Rega Mercury/Solis review

Does the thought of a Rega amplifier with a five-figure price tag feel a little odd to you? It does to us, given that value for money has always been a priority for the brand. Its foundations, now over 50 years old, are built on great sounding, well-engineered products that are sensibly priced.

Sure, the company has long made premium products that are priced in the thousands, but the Mercury preamplifier (£6950 / $10,495 / AU$14,500) and Solis power amplifier (£6950 / $10,495 / AU$14,500) package sits a large step beyond those.

The high-end glass ceiling was first broken by Rega’s range-topping Naia turntable (£13,125 / $18,995 / AU$27,499) back in 2023, and now this pre/power combination is happy to follow through. How does Rega’s value for money ethos fit in here? We shall find out.

Design & engineering

The brand prides itself on its engineering, and we’ve always been impressed by the consistency of its design philosophies. For example, the Planar turntables are based around a high rigidity/low mass principle, and every step up the hierarchy finds ways to push the limits in both directions.

This kind of engineering consistency is evident in this new pre/power too, as the origin of the Mercury preamp’s analogue circuit can be traced back to the first Elicit integrated amplifier made around 1990. It is a symmetrical, fully discrete design capable of high voltage swings and plenty of current to drive the partnering power amplifier with low distortion.

Mercury is a line-level design with a built-in digital module. Its circuit uses the well-proven Alps Blue Velvet RK27 motorised potentiometer to control volume and is DC coupled to avoid the use of sound-degrading coupling capacitors in the signal path. Protection circuitry monitors the DC level of both the main and headphone outputs to ensure nothing untoward happens.

This preamp’s power supply arrangement is designed to provide a stable, low-noise feed to the analogue, digital and control sections, taking special care to avoid unwanted interactions between them. By component count, this preamplifier is the most complex product the company has ever made.

Some may be surprised by the lack of a phono stage given Rega’s turntable heritage. That decision came down to the difficulty in achieving the desired performance and the desire to avoid any increase in the Mercury’s already high price. Of course, Rega will happily point record player users towards the excellent Aura phono stage to do the job.

On the digital side, the Mercury’s number crunching circuit is built around a pair of Wolfson WM8742 DAC chips, with great care taken to minimise jitter and maintain signal integrity. Even Rega describes these DAC chips as ‘legacy’, which is no surprise, as they first came onto the market in late 2009.

Given the plethora of newer and better-specified alternatives on the market, some may wonder why the engineering team chose to stick with such a mature design. The answer is sound quality; the team assessed the alternatives and preferred the Wolfson. Fair enough.

The Solis power amplifier is something of a beast. This unit isn’t unusually big, but it still weighs in at a hefty 24.8kg. Its power output is a useful 168 watts per channel into 8 ohms, rising to a meaty 305 watts as impedance halves. These are good figures, and suggest that the Solis will be happy to drive just about any speaker you care to use.

Take a look inside that impressive chassis, and you will find that Rega has continued to use fully symmetrical circuitry. There is a generous power supply arrangement consisting of two low noise, custom-designed 330VA transformers and a total of 80,000uF of smoothing capacitance using Rega’s own K-Power capacitors.

Connectivity

The Mercury’s file compatibility is reasonable at 32-bit/192kHz PCM and standard DSD. It is fair to say that you wouldn’t have to look hard to find budget DACs that exceed these limits. Does that matter? Given that the vast majority of available digital files fall well within the Rega’s abilities, we suspect it won’t be an issue for most.

Similarly, we doubt whether many would complain about this preamp’s connectivity. It has five line level inputs, including a balanced XLR option, a tape loop, as well as the usual trio of digital inputs: coaxial, optical and USB Type B. As for outputs, there are balanced and single-ended options on the back panel and a 6.3mm headphone socket on the front.

That headphone output isn’t just a tick-box exercise, either. It uses a dedicated symmetrical circuit that ‘operates like a mini Solis’ and is capable of high voltage and current drive, ensuring compatibility with a wide range of headphone designs.

On the Solis power amplifier, it comes as no surprise to see both balanced and single-ended options offered. As with the Mercury, the quality of the sockets is good, and they feel sturdy enough to withstand years of use.

It is interesting to note that while Rega has included balanced XLR connections in both the preamp and the power, it still recommends single-ended for domestic use. The company claims that the balanced route doesn’t offer any significant benefit outside the very long cable runs and noisy electrical environments of the studio and pro world. Our experience aligns with this.

Build

The build quality of both these Rega products is excellent. Their chunky aluminium caseworks feel reassuringly solid, and they have the aura of units engineered to last decades. Fit and finish is as good as we’ve seen from the brand, and that’s exactly what we would expect at this level.

The Mercury features an LCD display that proves crisp and easy to read from a distance. It helps to make the initial set-up of the preamp easy, too. The unit’s physical control count is minimal, which gives it a pleasantly uncluttered look. We suspect most people will just use the supplied Orbit remote for most functions. This backlit handset is a weighty metal affair that lacks style, but proves easy enough to use.

We have a few small ergonomic grumbles with this Rega amplifier pairing. Given the display, it would be nice to have a numerical indication of the volume level. As it is, we have to rely on a mark on the volume dial, which isn’t always easy to see in a dim room.

Also, if you are using the on-unit controls, it is only possible to toggle through the inputs in one direction. If you overshoot, it is a pain to work all the way around again. Admittedly, the remote has direct access to any specific input, so at least there is a workaround.

Any amplifier at this level demands a top-class system to shine. Our sources are Naim’s ND555/555 PS DR music streamer and the Technics SL-1000/Kiseki Purpleheart record player feeding a Cyrus Phono Signature/Cyrus PSX-2 phono stage. As for speakers, the bulk of our testing is done using ATC’s SCM50, the Fyne F1-8 and Epos’s ES-14N.

Sound

If we say that listening to the Mercury/Solis reminds us of the Brio Mk7 integrated, then that should be taken as a compliment. It has the same music-first attitude and the ability to wring out the last degree of emotional impact from whatever is being played.

Of course, given that the Brio Mk7 sells for £799 / $1195 /AU$1699, it will surprise no one that the Mercury/Solis duo is on a different planet when it comes to outright ability.

As we play Hans Zimmer’s Interstellar OST, we can’t help but notice just how quiet a backdrop this two-box amplifier delivers. The music emerges from utter silence that’s totally free from the low-level hash that most designs suffer from.

Then there is the Rega’s unusually physical presentation that brims with a degree of solidity and muscle that is rare even at this elevated level. Instruments come through in an impressively palpable way that makes the sound all the more convincing.

Cornfield Chase is a dense, almost chaotic track, but this Rega pairing handles it with composure and control. Every instrument has a place and the sense of organisation behind the frenzied composition is excellent. Pleasingly, this amplifier never forgets that its job is to communicate the drama in the music, and it does that superbly.

Given the Solis power amplifier’s generous output, it will come as no surprise that this pairing is comfortable playing at high volume levels. Even so, the sheer muscularity it displays at the low end is jaw-dropping with a well-recorded piece such as this. Bass frequencies are exceptionally punchy and powerful, but retain class-leading agility. Perhaps best of all, despite the feeling of authority on offer, the bass is tuneful and superbly in balance with the rest of the frequency range.

This pre/power does well when it comes to stereo imaging, too, rendering the soundstage with plenty of width and precision in instrument placement. There is an admirable degree of stability when the music becomes demanding and an enviable talent for retaining focus under such conditions.

However, compared to the similarly-priced, recently reviewed Yamaha C-5000/M-5000 pairing (£17,198 / $21,998 / AU$25,998), we do notice a slight shortfall of spaciousness in the presentation. Similarly, the Yamaha combo pulls ahead when it comes to delivering subtle dynamic shifts through the midrange and treble; it is certainly the more delicate sounding of the two.

However, this comparison is hardly one-way traffic. The Rega duo reverses the situation where rhythmic drive and punch are concerned. It is exceptional in these areas, and rams home these advantages when we start listening to hip-hop and rock recordings.

Kendrick Lamar’s GNX, Grinderman’s self-titled debut album and Are You Gonna Go My Way by Lenny Kravitz all benefit from the Rega’s all-action approach to music replay. Vocals come through with breathtaking conviction while the musical backdrop is as cohesive and insightful as you like.

Regardless of the album/genre, the results are enjoyable and quite often, thrilling. Balance is the key here. The Rega approach may be front-footed, but it also remembers to do the high-end hi-fi things properly. Instrumental textures are rendered well, organisation is maintained, and if you want, you can dissect the production to your heart’s desire.

Despite all the resolution on offer, the Mercury/Solis pairing never goes out of its way to highlight the flaws in a recording. If you go searching, you will hear them, of course, but this pairing always wants you to take note of the positive aspects of the source material first. Given that our choice of music is made on taste rather than recording quality, that forgiveness is hugely appealing.

We don’t think that the Mercury’s digital module quite lives up to the quality of the line stages. On the positive side, it retains the energetic yet balanced character we like, and can switch between various PCM resolutions and DSD without issue. We play around with the filter settings provided and generally settle for either the Minimum Phase ‘Soft Knee’ or Linear Phase ‘Soft Knee’ for PCM recordings and the default Response 1 for DSD. But as usual, the differences between the various options aren’t huge, and your tastes or system choice may well yield different results.

Regardless, whether we connect our MacBook Pro (loaded with Audirvana music software and plenty of high-resolution music files) or use the digital output from our reference Naim streamer, we note a slight loss of transparency and dynamic finesse when compared to an excellent outboard DAC such as Chord’s Qutest (£1195 / $1625 / AU$2800). The Rega counters with greater physicality to its presentation, though.

To end on a positive note, we are impressed by the preamp’s headphone output. We try it with Grado’s RS1x, Austrian Audio’s excellent The Composer and the closed-back Focal Stellia, and the Rega works a treat with all of them. The headphone output sounds crisp, clear and consistent with the excellent sound we hear from the line-level outputs.

Verdict

It is a bold step for Rega to make a pre/power amplifier at this level. The brand has succeeded in producing something that stays true to its music-first ideals but still delivers the refinement, transparency and insight high-end buyers demand.

If you are lucky enough to shop in this sector, don’t ignore the Mercury/Solis combination. It could well be exactly what you and your system need.

Review published: 9th February 2026

SCORES

• Sound 5
• Build 5
• Features 4

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