Rega Brio or...?

I bet the Rega would be great but since you put "or" in your heading I'll suggest the one I have and love; the Arcam A19.

Although it's discontinued Arcam still has it on their website and I bet you could get a great deal on one.

It sounds fantastic and the functionality is top drawer. The volume control is one of the best I've used.

Good luck in your search.

Merry Christmas,

Scott

http://https//www.upscaleaudio.com/products/arcam-a19-integrated-amplifier

Rega. Or save for a Croft Integrated.

The current Rega Brio has been very well received. I've read lots of good things about it and never any negative press that I've seen. I own the Rega Elicit-R which is a couple of steps up the Rega family ladder. It is outstanding IMHO. If the Brio shares the same house sound, its a winner.

Just a word of caution - take a look at the Amazon reviews of the Rega Brio.  There are several comments about hum/buzz issues.  There's also a recent post here about the same thing.  The previous version, the Brio-R, also seemed to have some noise issues.  It may or may not be a problem in your setup, but it's something to keep in mind.  

Thanks. I had not thought to check Amazon for reviews. Higher end audio is not something that I associate with Amazon.

There are only 6 reviews, but four have significant complaints. Three complain of hum issues and one had a noisy volume control.  I'd make sure that you buy it from a place that has a liberal return policy just to be safe.  No one complains about the sound quality, though. It's certainly getting great reviews on that basis.

By the way, I have heard the Arcam A19 and thought it was a very refined sound for its price.  You might also look at Marantz and Yamaha in the $1000 and under range for integrated amps with a phono stage.  I know they're not British, but they have their adherents.  

Thanks smrex13. Yes the reviews are disturbing. Perhaps a case of “if you get a good one it’s great, if not...”

Samac - thanks for th Arcam suggestion. I did not realize that the Arcam A19 has been discontinued. It still shows on their website and retailers are pricing it at $995.

Any thoughts on the Creek 50A? I’d need to add a Phono amp or their module but I’ve found a mint used one for around $550.

gromitinwa,

I read that on WHAT HI-FI and various forums around the first of this year. The fact they are still available and on their website may mean they are still in production. I hope so.

Wish I could help you with the Creek but I have never had the opportunity to hear one.

Cheers,

Scott

Thanks Scott, much appreciated!

I haven’t heard the Creek Evo 50, but it’s big brother, the 100a, powers my bedroom system and I love it. Totally different amp technology (the 100 uses class G), but as much as I enjoy my Creek, I think you should try to give one a listen if you’re considering it an option. For $550, I’d expect it would be very tough to beat. 

Their modules make them extremely flexible and you’re not paying for the expensive power supplies and housings of stand-alone units. The modules have been well regarded in reviews. If you are getting a used Evo50 for $550, you can add a new phono module for $250 and still have $200 left over for vinyl. Sounds like a win to me. 

Thanks ethos123.

I'm leaning back towards the Brio. Found a local source at a decent price, so I can easily get support if needed. I really like the look of the Creek but the used one I was looking at is in Canada, not the US and I have learned that they are made in China. I would really like to buy a designed in the UK, built in the UK unit, which leaves Rega in my price range. There's no particularly good reason for this desire but oh well...

Keep us posted.  Would love to hear your impressions of the Brio if you decide to go with it.

I don't think you can go wrong with the Brio. Just wanted to offer my experience with a product from the other manufacturer you were considering since I've had such a positive experience. I agree with smrex13 that you should post your impressions once you get things set up regardless of what you pick. Best of luck and happy listening.

Yes I will definitely post an update and I really appreciate the insights that you’ve all provided, especially to a new member of this forum. It might take me a little while - have to actually make the purchase, arrange everything and head to CES as well... I’ll try to restrain myself whilst there :)

So, curiosity got the best of me, and I ordered a Brio.  I have had it for a couple of days, and I have to say I'm very impressed.  It's got an engaging sound that really doesn't do anything wrong.  Perhaps the best thing that I can say about it is that I started pulling out records and CDs that I hadn't listened to in a long time because I was enjoying the music so much.  

I have it paired with some speakers that are also breaking in, so there will probably be some subtle changes, but definitely a thumbs up from me at this point!
 

@smrex13 - congratulations on the new Rega Brio and speakers. I have not heard the new Brio myself, but people I trust have told me it is a very enjoyable unit. I have the Rega Elicit-R integrated amp and the Rega Saturn-R CD Player/Transport/DC and I find them to be very good products. I've owned more expensive separates and more a couple of other similarly priced integrated amps and CD players and I've found that I prefer the Rega Sound. Driving my vintage Infinity RS 1.5 speakers, I don't think I've ever enjoyed music listening more than I do through this setup.

Enjoy your new setup and reply back to the thread in a couple of weeks once your feel break-in is complete.

@reubent - Thanks.  I've wondered how the Elicit-R and Elex-R sound.  A couple of reviews called them 'bright' and suggested pairing them carefully with speakers.  However, another review suggested the Elicit-R was warm.  My guess is they are transparent and the reviewers are hearing the rest of their system.

I'm actually auditioning the Brio along with two different sets of speakers - the Wharfedale Reva 2 and the B&W CM5 (used), so there are a lot of moving parts in the evaluation process.  However, it's pretty clear that the Brio sounds great and drives either pair of speakers well.  As you said - it's just enjoyable to listen to music through the Rega.  

Will post my thoughts in a couple of weeks.  Best, Scott  

It's still sounding great - will give a more thorough review in a week or two.  Just a couple of operational/functional notes that prospective buyers may want to be aware of:

1.  The speaker terminals on the back of the amp are very difficult to get to, as they are close together and somewhat recessed.  I don't think that spades would work.  Bananas or bare wire are your best bet.  

2.  The ground lug for the turntable is on the underside of the unit, and it's a fair distance from the RCA jack for the phono input.  If you have a phono cable with an captive ground wire, you may end up with a fair amount of tension on the phono cable/ground wire.

3.  The power cord jack is right next to the speaker binding posts.  My power cable (an Anti-Cable level 3) sits snugly against the binding posts.  If my power cable's connector were any larger, I wouldn't be able to use it.

I guess these are the compromises that have to made to provide a small footprint amp like the Brio.  Will follow up with listening impressions later.

I have a Rega DAC.  It died just after the warranty expired.  Paid $1000-plus to have it repaired/upgraded.  Got a year warranty on the work.  15 months later, one channel died.  It's now in storage.

I shall never set foot near a Rega anything again.

Just thought I'd update you all on my experience with the Rega Brio.  I'm running it with Wharfedale Reva 2 speakers, a VPI Traveler turntable and a Marantz SA 8004 SACD player.  

The Brio has been very impressive - it just pulls you in to the music.  After a few days powered up it smoothed out quite a bit, and I have absolutely no complaints.  The highs are very natural and non-fatiguing, which is something that is difficult to find at this price level.  Midrange has nice weight to instruments.  As my speakers are stand mounts, I can't say how it does really deep bass.  However, the bass that I get from my speakers is very full without being boomy.  The overall sound is very cohesive.

The phono stage is much like the amp itself - relaxed, musical, engaging.  One thing I wasn't expecting was the quality of the headphone amp.  I don't listen to headphones too much, but I might start.  It's very dynamic and clear with my Sennheiser 600s.  

For $1000 I can't think of anything that compares.  You could have an awfully engaging all-Rega system with a RP3, Brio, and RX1 speakers for about 3k.  

Anyway, I was reluctant to try it because of the complaints of hum issues, but mine is silent and makes great music.

Best, Scott

The brio is a solid choice, Sounds like much more than 50w into 8 ohms. I went with the elex-r because I wanted the better phono stage and power. Another reason I went elex-r was the price. They were $1875 until a few months ago- now they are $1395! Once rega announced the release of a new version in July the prices dropped. The new model is $2799. That is out of my league. take care- and don't worry about a tiny bit of bad rega reviews, most are pure crap. They put everything into every product they build- really high standards and a mostly hand made assembly line. My whole system is now rega except for the powerline conditioner. I am very pleased.

I had a rega brio and dac combo for quite awhile. I really liked that little setup. Truth be told I kinda miss them sometimes. I eventually moved on for more powerful pastures but I kinda wish I still had them around to build a smaller second system around.