Rega Brio-R

DO NOT Despair if this amp does not live up to expectation and you're running it through your computer!

I excitedly purchased my REGA, nervous because i'd just bought a pair of KEF R-100's and was hoping to be blown away! I WASN'T!? I almost took the AMP back… the set up sounded hollow, bleak and was fatiguing to listen to!

I tried to convince myself that this set up was good… that i wasn't used to listening to high fidelity and that it would grow on me! I blamed the way i was listening to it!?! Haha

Hem… here's where i show my naivety! I thought that if i pushed my music through ITUNES on my MAC Book Pro into this sort of set up that it would sound good. KEF and REGA disagreed!!

So i bought a CD player (Marantz CD6004) and some CD's.

Oh GOSH! We have entered an entirely different world where stark becomes musical and soundscapes become apparent!

Sorry to go on… basically i'm overjoyed with this AMP but give it the respect it deserves when deciding how to run music through it :

MARANTZ CD6004 / REGA BRIO R / KEF R100 - £1400 of pure magic! 

still LOVE this thing. whenever i listen to a song i forget hi-fi and enjoy music. just wanted to share that

I needed a new amp so home auditioned this and the marantz pm6004. the marantz was good and i thought maybe good enough but then i used the Rega and fell in love. I'm one of these people who was sceptical about how much difference an amp makes but honestly, it's way better than the marantz in every way. when it's on im constantly wanting to dance or sing to the music. i listen to all sorts - interpol, adele, johnny cash, glasvegas, radiohead, unkle, chris barber's jazz band, metallica, fischerspooner, massive attack, leftfield. I'm using squeezebox touch and q acoustics 2020i (adding a sub soon.) I don't think the amps is bright at all, maybe the dacmagic was causing that (in the review below.) I have a brio 3 which i've tried with many speakers including the 684's and it did well with all of them.

only downside are the speaker posts and plastic fascia. excellent amp for the price.brio r sings with my difficult to drive dynaudio audience 52!!thanks whathifi for the review!vocals are excellent to my ears!!

Bought one of these babies several weeks ago after reading unanimously praisegiving reviews here and elsewhere all over the net.

First, the negatives: It looks ugly. I got the 'satin' model to coordinate with my similarly coloured NAD T585 (although I would have just as happily settled for the black model). It has a plastic facia, which makes it look kind of cheap. It also has a glaringly bright red-lit "Rega" logo under the power button, which just looks tacky. It might as well read "Sanyo," the way it glares. Not good.  I have taken to covering it with a sticker. The amp also has a plastic back plate to which all the outputs are connected. It bends inwards with the force of a cable being pushed in. There is only one pair of speaker outs (and no pre-amp out) so your sub must be connected to the same speaker outs as the main speakers. That's no problem though.

It sounds too bright to my ears. I do find my ears becoming fatigued, and longing for a more neutral sound without the apparent bump around the 10K-ish region. I believe the euphamistic description would be "revealing." Yep, this amp is very revealing.

On the plus side, it is very clean, detailed and punchy, with no signs of stress at normal listening levels. And it has a remote.

My main source is a standalone Squeezebox Touch coupled with a DACMagic, loaded with lots of hi-def FLACs (24/96 and 24/88.2) as well as audiophile redbook rips (e.g. MFSL, DCC, XRCD, etc). I also use a NAD T-585 SACD/DVD-A player. My speakers are B&W685s with a Wharfedale Diamond sub.

I love my B&W speakers - they sound awesome to me when paired up with a compatible amp, so if something has to go due to incompatibility, it's gonna have to be the amp. Time to sell.

I purchased one and it is great.

Cannot fault the sound quality.

Forget the 50 watts per channel, it seems more powerful than that.

Had the pleasure of discussing the new Brio R with Roy Gandy himself, over dinner last week. He seemed immensely proud and happy over how this amp turned out. Can't wait to hear this here in our Pacific shores...