Rega Brio-R

Art K.

The Voodoo You Do!
Today I ordered a Rega Brio-R in basic black. Said to have a phono stage that is far better than my Rega Fono Mini. The dealer said that she is going to buy one herself as she believes (as I do) that this is a statement product in it's price range that will be talked about and collected for decades. It will be replacing a very fine NAD C326BEE and Rega Fono Mini. I will roll the C326BEE into my wife's system and that will leave a surplus C325BEE and Fono Mini.

It may arrive at the dealer tomorrow. If so I will travel up to Portland (90 minutes north) and pick it up tomorrow evening.

This thread is where I will be posting impressions. This is the amp I hope to have for a good long time...my wife hopes so too...:D.

It's been a good HiFi week at Art & Sherilyn's Musiquarium. I will post some pics here and also on the Cambridge CD player thread as well as the Musiquarium thread.
 
Can't wait. The new-ish line of Rega components is exciting.

So do you think next year maybe you'll move on to the Isis CD player? Tube or transistor? :D
 
Can't wait. The new-ish line of Rega components is exciting.

So do you think next year maybe you'll move on to the Isis CD player? Tube or transistor? :D

Not so much. I have a friend who heard the Brio-R and thinks it's the best sounding Rega amp and that includes the Osiris and Elicit.
 
Wow. I still want to hear the Isis. If I were well-heeled I'd almost certainly go for the solid state version, and I really like the aesthetics of it, and the Osiris - and the lower-end models too actually. Simple. I like that. Busy aesthetics make me nauseous.
 
BTW it was either the Brio-R or the Nait 5i and the fact that everyone I know who has listened to them both says one isn't better than the other (my dealer carries both) and the price along with a great MM phono stage...well you know...the Brio-R wins. Now I'm not sure if the next move is the Apollo-R or the DAC. At this point it doesn't matter cause I'm broke!

This is the dealer I'm working with...Stereotypes Audio in Portland. Teri Inman is the owner and an Oregon as well a National audio retail pioneer. Her store is the most beautiful I've seen and she carries my favorite products.

http://stereotypesaudio.com/
 
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I heard one of these yesterday paired with a set of Paradigm Monitor 3s and a set of Paradigm Titan's w/ custom work and a Paradigm sub (I bought the Titans and sub). Sounded superb. Gave me the itch to get rid of my receiver and go DAC to preamp.
 
I'm very intereseted in your impressions. I have been thinking about taking the plunge into modern hi-fi and this is an integrated I have had my eye on. I'm hoping to find a demo to save a few buck though ;)
 
I'm anxiously awaiting a call from my dealer to telling me that it arrived UPS. If she doesn't get it today then I will pick it up next Friday.
 
Yea its a pretty sweet amp! I heard it for the first time at a store in Tacoma, WA and it was nice, real nice. It was paired up to a set of Vandersteen 1C I and that was real nice, I did feel the 1C were holding back the Brio-R in the low end.

BTW thanks for the store link in Portland, I may have to take a drive south as I am in the market for new speakers.
 
It's here and playing!

First thing is that the reviews are right about it being tight in connection area. My reference power cord bows the back panel as it pushes against the speaker binding posts. I will order Shunyata Venom 3's tomorrow as they will fit. For now I'm leaving the power cord in place as it's not moving or causing any issues. The new power cords will be 6.8 times less expensive...hope they measure up.

Teri at Stereotypes gave me this advice as I headed out the door, "It likes a good power cord and plug it in directly to the wall. Give it about a week to get on song".

First turned it on and wanted to run into my wife's office and take back my NAD as it's sounding sweet in her setup. The Brio-R sounded closed in and well, bad. It's now been an hour and some change and it is already sounding awesome

I would post a pic but the camera battery died as I was about to shoot. It's charging now.
 
I changed my mind. I'm not going to get used to the sound of the amp with a $700 power and then change to a $100 one. I'm going to use the stock cord and then put the Shunyatas in.
 
Reviews say it takes 1-3 weeks to break in. I'm already in love...I can now banish the memories of the Sonneteer. This is the Naim Nait 5i-2 that I always wanted plus a very nice phono stage (it kicks more like the XS). It's changing character every hour and becoming more fetching with every change. Frick this a great amp!
 
BTW I used to have the Rega Mira 3 and it was a toy compared to this amp!

It appears to me their new lineup in general is much more serious than the older stuff - excluding the turntables of course.

I don't know man, I think you should get another Rega CD player and go all-Rega (sort of), it would be a sick setup. What is an Apollo R, by the way? I haven't seen the "R" before.

Do you feel the Naim and Rega integrated amps have a similar house sound? I mean, they are British after all, which means PRAT, transmission line speakers, etc.. :D

And I really want to know about those Shunyata cords. As you know, I'm on the fence about eventually upgrading my power cable from Oyaide wall outlet to PS Audio Juice Bar II power strip, and it's either going to be the Venom 3, or an equivalent model from Wireworld. If we're to believe all the glowing reviews of the Venom 3, you should get most of what you already have with your reference power cord.

Once you've had more time to get used to the Brio, and it's broken in, I'd like to know how you feel about its overall presentation. Like, is it a little warm (I suspect it might be), lots of detail, and so on.

That's two and a half questions, answer them at your convenience. I'll be watching. :)
 
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I don't really think that Naim and Rega have the same house sound. Naim tries to hit the rhythm where the drumstick hits the skin and Rega tries to bounce to the top end of the bass guitar. Both give generous doses of each others sound but there is a substantial difference. More later.

I might go for the Rega CD player or DAC. Just depends. I will definitely let you know about the Shunyata power cords.

This is a fun night...cheers!:beerchug:
 
Forget everything I've already said, that is except that I love this amp. It continues to morph and get better and the more it does the closer it sounds the original Naim house sound but with more meat on it's bones. This amp just flat makes sense out of every piece of music it gets a hold of...remarkable. Inner dialogue and detail revealed for every album I listen to.
 
Wow, sounds like a nice amp. I read about it in Hi Fi News awhile back, they loved it, too. I'll have to see if ProMusica here in Chicago carries it. They're the local Naim/Proac/Rega...you know the stuff...dealer. I haven't been there in ages as they're kind of tools, but I like the gear that they carry. The Bria looks nice, too. I really dig the simplicity of it. What else could you really want? I've been thinking about Naim gear ever since hearing Harbeth 7s on Naim at Venice Sound. That whole adventure ended with the Leben and Cabasses- and the Harbeths are still homeless! Looks like you're having luck with this...hmm....I need to audition.
 
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