excellent cosmetic condition. It has a little noise in the volume pot (just like the first one I had...cured with a little DeOxit..need some more of that) but is otherwise awesome. It is a trip down memory lane for me...that said it is not better than or even as good as the Brio-R, just different. The Brio-R is going nowhere.
 
The post I was responding to was edited and that's cool.

I don't have much to add anyway. I still have the little Brio-R and still love the little fella. It's not in use at present as I put a very cool Heed Elixir in it's place in the main setup. I had put the Brio-R in the second setup and then I acquired a little Creek 4330 Mk2. Fabulous amp in excellent cosmetic condition. It has a little noise in the volume pot (just like the first one I had...cured with a little DeOxit..need some more of that) but is otherwise awesome. It is a trip down memory lane for me...that said it is not better than or even as good as the Brio-R, just different. The Brio-R is going nowhere.
Thanks for the re-post.
 
The post I was responding to was edited and that's cool.

I don't have much to add anyway. I still have the little Brio-R and still love the little fella. It's not in use at present as I put a very cool Heed Elixir in it's place in the main setup. I had put the Brio-R in the second setup and then I acquired a little Creek 4330 Mk2. Fabulous amp in excellent cosmetic condition. It has a little noise in the volume pot (just like the first one I had...cured with a little DeOxit..need some more of that) but is otherwise awesome. It is a trip down memory lane for me...that said it is not better than or even as good as the Brio-R, just different. The Brio-R is going nowhere.

I have nowadays reverted to the Brio R.
When the dust has settled, the Brio R IS actually much better than the digital amps that I had raved upon previously.
Uncannily, my 2nd setup is also based around the Creek 4330 Mk2 and I'm contemplating to acquire a Heed Obelisk as an upgrade to the R.

Serendipity...:smoke:
 
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