New Rega Brio R!

The big audio news out of the UK this week is Rega's new version of its entry-level Brio, named the Brio R. (The R is for "remote," a welcome addition to an already great product). As you can see, the styling is taken from its very successful DAC, which came out earlier in the year. I've heard the DAC a couple of times, and I think it's probably one of the finest DACs out there for about a grand.

It's no secret that the Brio has earned a lot of fans over the years. I've owned the Brio3 for a couple of years and I can't think of anything that touches it sonically for $700. In fact, my review of the Brio3, which you can see at http://thevinylanachronist.blogspot.com/2010/09/rega-brio-3-integrated-amplifier.html, is my second-most read blog entry since I started this more than a year ago. (For those keeping score, the most read blog entry is also about a Rega, the RP1 turntable.)

The new Brio R will retail for $895. For your extra $200 you get the aforementioned remote, which alone justifies the price increase in my opinion. You also get improvements in the low and high current power supplies, the coupling and the bypass capacitors. You even get an improved phono stage which has been revised to "reflect improvements in current Rega Planar turntables." The input sensitivity has been increased, in other words.

Advanced word is that the Rega Brio R is a stunner and will continue to lead the field when it comes to sub-$1000 solid state integrated amplifiers. I look forward to hearing one soon.

Vinyl event at End of an Ear

When I visited Brian Di Frank at Whetstone Audio on Saturday, he invited me to a listening event at End of an Ear later that evening. End of an Ear is a record store located at 2209 S. 1st Street in Austin, and Brian told me it's his favorite record shop in the area. Brian brought over an ice chest full of Modelos, a Rega RP1 turntable, a Rega Brio 3 amplifier and a pair of Rega RS5 speakers and set it all up in a corner of the store. Brian's mission was to prove just how good vinyl can sound, even on a modest system.

This was the first time I've actually heard the new Rega RP1 turntable in action, and I have to admit that it sounds really good, much better than the P1 it replaced. Brian was able to achieve some pretty remarkable sound in a fairly odd space (bare walls, tile floor, off in a corner). Look at it this way...the RP1 is $445 (and that includes arm and a cartridge), the Rega Brio 3 is $695 (and that includes an MM phono stage), and the RS5s are $1595 and offer close to full-range sound. You could even forsake a little bass and go with the RS3s for $1195 or even the small bookshelf RS1 monitors for $695 and still have an analog-based system that is highly musical.

As for End of an Ear, this is a truly great little record shop with a fairly large inventory. I wish I hadn't blown my monthly music budget at Waterloo Records earlier that day...End of an Ear had everything Waterloo had and at a lower price! They're pretty packed with both new and used LPs, and they have a fairly large selection of CDs, DVDs and Blu-Ray discs as well. They even had a little corner devoted to vintage receivers and inexpensive turntables to help vinyl newbies get started for just a little bit of money. Or you could just head down to Whetstone Audio and get that all-Rega system and be happy for the rest of your life.

Again, End of an Ear is located at 2209 S. 1st Street in Austin, Texas, and their phone number is (512) 462-6008. Whetstone Audio is located at 2401 E. 6th Street and Brian's phone number is (512) 477-8503.

Checking out the new gear at Whetstone Audio

As promised, I spent yesterday afternoon at Whetstone Audio and got to see owner Brian Di Frank's new product lines (LFD and Harbeth). When I walked in, I saw both the Harbeth 40.1s and the new P3-ESR speakers all set up and ready to go. I had to walk right up and give the 40.1s a hug! I missed these speakers and still consider them to be among the finest speakers I've ever heard!

Brian also had the new LFD LE IV Signature integrated warmed up and ready to go. I have to admit that as much as I love LFD, its understated looks were completely overshadowed by the gorgeous Leben amplifier that resided just below. Fortunately, we were able to hear both. The Leben has the sonic edge, with slightly better dynamics, but it's also twice as much as the LFD.

Here's the entire system we listened to, which included a Rega P5 turntable with a Dynavector 20X cartridge along with a Dynavector phono stage. Cabling was from the Chord Company.

Here are the 40.1s and the P3-ESRs side by side. It's amazing that the little P3s are a tiny fraction of the size of the 40.1s but offer a HUGE helping of the classic Harbeth sound. After listening to the big speakers for a while we switched to the P3s and I was instantly impressed with their ability to sound big and full in Brian's rather large listening space. The 40.1s obviously offer more in the lower octaves, but Harbeth's Alan Shaw should be extremely proud with what he's accomplished with the tiny P3s. They are truly great mini-monitors.

Here's a better look at the P3-ESRs and their gorgeous rosewood veneer. The 40.1 were in cherry, just like the ones I reviewed for TONEAudio, but these ones were much darker. Harbeth, just like most British speaker companies, provides beautiful wood veneers with all of its models.

Although my visit was to hear the new Harbeths and LFD, I also had a chance to hear the Kudos Audio line of loudspeakers. Kudos is from the same designer who developed the NEAT line of British loudspeakers, which have always impressed me. The Kudos Cardea C10 monitor, which you can see above next to the 40.1s, looks rather conservative at first glance. But this premium loudspeaker uses the SEAS Crescendo tweeter which is normally used with speakers costing as much as $20,000 a pair. Despite the fact that they are much smaller than the 40.1s, they delivered an equally big sound. In many ways, the C10s were the stars of the day. These are truly magnificent-sounding speakers and should be considered by anyone who needs world-class sound in a relatively small space.

Here's a close up shot of the Crescendo tweeter...

And another shot of the C10s.

 ...and another shot with the 40.1s in the background.

Brian also wanted me to check out the new Rega P3-24 turntable...his first one in orange. Very cool, but I still prefer my lime green one. I do like the colored mats and may get a ghastly purple one for mine.

He then showed me the new $449 Rega RP1 turntable--in white. Brian joked that "this is your turntable...on drugs," and I realized that yes, with the yellow mat it does look just like a fried egg!

All in all, it was a great afternoon and I heard a lot of great music. I'm going to visit Brian very soon and try out two new tweaks for my Rega P3-24. The first is the famous "white belt" that is a $59 upgrade to all Rega turntables. Back at TONEAudio we tried one of these belts with the P9 and both Jeff Dorgay and I heard a clear difference from the stock black belt. Much to our surprise, the magic white belt made the Rega sound much bigger. For $59, it's a no-brainer.

The other tweak is the new platter mat for the Rega from Auditorium 23. While I've always felt that the stock felt mats sound best, Brian tells me that this new mat does offer a big improvement in the sound. So I'll let everyone know about my findings very soon!

Rega RP1 turntable hits the states!!

The new Rega RP1 is just now arriving in the US, and the buzz is good. This was originally slotted as a replacement for the entry-level P1 that was released a few years ago. I had a chance to listen to the P1 in depth when we reviewed it for TONEAudio, and while I thought it was much better than the Music Halls and Pro-Jects in its price range, I was less than enthusiastic about its MDF platter that wobbled around the edges. I was also less than taken with the Ortofon OM-5se cartridge that came with it. The felt mat for the platter didn't seem to fit as well as other Rega mats.

At the time, I recommended that P1 owners should opt for the upgrade kit, which included the classic Rega glass platter and felt mat used on the P3 and the P5. Most dealers were selling the kit for $69, which brought the P1 closer to the performance of the P2 for just a bit less money. Then I recommended that P1 owners also opt for a cartridge upgrade such as the Ortofon OM-10 or OM-20, or Rega's own Bias 2. That begged the question, of course, of why you wouldn't just go for a P2 in the first place (my recommendation at the time, since the P2 has always been my first choice for an entry-level analog rig).

Well, the reviews have noted that the new RP1, which includes such upgrades to the P1 as the new hand-built RB-101 tonearm, a phenolic resin platter (like the curved drawers of Naim CD players) and a new low-vibration motor, performs at a level almost identical to the P2. (You can read Jeff Dorgay's review of the RP1 at http://www.tonepublications.com/gear/exclusive-the-rega-rp1/). So the RP1 is so good, it's going to replace BOTH the P1 and the P2 while Rega re-works the new P2.

The price of the new RP1 is just a little more than the P1 at $449. That's a steal. Brian DiFrank of Whetstone Audio has just announced that the RP1 is now shipping, so it's time to give either him or the Rega dealer of your choice (such as Dan Muzquiz in San Diego or Gene Rubin in Ventura) a call!